Hours later...

It was 3:30 in the afternoon. In just half an hours time Midas and Jones would be heading out to finally go on a date that's been long overdue. And he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous.

He was very nervous.

He had a shower, did his hair, and went looking through his wardrobe and found the perfect outfit to wear. It wasn't anything too flashy, just a recolour of his regular outfit:

A long sleeved white shirt rolled up to his elbows, plus his regular old tie with a golden clip on it, a grey vest, a pair of dark grey trousers being held up with a belt, black socks and black dress shoes.

Now he was adding the finishing touches while waiting for Jones to finish.

Thankfully for him, Ares and Jules were out doing father-daughter stuff, leaving him and Jones alone.

"C'mon Midas. You need to look perfect for him. This is your boyfriend you're talking about." He mutters to himself.

He fetches a comb, fixing and straitening his hair. The fresh smell of minty cologne filled the air. Despite the nervousness he had lingering within him, Midas had a sense of joy and excitement well up inside his chest.

After months of failed attempts to ask him out and the fear of rejection hovering over him, Midas could finally experience being in a romantic relationship with someone.

Nothing could possibly get in his and Jones' way now...right?

Midas breathes in a nervous breath, exhaling through his nose. He briefly glosses over his reflection in the mirror, checking he was perfectly presentable for Jones.

His eyes land on his neck, seeing there were bruises, as well as finger marks, where his father was holding him earlier that morning. A shiver runs down his back, causing him to tense up and allow gold to crawl up his arms.

"No. It's okay Midas. He can't ruin this for you. He's not here right now."

"Midas?"

"He can't hurt you right now. Calm down!"

"Midas you okay in there buddy?"

"Calm down. Calm down! STAY CALM!!-"

"Midas!"

The mastermind gasps, returning to reality upon hearing Jones through the door.

"Ah! S-Sorry Jones! I'll be out in a second!"

He finishes off his hair and gets up from his seat, suddenly noticing the pair of white gloves Ares gave him at breakfast. Out of instinct he grabs them, putting them on and opening the door.

"Sorry for making you wait. I was having a moment and...um..."

Midas stutters with his wording as he gets a good look at Jones' outfit. He'd never seen him so...handsome and attractive before.

He was wearing black trousers and a blazer. His hair was all combed back, which is surprising since Jones usually loves having it dishevelled and messy, plus his headband was missing.

The thing that was making Midas' cheeks heat up really fast however was the fact that Jones had purposely left the first few top buttons on his collared white shirt undone, exposing a sliver of his chest slightly.

"Something on your mind there M?" He asks, raising an eyebrow with a cheeky smile.

Midas clears his throat, tearing his eyes away before he begins to melt in his flustered state.

"Ah, w-well... You look very nice Jones." Is what he barely manages to stutter out.

"Right back at you Midas!" Jones smiles, extending a hand. "Well, shall we get going?"

Midas nods, taking his hand, and both head out the house locking it behind them.

-------------

Being the high quality standard man he was, Midas invited Jones to dine at a restaurant, booking a reservation in advance since tables were booked quite quickly as it was a popular place.

After finding their table and ordering their meals they can do nothing but wait for it to be done and arrive. In the meantime, they indulge each other with their company and small talk.

"Woah. I knew you were a rich guy with high standards, but I didn't think you'd treat me to a nice steak dinner in a place like this." Jones mutters in awe, looking around.

"Only the best for you my love. I want you to remember this day for a long time."

Jones grins happily, a red hue on his cheeks.

"Well... Thank you."

Midas smiles in relief, glad that it was starting off strong. He clears his throat and gazes up at him, a calm feeling in his chest as he takes his glass of wine and takes a sip.

"I'm glad we could finally make this happen. Just the two of us alone together." He chuckles softly.

"Yeah. Feels nice to get outta the house for the night." Jones agrees, taking Midas' hand. "Anything to make sure you feel safe."

Jones takes his own glass of wine and drinks some, taking notice of the gloves on his hands. He becomes somewhat worried about Midas on why he suddenly started wearing them again.

"Hey. Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"... Did something happen when you were getting ready in your room?"

Midas puts down the glass, putting his hands together.

"Well, maybe. I suppose it's just how I used to act when going out. Always wearing gloves to...hide my power from society."

He hugs his arms tighter, touches of gold seeping through his gloves. Jones goes to comfort him.

"Hey hey. You don't have to wear them. No one's forcing you to. I'm not afraid of you or your power-"

Midas retracts his hands, his breathing speeding up as his stress begins to mount, and closes his eyes.

