Hearts and cyanide [Silus]

Ryan was happy with the hot tub, it felt warm and just felt like something he wanted to soak in for a little while. Cale had picked up on it, offering to step out and get his phone while Ryan continued to soak, sinking until the water touched his nose and blew a few bubbles in the water. This was nice, and he had never been on a cruise ship before, for a moment, he just felt a peace, floating about in the warm water. Well, his soaking would only last so long, as Cale reached into the hot tub and sort of lifted him out, Ryan now dripping wet as he looked up to the male that had set him down outside of it. Something was said about a date, which he had totally forgotten about for a moment, considering he didn't know they were having a date.

Still arm draped over him, both walked out into their room, Ryan wondered what he had forgotten. It took a few seconds and Gadreel reminding him as to why they were here in the first place. They were on the cruise to have fun, but to beast up some bad guys, which for a moment disappointed him. How he forgot about them was simple, but he was slightly surprised that Cale had forgotten about them of all people. They were supposed to change into clothes for the dinner thing, which was the easy part of this. The hard part would have been figuring out what kind of powers these supervillains had, since supervillains had to have powers to be supervillains. Gadreel had started to change, but before he could, he stopped himself and turned red again, excusing himself to the bathroom while Ryan did his thing.

Now alone, he quickly changed, drawing the small amount of water from his hair and getting rid of it however, feeling dry once again as he plopped onto the bed. When Cale emerged from the bathroom, he sprung to his feet, hands burying into his pockets as he followed the guys lead. He still wasn't used to the Cale that didn't glare at him, smiling and winking, it was all really weird when he thought about it. Regardless, he walked out of the room with the door being held for him, people actually not looking at him. ”Thanks.” He said with a small smile going where he thought was where this dinner was supposed to be served Eventually they would end up seated, Ryan resting his elbows on the table.

”I hope they have somethin good to eat, or somethin not bad.” He noted absently.

"I'm sure they'll have something for ya." Cale Said, putting his arm over Ryan againa s they walked. They were...an odd coupel to see to be honest. Mutt and Jeff to be sure. "Why does everyone keep staring? Seriously?" He muttered to himself as he noticed people staring once again.  He gulped as he began to try and look for a way to escape public eye. Of course he got to eh seating podium and the woman smiled and was really quite polite. She was pretty too, which made everything a bit easier. Don't ask, Cale logic. He smiled.

"Well Hi there. Did the hostess have to leave or something?" He asked, she chuckled slightly and sighed. She was apparently single, which seemed to catch Cale's interest slightly, and he evn hit on her twice. Oh she noticed and she liked it...but then again she also saw he was just with the little dude that was behind him and she assumed he was just being a little extra friendly because of personality or something. Once they got to the table the hostess put the waitress put the menues down and asked what they wanted to drink. "He'll probably have a grape soda, am I right?  Cale asked with a little smile, in the same respect he'd relay that he wanted root beer. The waitress said something like "that's cute" and to Cale made the mistake of saying.

"Been dating five years or so now, I'd better know what my Ry drinks." After that he looked to the menu and scanned it over. "Oh wow...I've...never even heard of some of this stuff...how...how do you even say that third one down?" He asked with a smile and a scoff.

Ryan wasn't the type to really be picky as far as food came, because well.... he loved all kinds of food, so long as they tasted kinda good. That and he loved to eat, so anything they served here was likely to work for him. ”I don't know why.” Ryan said with a shrug, because he still didn't know so he would just follow Gadreel's lead, walking up to the seating podium where a pretty nice girl seemed to be sitting behind. What was not so nice about it was what Gadreel was doing, not because the fact he was doing it but the fact he was doing it when they were trying to go undercover.  He shuffled around awkwardly, not sure what to say except for coughing into a closed fist hopefully loud enough for him to hear. He did not need him blowing their cover, which is saying a lot of the less intelligent of the two.

