Coffee date (ZACH/KNOX)

To be honest, Zachary hadn't expected to hear from Knox again, despite the feeling of connection during that speed dating thing, so when Knox reached out to him and asked to meet again over a coffee? Zach was more than happy to accept.
He had suggested a coffee house a few blocks away from work and now, comfortably seated in one of the old purple armchairs by the window facing the alley, he waited for the young man to arrive. He had already bought himself some coffee and was in the middle of emptying a package of cream into the cup when he felt the presence of somebody next to him.

Unbelievable. Knox had been searching for years, years for a proper host. The right genetics. Healthy enough. Strong enough. And then one time at a 'dating event', he found not one, but two hosts. Two. He was the closest he'd ever be to euphoric. But, he had to test these both out more. Strengthen their bond, so once Knox revealed what he was, they wouldn't flee. Humans were stupid, once they fell in love.

Knox liked coffee. Most humans did too. It was safe to meet Zach here then. Carrying a warm cup of coffee, he cleared his throat once he located Zach. "I was a little worried that when I'd get here, you wouldn't show up." Seem modest. Of course they'd show up. Knox took a seat across from Zach and took a sugar packet, carefully sprinkling it in. "Now we don't have to worry about a time limit. How's your day been?"

"Now why would I do something like that? Do I seem like that much of an asshole?" He let out a small, low chuckle and tried the coffee, making a faint pleased sound as the scolding hot beverage ran down his throat. The hotter the better, if you asked him.

He nodded, glad they were out of the unnatural environment of speed dating and without the awful timer. "God damn that thing stressed me out... Pretty good, slow at work most of the day so I got lots of time to do whatever I want basically." He raised his thick eyebrows. "What've you been up to?"

"No, no, of course not." Knox laughed as well. He crossed one knee over the other and sat back, sipping his coffee. Mmm. This was nice. And they were even tucked away from everyone else.

"Had a class today, not much else. I'm a bit of an introvert, prefer to stay inside. Read. Study. Tend to get lost on websites like Wikipedia." What, humans were amusing. And demented. And editing the entries to spread false information was hilarious.

Another chuckle. "As long as you don't take medical advice from it. The shit that site lets through... I got my sister calling me at night one time 'cause she read on that god damn site that you could go sterile from fucking Skittles." He took one more sip before leaning back in the chair. "So.. An introvert, eh? You read something else than King or are you one of those horror-addicts?"

Oh, that one was a good one. Knox snickered this time, clearing his throat. "To be fair, god knows what they put in those things." The dyes themselves were just. Awful. "I have a varied taste, although King and the horror genre is a favorite. Historical fiction, the classics. Things like that. Although I used to read Lord of The Rings every year I was in highschool. Only fantasy I ever really liked." Ironic, considering he wasn't 'natural'. "Do you read much?"

The man nodded lazily, his brown eyes wandering between his company and the small crown in the shop. "Yeah, I do. Other than music, I'd say books is my main source of comfort and relaxation. Didn't read much when I was young but now? I can't stop. Especially if you put an autobiography in front of me, that stuff goes down-" He snapped his fingers "-Like that. I'm a sucker for it. Just... People's lives in their own words."

A shrug, his fingers absentmindedly picking at the nicotine patch on his arm under his green shirt. "Or a ghost writer's words, who knows. People are deceitful. Can't really blame 'em though, we give life what it demands." His gaze seemed to get stuck on a middle-aged couple across the room and his words trailed off, leaving him seemingly distant at mind for a few seconds before he snapped back. "Sorry, I'm not so great at nice small talk anymore. And I'm not sure what we're doing."
That probably sounded odd but he couldn't help to wonder what a young handsome man like Knox would want with a washed up mess like himself. Was this going to become something sexual and if so, was the age difference a problem to him? Suddenly a forest of questions had sprung up in his head and he wasn't sure why; these things used to be so simple, but then again, he had been out of the game for 8 years.

He was unsure. Interesting. Least that meant Knox would have more control in this situation. Knox trailed his finger around the top of his cup before he spoke again. "Well, right now, we're having coffee. Trying to get to know each other in a less awkward environment. Sharing interests. Maybe we'll come back for coffee again later, or maybe we'll decide rather not. But either way, I have no plans today. And it's nice talking to someone... well... I'm twenty four, and even though we're meant to take our schooling seriously, lots of my classmates, well... it's like having a conversation with a walking bag of meat. Not exactly stimulating." Honestly. Humans. At this age. Were so dumb. He was thankful that Zach was older. Meant less stupid immaturity.