"No Midas, stop overthinking everything! You're going to make a scene!"

"Midas, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

A coarse, scared breath leaves Midas as he hold his head in his hands. The gold was starting to escape from the gloves and crawl up to his elbows.

"I....I-I..."

"Stop being a child Midas! Don't fuck up the date YOU arranged for Jonesy! This could be your only chance if you're not careful!!"

"Hey, talk to me. Are you feeling alright?"

Jones was beginning to become worried for his boyfriend, seeing how unresponsive and shaken he was. Midas eventually couldn't take the stress any further. He needed room to breath and calm down.

"I... I need a moment. Forgive me my love."

Excusing himself, Midas quickly dashes off to the bathroom. Jones goes to call after him, but remains silent since he didn't want to attract attention to himself. Noticing a piece of paper lying around he fishes out a pen he happened to be carrying and begins writing something.

-------------

Meanwhile...

Thankfully for Midas, no one was in the bathroom at the time he dashed in unannounced. He pants heavily, sweat streaming down his forehead as he leans against the sink.

His hands shaking, the gold slowly becoming uncontrollable due to his unstable emotions. He rips off the gloves and puts them aside and glares at his cursed palms.

"Goddammit, why must you make things so difficult for me?!" He yells. "I can't even go out for a nice evening without being reminded of my past and have you suddenly crawling up my arms and covering me in gold!"

Clenching his fists he raises them, gazing at the mirror. But he then stays in that position, afraid to move. This scene felt familiar...too familiar. And he could've sworn his reflection was him aged 13, mere moments before he got his signature scarred eye.

His breathing hitches as he loosens his fists, the reflection flickering rapidly between him aged 13 and 30 before it slams its hands against the glass. Midas stumbles back, closing his eyes.

He suddenly feels a soft pair of hands on his arms, catching him. And he hears a familiar voice, concerned and worried about him.

"Midas, are you alright?!"

He opens his eyes to find Jones holding him. He also notices how the mirror has no cracks or broken pieces and the gloves had reappeared on his hands.

Was it all a dream? A hallucination maybe?

"Jones... I'm... so sorry. I've ruined everything, haven't I?"

"You didn't ruin anything sweetie. I promise." Jones reassures him. "C'mon, let's get back to our table."

"But, my hands...the gloves.. I-I-"

Jones shushes him, hands on his shoulders.

"Listen Midas. If you don't want to wear gloves, that's completely fine. Don't feel as though you have to just because you feel afraid about how society sees you and because it's what HE expects from you."

Jones gives him a kind smile and kiss on the forehead.

"You have a wonderful power and it doesn't make you any less human. You're unique and you should be proud to be so." He smiles. "He can't just control your life anymore, you can break away from those confinds he held you in for so long."

He beckons Midas to give him his hands and, while hesitant, he gently puts them in Jones' so he can carefully take the gloves off. He stuffs them into his pocket.

"Your power is what makes you special in a good way. And even without it, well...you'd still be really special to me. So please stop forcing yourself to hide it when it makes you feel stressed and unhappy, alright?"

Jones stops as he looks up at Midas' face. Golden tears were pouring from his eyes.

"Ah jeez. I'm sorry dude." Jones grins awkwardly. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

The mastermind sniffles, breaking down into tears and goes to hug Jones, touched by his words.

"Don't apologise. I....I needed to hear that." He sniffles, letting go. "The way you worded that made me think of something my mother would tell me back when I was younger."

"Oh. Is... Is that a bad thing?" Jones asks, thinking back to what I.O did to her.

Midas chuckles half heartedly, wiping his eyes with a happy smile as he and Jones begin leaving the bathroom and finding their table again.

"No, of course not." He sighs, chuckling slightly. "God, you really ARE someone special Jones."

Jones begins blushing as they sit down facing each other.

"Well, let's try and make the rest of this evening memorable for the two of us in a good way, eh?"

The two of them smile warmly at each other, Jones glad he could calm Midas down and help him feel comfortable about not concealing his power around society anymore.

"Excuse me sirs? Is everything alright over here?"

Midas and Jones look over and notice a waiter standing there holding a tray carrying their dinner.

"Oh, no. We're okay now." The mastermind reassures them.

"Very well. Here's your orders. Sorry for the wait."

Their plates are laid out before them and the first thing Jones can say as the waiter leaves them be is...

"Perfect timing, cos I'm hungry!"

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