Once they were brought to the table, Cale had said the drink and he sort of just nodded, while Gadreel went on about how he should know him if they dated for over five years. Ryan blinked, unsure what he was doing considering one minute he was doing the opposite couples did and then this. Trying to get his mind off of it to avoid a headache, he then tried to read the menu, which was a painful experience. He had a hard enough time trying to read English, let alone whatever language this stuff was in; maybe this was just some form of torture. ”I...have no idea. I don't think that's actually a word.” He said, chewing on his lower lip trying to read what they had on this thing. Luckily, they had some kind of burger thing so that was what he ordered.

Reclining in his seat, he sighed and crossed his arms.

"Oh relax, I'm fine man. It's called being personable..." Cale added with a little sigh as he realized that this place was... entirely too rich for his blood. The view could be stunning but yeah...in the end this was literally just a big waste of time. He heard Ryan sigh and cross his arms. Eh, Gadreel had been awefully nice to him... maybe he could pick on him a little. "What? Don't tell me my boyfriend's a little jealous." He said in a rather smooth way as the waitress came back right next to a man with a black suit and a...is that a microphone. Is that...a fucking...microphone. Cale froze DEAD and then smiled to Ryan as the waitress introduced the man with a microphone.

"This is Samuel Hansen and he's doing a recording of some of the young couples on the cruise. You said you've been together for FIVE years, is that right?" The girl asked. The man chuckled and stepped forward, producing the microphone with a small floating sphere recording video. Cale recognized that as one of his old prototypes. "oh now, that's enough Tracy. 'Ello lads. My name is Sam. This wont' take very long...we just need to ask some of the adorable things a lovely young couple like you has experienced before." The man said, the Scottish accent catching Cale off guard for a second. He looked to Ryan as if looking for something to bail them out. Unfortunately it didn't look like they were getting out of this one.

"So boys... care to tell us how you two met? Five years is a long time to be in a serious relationship. You're both so young, how did this beautiful thing between you come to be?" The man asked. He was friendly enough alright, but unfortunately he was now forcing them to think fast. Cale looked to Ryan and swallowed while trying to think up something. FAST.

Jealous, he was totally not that, as far as he knew anyway. He had no reason to be, not like Gadreel was actually his boyfriend or anything like that. He had no reason to be jealous, none at all, so why he was acting this way Ryan was unsure actually, though he leaned forward once someone approached them. Apparently it was some man with a microphone that wanted to ask questions about stuff. About them exactly, which meant that they would have to think up some kind of story about how they met. Apparently they wanted to learn something about the stuff they had experienced before, that accent of his catching him off guard for a moment, as he had never heard someone talk like that before. Sure, he had heard Yancey and his weird way of speaking, but this was was totally different.

He wanted to know how they met, and that meant he would have to think of some kinda story for the two of them, because Cale was not doing that it would seem. Ryan racked his brain for some kind of idea about it, and nothing came up immediately. ”We met through my brother, he was friends with him. Me and Gad sorta hit it off I guess.” He said with a  shrug, quick thinking actually working for him. Ryan made sure to offer a friendly smile while saying so, considering that they had to come off as a happy couple, otherwise they might think something was up.

"Well yeah. Pretty much." Cale said with a smirk and a little chuckle, sort of as if he knew something that Ryan wasn't saying. This caught Sam's interest and he looked to him with a smirk. "We've known each other more than 5 years but uh... okay. So we met at the baseball fields in town when we were like..five and seven. So I'm playing catch with his brother and he wants to join in. SO his brother sends him my way and he throws it to Ry here. Well...here, Ry throws it and releases just a little late and it whacks me in the head. So I'm sitting there, trying not to cry like a toguh guy and he walks up and starts saying he's sorry." Cale said looking to Ryan and smiling before looking back to Sam. "So...I'm sitting there, holding my head and the second I draw my hand away the goof kisses it and asks if it feel better." Cale reached over the table and put a hand on Ryan's shoulder, a sparkle in his eye the widest grin ever.

    "Wow, you should have known then that you two were practically destined." Sam said, Cale just chuckled and nodded. "So when did you boys realize that...well...this was real?" Sam asked Cale just smiled and shrugged before snagging one of Ryan's hands and wraping it up with his.