Knox took another sip of coffee before speaking again. "Really, I'm actually a bit flattered you agreed to go out with me. Some people think I'm a bit stuffy." Cold, more like. And he couldn't blame them.

It didn't take long for him to feel like a giant idiot for letting those words blurt out of his mouth but the fact that Knox didn't act weird about it relaxed him and it probably showed in his posture. He slowly nodded and ran his hands through his greying hair, the smile returning to his lips. "Basically what we are though, wandering meat sacks."

Twenty four wasn't so bad, he thought. Sure, quite a few years between twenty four and thirty seven but Knox seemed very mature. Maybe he didn't have an objective view on the maturity of most twenty four year olds due to his own experience at that age but there was definitely something about Knox, something that wasn't usual for most young people. Or perhaps it was just him overthinking.

At that he couldn't help but to let out a short laugh. "Really? Well, shit, then I'm a real bad judge of character because I haven't gotten that impression of you. Yet" he added with his grin crooked. "So... We were talking interests before I got weird with ya. As you probably figured out already, tattoos is part of my interests. I remember you saying something about people turning up their noses at docs with tattoos but let's say you said screw that and went and got one, what would it be?"

You are a wandering meat sack. I am an ancient being deadset on taking over your world. Knox didn't say that aloud, but thinking it kept a small smile on his face.

"Hmmm..." Knox thought for a second, biting his bottom lip as he considered his option. "I might get one like the Ouroboros symbol. It looks like a snake that is devouring its own tail, if you haven't seen it before. It symbolizes infinity, or wholeness. A cycle. I quite like it." He tapped his finger on his mug a few times, thinking for a second. "I have a feeling you're not done getting tattoos. Have any plans for your next one?"

He chuckled and before answering the question, he pulled at his shirt until his right shoulder was visible, revealing a faded tattoo of a snake - with a human skull instead of a head - swallowing it's tail, neatly framing another tattoo. After that, he picked up his coffee and made a gesture as to cheer the other man.
"Good choice. As for your question-" Took a sip "-My next one will either be a song quote or a drawing my niece made, not sure yet which to go with first and I haven't decided exactly where to put 'em so... We'll see. I got plenty of time to think and plenty of skin left so I'm in no rush."

Huh. Looks like they had the same idea. Knox approved.

"Your niece?" So he had family. "That sounds interesting." More like sappy. Knox wasn't much for family ties. But he had to respect Zach's wishes if he wanted the man to get closer to him. "So, you're closer to that part of your family?" Better know about them, at least.

The man's smile broadened at the thought of his Madelyn. "Yeah, my niece. She recently started drawing and she made a portrait of me so, obviously, I need to eternalise it. It's not the most... Punk rock thing you can do" he added with a laugh, eyes twinkling. "But there's nothing I love more on this God damn planet than her. And I'm pretty close to all my siblings, really. Just..."
He fell silent for a few moments, seemingly thinking back on past events. "Not as close to all their kids as I'd like. But eh, life is what it is. At least I got Madie. So, you? Got any family?"

"I see." Strong attachment to her, humans always played favorites, or at least they usually did. And now Knox knew where Zach's attachment played. Knox expected that question, but he didn't like it. At least he had an answer prepared.

"Honestly, not close to them. Only child. Parents didn't want me to study far from home, but this is the school I wanted to go to. We've... drifted, to say the least." There was the occasional letter and facebook message, but they were ignored. They'd get the message. Soon enough.

"Huh. Sorry to hear that. Family's what you make" he added with a shrug and leaned back, elbow propped up on the chair's arm as he rested his head in his hand. "If your blood doesn't work for ya, you can replace 'em. What about friends, you got people to hang with or do you prefer solitude?"

Ah, the tricky questions. Knox didn't want to come off as antisocial... even though he absolutely was. Luckily, his answer came to him naturally. "I certainly prefer my solitude. But there are a few classmates I like to debate with on occasion." He always won, of course.