[ACE] Devil's duty

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace finally put his hands in his pockets, ready to go. He wasn't used to shopping. Everyone always did it for him, or he got hand-me-downs from the other kids. But most of the time, he got nothing at all. He looked back at Derek, chewing on his lip. "Can we go now? Get whatever else done?" He asked quietly.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek glanced at him and nodded, starting slowly towards the door. "You know..this is all for you? We're getting whatever you want or need, Ace.. I don't mind spending the money, believe me." He glanced over at him earnestly. "I just..want to prove that I can actually care..that you're finally not going to be moved place to place and you can have a room and things you want without it being taken away.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

He looked over at him, searching his face. He believed him, knowing he meant what he said. But it didn't mean he was still comfortable with just accepting the attention and gifts. "I.. I don't get a lot, Derek.. A lot aside from a lot of forced grief.. I've never really been shopping. I've never really had anyone take care of me who didn't want to hurt me against my will. And.. It's odd to me to have someone wanting to give me stuff.." He said quietly, lowering his gaze.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek nodded slowly, looking away. "I know..I'm sorry. I'm just...trying too hard, I guess," He mumbled softly, gently touching his shoulder and leading him out before opening the car door for him. "Maybe when you're more comfortable, then." He wandered to the other side and climbed in. "Anything else you want or need..?"

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace followed him out to the car, climbing in when his door was opened. He shrugged, thinking for a minute. But 'want' wasn't really in his vocabulary. 'I /want/ you to stop' had never worked. Never did 'I /want/ to go back' or 'I /want/ a chance at being a normal kid'. He hated the word 'want'. "A pair of pajama pants.." He said quietly, messing with the end of his shirt.

[derek chandler ralston]

"Alright," Derek huffed, feeling terrible. He slept in boxers, if that, and hadn't even thought about it. Pulling out, he started towards the mall quietly. "If people get to be too much, let me know okay?" He murmured as he found a parking spot and got out, letting Ace out as well.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace climbed out of the car carefully, looking at the mall hesitantly. He'd gotten lost in a mall once; had been so scared he just wandered around aimlessly until closing time came and he was the only one left. "Can I hold your hand..?" He asked quietly, looking up at him.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek glanced at him in utter surprise, slowing down from where he had been starting towards the door. "Of course.." He murmured, offering Ace the faintest of smiles past his surprise. He took the boys hand gently in his own, lacing their fingers loosely together. "Better?" He murmured, gently leading him towards the doors again and pulling them open with his free hand.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace nodded, holding loosely to his hand as he walked along beside him. He kept his gaze lowered, not wanting Derek to feel awkward holding his hand. He was a grown boy; he shouldn't be afraid of walking the mall alone, right? He held his hand a little tighter, slipping his fingers further between Derek's. He looked over into one of the shops, smiling as he saw a little baby.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek felt his grip tighten a little bit and smiled faintly, holding onto him as he walked with him to one of the bigger joint stores and towards the mens department. He looked around until he found the pajamas and moved.towards the pants. "Any designs you like?"

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

Ace bit his lip to hide the smile when Derek asked his question. He'd never had anyone take into consideration he couldn't see colors when he looked at things. "These." He said, pointing to a checkered pair. His blue eyes wandered up to a small fountain just outside the glass, and he moved closer to Derek to look at it from beside the column. "What's what?" He asked, looking up at Derek. He'd never seen falling water contained in one place like that.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek smiled, pulling out a size the same as the pants they had bought before. Carrying them over his shoulder, he followed his gaze and chuckled, ruffling his hair. "It's a water fountain," He murmured, wandering over and pressing the button then bending to take a sip. "See?" He huffed as he straightened up.

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

"Weird.." Ace mumbled, shaking his head. He wrapped his arms around himself, catching a girl about his age's eye. She blushed and smiled, and he looked her over slowly, obviously not realizing just how handsome he really was, that people were almost always looking.

"Hi." She said quietly, and he raised his hand in a slow wave. He didn't understand girls, didn't like them at all.

[derek chandler ralston]

Derek watched him wave to the girl, and he chuckled softly. He waited patiently, then cleared his throat softly with a smile, careful not to flash his teeth. "Anything else you need, Ace?" He asked, figuring he could save the boy some trouble. He'd said he was gay, hadn't he?

[aerin 'ace' colt endsley]

He looked up as Derek spoke, shaking his head. "No.." He said quietly, couldn't think of anything at the time. He looked over Derek's face, those thoughts he was thinking earlier coming back to him. He pushed them away, scolding himself silently for thinking anything about him as he lowered his gaze. He reached up, rubbing his eye.