"I uh.... I realize it every day and every time I realize it...it's like realizing it for the first time. Every day for five years. Waking up and looking at a picture and thinking "Wow... I'm the luckiest guy alive" and wondering how I ended up with someone like him...how someone could look past a mean and tough guy exterior. Every time I look in his eyes, every time I kiss 'em... it's the same realization all over again." He chuckled before looking to Sam, who then looked to Ryan to ask him the next question.

  "Wow...pretty intense stuff. But tell me, and be honest. Do you think that your love can stand the test of Cupid and the Queen of Hearts?" He asked Cale froze up for a second. "Well, I guess we'll find out after a short break. Stay tuned folks." Sam said to the little camera bot. Wait, what? Was this a show or something? This was confusing...

All Ryan had to do was say something, and Cale picked it up from there, pretty good too if he could say so himself. No, a whole story was weaved out of it, something he probably could have not done even half as skillfully, but then again this was not ice sculpting, so that was a given. If he hadn't now any better, it would have seemed genuine to him, but he did his part well enough. It was all smiling when he thought he needed to and reacting the way he thought he was supposed to, which Ryan did and soon enough he felt like he was in the clear. That being until the question the guy asked next, trying to hide his surprise as he said something about The Queen of Hears and Cupid, the two people they were supposed to be after. This Sam guy made it sound like some kind of game show, but was that part of the whole cruise?

Maybe it was that weird trivia thing that Cale had mentioned earlier, though Ryan wasn't so sure about that anymore. He looked to Gadreel with a sort of “what's going on look” though something told him the guy would know about as much as him on the subject. Everything had turned confusing within a matter of moments, and his poor brain just couldn't keep up.

It seemed like they were up to snuff, if not both confused. Cale nodded but then Sam spoke, almost as if Cale nodding was the prompt or something. "Okay lads. Here's the trick. We're going to take you boys to meet Cupid and the Queen of Hearts. Unless of course you'd rather not." He said, something about how he said it though rubbed Cale the wrong way. Almost as if this guy KNEW they wouldn't refuse. He chalked it up to him being a general investigative reporter trying to sell them going through challenging. Cale would play along, but he'd keep his guard up. After their meal, Cale and Ryan would have to go before this Cupid and this Queen of Hearts.

"You nervous?" Cale asked as they stood behind a curtain, Cale still smiling at him slightly. This undercover thing wasn't so bad with Ryan. He honestly imagined it to be much, much worse. It wasn't fun by any means...okay it was... but hey a little fun while working is okay once in a while, right? Sam showed up and looked to Cale and Ryan before smiling, waving the camera sphere away it vanished from sight. He whispered something to Cale which turned his expression sour.

"Oh don't worry dearie. Just be convincing." Sam said with a smile and little jump of the eyebrows and walking off. Cale was stunned but in an instant the curtains pulled back and they were told to walk out. Cale draped his arm around Ryan and tugged him close as they walked through. The entire area had deep red velvety curtains draped around it like walls. The judges had their own seats, each one custom fit for themselves, but the seats were unoccupied. There was a table, strawberries and all the other romantic garbage that Cale generally despised. He put on a smile though and watched as Cupid was the first to introduce himself.

Okay, so he had no idea who these two people they were talking about were beyond them being villains, but Ryan would have to keep up the act until whatever needed to happen did happen. Part of him didn't want to meet them, he was feeling more nervous than before and that usually was not a good sign for Ryan. How the guy said it thought was as if they didn't have much of a choice in refusing, so all he did was nod as if ready to meet with these mysterious two, though at least they had a chance to finish their food. Once the food was gone, he found himself standing behind a curtain with Cale, looking around as if expecting something to happen. Turning to Cale, he raised a brow, the male likely already knowing the answer to that one.

”A little.” A said, creating a small gap between forefinger and thumb as if to show emphasis. He smiled too, the whole Gadreel not glaring at him actually making things far less awkward than they usually were. Either that, or these guys knew how to keep the room from getting too hot.  That Sam guy appeared before them again with that same smile he had given them before, but something did not seem right about the guy. Maybe it was the suit, because Ryan did not like suits that much, save for the rare occasion. Accent might have also been a culprit, because most of them just seemed odd to them, unless he had managed to get used to them. They had whispered something to Gadreel, and that only made him mistrust this whole thing even more.

Before he could mention anything to Cale the curtains were pulled back, an arm was around his shoulder and they were walking; him being tugged close to Gadreel for likely the whole illusion they had going. He did notice the strawberries and other weird stuff on the table, not that he really got the significance of them. Until something caused his eyes to snap to it, or rather someone. A blond male only an inch or two taller than him, with medium blond hair and eyes that drew attention without even trying. He was dressed formally, and yet their was an air of ease about him that made Ryan relax almost instantly. There was something about the guy he couldn't quite place, and the room smelt...strangely nice.

”So, you're the couple.” He said with a smile, flashing pearly white teeth as he took his seat on one of the judges seats. Strange blue eyes looked over both of them, a quick and almost cursory glance more than anything. ”Well the info wasn't all wrong, you two are adorable.” He added with a chuckle.

Info? He had info? For a guy who literally just came up and randomly filmed them that's an awful lot to claim as info. This wasn't right, at all. He shouldn't have info on them, it made no sense! Maybe "oh hey the guy was right, you two are adorable" but not "yeah, info motherfuckers. I got info!". Seriously this was a bad place, talk about being in the belly of the beast. Okay, planning time!

Ok, so if this cupid douche has a machete I'll put up a barrier wall to block him off we'll turn and run. Wait, no the guys behind us probably have stuff. Can I tell? No! Shit if I turn around this will all go down. Fuck. Well wait..it might not be a that. he could have a gun! The guys behind us could have guns too! totally throwing a bubble barrier up over us. Wait, I can't bubble myself. FUUUUUCK!!!! Okay, bubble over Ryan and two walls. Right! yeah totally can do that...I think. I hope. Then I'll charge the guys behind us and I'll remove Ryan's barrier to make a sphere around them and pull them together. No...wait...that dude has info. Barrier around the head then skull fuck him with his own face cavi-holy shit what the hell is wrong with me!? That mental dilemma finally concluded he finally noticed that the place certainly smelled nice. Was that always like that? No? Yes? He couldn't remember. Oh damn did he have a bad feeling though. Next to arrive was "Her Majesty. The Queen of Hearts". Cale's heart dropped into his stomach as she smiled and clapped upon seeing him.

"Oh dear me, little Gadreel. All grown up and with his boyfriend. Oh how precious. It's so good to see you again. All professional, no hard feeling and no strikes on past account." She said with a little giggle and a little wave at Ryan. "Oh, so who is this then?" She asked, faintest traces of a British accent which only made Cale even slightly more creeped out. Aaaand there goes his mind about her now. "This is...well... Mr. Perfect." Cale said, as convincing as possible he leaned down a little and kissed Ryan on the cheek. He didn't know he knew this lady...the last time he knew her she was "Heartbreak"....not...oh God this lady.

"Awwwe, so sweet. Anyway, Cupid Darling, would you care to start the questioning?" She asked him, though pending his response.

Ryan found himself wondering what sort of info this guy had on them, because he didn't know there was anything to know about them, unless there was and he just didn't know. All Ryan knew was that something felt off, maybe it was that weird smell that was going around, or maybe they had just sprayed something around here. Either way, someone else made their appearance on the scene, though he didn't know who they were as much as he didn't know the guy. So many new faces and Ryan left as confused as he usually was, looking around trying to hide any sort of nervousness that was coming over him. She seemed to know Gadreel, which meant they had some kind of history, but what that history was he had no clue of. One thing he did notice was that she had a trace of an accent to her voice, but one he could not quite place; whatever it was.

Ryan looked from the blond, to the woman and then up to Gadreel as if he would have some idea on how to do this thing, because he had no idea at all. At least she bought the act about them dating, so there was always a bright side to it. The tough part was not turning a bright red when having his cheek kissed, because that was not the usual for Ryan, far from it considering who did it. In response to the wave, he would only offer a small one in return, playing the shy one as he had been doing the entire time. They were convincing if nothing else, so he would just keep following his friends lead, if that was what he could call him.

Cupid smiled softly, seemingly amused by the show of affection. Not that he was an easy face to read really, even for someone that could do those sort of things. ”Sure, I could start us off.” He said in usual jovial tone, smile still as wide as he had started with. He paused for only a second, exhaling before slipping into his questioning. ”So you've been together five years if i've been told correctly.” He started off, intertwining his fingers and leaning forward. ”So, how do you manage to stay together so long? I mean at a young age, it's...amazing really.” Ryan looked at him, blinking a couple of times while trying to think of a response that would work. Sometimes quick thinking was just something that he found difficult, especially in clutch situations like this when the pressure felt like it was all on him.

"That's pretty easy actually." Cale said casually before looking to the Queen of Hearts, then letting his gave go over towards Cupid. He was still cautious of this fellow...but it was slowly getting easier. "We fight. When we fight we get everything out there. There's two rules. Listen and don't hold a grudge. You can't say their wrong for seeing something or feeling something that you don't. You gotta work together. It's a partnership." Cale said. It wasn't a lie either. This was a partnership. They do fight...a lot. He can't speak for Ryan but...he did listen. Though he did think Ryan was wrong about him being mean... but again he didn't hold any grudges and eh felt Ryan was entitled to believe based on what he perceived...even if he was too dumb to dig deeper than the superficial.

  "That could be destructive if it gets out of hand. Your barriers can keep out and contain a great many things my dear. Love and heartache are not amongst them." The Queen said before looking to Cupid with a smile, almost as if she believed that Cale answered honestly. Which was good...because he did. She then smiled and thanked him for being honest before she looked to Ryan. "Well now. You, young man. I would like you to tell us what you find to be the thing that makes the two of you...really click." She asked, using her hands and sliding her fingers between one and other for emphasis.

It seemed pretty easy for Gadreel to answer, so Ryan would let him answer that question, standing there quiet as he had been doing before. How he had proposed they stayed together sounded like it would work, but then again he knew almost nothing about how relationships worked. While he did have nothing to add, he did the whole nodding thing while Gadreel did what he did best. Something told him he would have to answer something, and so Ryan would have to think of some kind of answer, even if it wasn't as half as good as the one Cale had given.

They seemed to believe the answer though, so he wasn't worried about that, but when it came to him Ryan sort of froze up. What made them click? Well now that was something he wasn't sure he had an answer for, because it was the one thing he couldn't think of. Still, he had to make something up quick, and hope it sounded believable. What made them click? He had to think of something and he had to think of it now. ”I don't think it's something I could put into words.” He paused, but it bought him a few more precious seconds to think of something, anything that would placate the judges. He didn't even know what it meant to make people click, unless this was more weird couple stuff.

”I guess it's just sorta chemistry.” Oh great, now he was cementing himself as the stupid one as well as the silent one, he mind as well have just pinned a card to his shirt that said “hello I am stupid.”  Luckily, his expression didn't betray too much, if anything. ”I...don't really know how to answer that one.” He said biting his lip and realizing that he might have just made himself look stupid. Maybe it was a mistake for him to have come at all. Cupid seemed interested by this answer, though he couldn't quite read beyond that face he was making.

”Interesting, well what would you say is a feature you like about your partner? Physical, part of their personality, anything really.” He would ask turning his attention from Ryan to Cale, since it seemed they had a pattern going on.

"That's a tough one..." Cale said before exhaling, another dramatic display of how it was indeed something that he wasn't sure how to answer. He Looked to Ryan and thought about what he knew about Ryan. Hard working, funny...not real bright to be honest. Clumsy, forgetful... really nice. Except for the fact he called Cale mean not all that long ago. He looked to Cupid and seemed to "resign" to one answer. "Ryan. I won't answer that question because I can't answer it. There's not one singular thing. It's a collective whole." He said. It would have been gushy, but he said it so straight forward. True he laughed a little and still had a glimmer in his eye as he looked at Ryan, but the way he said it wasn't with the intent to be "romantic" in a sense...he said it with conviction. Probably what made it all the more believable. Even if that wasn't what he intended.

"Yes...yes well then why don't you answer that question as well." The Queen asked Ryan with a little smile. She looked to Cupid and giggled. "Forgive me, horribly unoriginal I now, but it is a wonderful question that deserves the proper attention." She said with a little smile, then looking back to Ryan.

The question Cale had been given was a tough one, not that he would have done any better when to came to answering it anyway. It was a sort of difficult thing for him to think up an answer for, so he sort of sat there smiling while Cale continued to do what he did best. The answer his fake boyfriend did think of was a good one, without even really giving an answer, whether it was true Ryan could not quite tell. Cale was pretty good at this whole acting thing, that much he could tell; much better than he was. How he would top that, well that was something he did not want to find out,, but it seemed that he would anyway.

This Queen of heart lady turned towards him and asked the question that had been asked before, she basically copied this Cupid guys answer. Ryan wanted to groan annoyed, but all he did was make a fake little smile, while his mind reeled over what he would say in response. ”That's a really tough one. I want to say everything, but that's kinda cheap.” Ryan answered with a small chuckle, nervously scratching the back of his head. ”There are a lot of things I like about him, naming one thing...just doesn't feel right.” He felt as if he were bullshitting this fine enough, so Ryan would keep going with that.

True enough he didn't know anything about the male, but not like he had much of a choice in the matter. The guy pushed him away with each look, each motion, his very manner did that, so he couldn't blame Ryan when he actually responded in a negative fashion. ”I guess what I really like about him is....his smile.” That sounded like something a couple would say, and if he knew anything, these guys were eating up the whole cute bit they had going. Selling it to be legit, that was something they had to do though, not that he was exactly lying. True enough smiling was not something that Gadreel did so often, hell, Ryan could count on one hand how many times he saw a genuine one.

”Really? Well isn't that cute.” Cupid said looking to The Queen of Hearts before turning his attention back to the two. ”If there was something you could change about one another, what would it be?”

"That's...an interesting question." Cale said before genuinely mulling it over. He looked to Ryan, his grin gone for a moment before looking to the judges and smiling again. "That's tricky but I got it. What I'd change about him isn't something I'd change now...but something I WOULD have changed in the past. Ya see, he used to say things like how I was mean and how I was abrasive, but he didn't ever really take the chance to know me. If I could change ONE thing about him... I would have made him try to get to know me better sooner...so then he couldda seen the real me sooner. Then I couldda seen the real him sooner." Cale was smiling, but The Queen of Hearts was looking to Cupid with an ear to ear grin before shaking her head and looking back to them. She then looked to the notecard in her hand and then spoke.

"Well... as delightful as it's been to experience your relationship and this information... we are donw to our final question it seems. The honor is mine this time as I ask you, what is perhaps the most important question of the evening." She said before dropping the card on the table and sitting down, falling into her luxury throne-like seat with the heart shaped back. Folding her hands in her lap she looked rather seriously at Cale and Ryan. "Why on Earth did you bring the police here?" She asked, rather urgent in her tone. Cale's face went as white as a ghost andhe deployed a barrier in front of him and Ryan. The Queen of Hearts rolled her eyes and scoffed before brushing them off a little and shaking her head. She looked...disappointed to say the least before she looked back to Cale.

  "No, seriously boys. This is an actual show...this is a contest to find two people who are exceptionally in love and give them an extraordinary reward. So why did you have the police arrive here thinking that this was part of some naferious plan!?" She asked, looking to Cupid to see what his input on the situation was, if he had any at all. By the end of Cupid's time to speak The Queen sniffled and rubbed her eye, flicking a tear away. "You two had such potential...I wish this had been real." She said before reaching down and grabbing a handkerchief. She proceeded to dab her eyes as her face went a little red. "Who does this!? Makes you feel and then...rips away hope." She whimpered through a suppressed wail.

  "Every character in the Walking Dead? Oh shit...she's crying. Ryan...I think we...broke her." Cale said. He had never seen this side of the Queen before, that's for sure. Silus poked his head around a curtain and scurried over to Ryan and Cale before poking his head between them.

 "Uhm...so...we got bad info... which is strange...because Regal doesn't give bad info..." He whispered before looking at The Queen. "Wow...what's her problem?" Silus asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.