Blue had taken Eivind's watch and slipped it around his wrist, though even on the smallest size it still slipped down his arm slightly. It was Tuesday. No date. Still relatively early in the morning. He really had no idea how long he had been gone, though he was sure it had been at least two months. How long had they spent out in the wilderness? Two weeks? Longer? It was so hard to know. Blue would make a note of checking one of their receipts to see the date, just so he'd know precisely how long he'd been gone.<br/><br/>Eivind's question had snapped Blue out of a mild reverie. He shrugged his shoulders lightly in response, taking Eivind's hand as they walked across the parking lot and entered into one of the department stores Blue had mentioned through two large glass doors with faux bronze handles. "I know I can't tell them the truth," Blue replied, gently pulling his lover along. "Even if they did believe me if I told them I was kidnapped and raped, they'd want to find the perpetrators, and I can't tell them about Lofgren's pack without endangering yours as well. Doing that would only prove Sieger was right to mistrust me, and I have no desire to make that asshole correct about anything." It was apparent by the tone of Blue's voice that he still held a deep bitterness for the alpha and the way he had treated both him and his mate. Eivind's mistakes with the pack had been a decade ago; it was childish for Sieger to still clutch into negative feelings toward Eivind, and even more childish for him to take out those feelings on Blue. The human was slowly coming to find that there were werewolves out there worthy of his respect: Eivind, Alaric, Sig, Synnove. But as far as he was concerned, the vast majority of wolves were still assholes, at best, and monsters, at worst.<br/><br/>"I guess I'll just have to say I ran away. It isn't exactly a rare occurrence for me to disappear days at a time. I used to do it a lot. I was just never gone more than two, maybe three days. I either camped out on my own or slept on a friend's couch, but I preferred camping. Sleeping underneath the stars was always very comforting to me." They exited the department store through the large, gaping walkway and moved into the mall proper. The mall was huge and perhaps a bit overwhelming, with stores of every conceivable kind stretching far past what the eye could see, just like Blue had said. They consulted a map of the hulking structure before moving toward a store Blue thought would be appropriate, one that he had visited with his mother on occasion when she wanted to purchase him something he could wear when Dad's stuffy French cousins visited.<br/><br/>After browsing the countless racks for about fifteen minutes, Blue settled on an entire outfit for himself consisting of slim fit black jeans, a crisp white t-shirt and a thin gray knitted cardigan with a deep neck and large round wooden buttons. The cardigan hugged Blue's body tightly, but instead of enforcing the idea that Blue was too thin, the clothing made Blue look lean, but not unhealthy. The layering gave the impression that Blue was only slightly thicker than he actually was, and it was easy to imagine how attractive Blue would look once he had filled out completely.<br/><br/>Although the outfit worked for him, he didn't like any of the options for Eivind, and decided that they would have to head to a different store to find something for him. The cashier, a young brunette woman around his age, smiled at him when he approached, taking his purchase and ringing everything through enthusiastically. The total had come to $118.27, and though he had gotten an entire outfit, he still cringed slightly, knowing they and yet to acquire new shoes and something for Eivind. But the wolf had given him his wallet, and Blue handed over his boyfriend's card without consulting, just as Eivind told him to.<br/><br/>When the first swipe didn't go through, Blue's face went pale. "Can you try again?" he requested, and the cashier complied willingly, but the card was denied a second time and Blue had no choice but to take the card back to Eivind and tell him what had happened. While Eivind spoke with the bank, Blue stood awkwardly next to cashier, waiting. Thankfully there were no other customers in line.<br/><br/>"Is he your boyfriend?" the cashier asked curiously, her eyes sparkling as spoke.<br/><br/>"Yes," Blue replied simply, blushing and looking down at his feet.<br/><br/>"Oh, older guys are super hot, aren't they?" she giggled, tapping Blue lightly on the shoulder. He nodded and grinned, though still taken aback by the cashier's boldness. "He's really cute," she continued, licking her lips as Eivind returned.<br/><br/>Blue couldn't stop himself from laughing once he learned of the bank's overly cautious behavior. "I suppose it makes sense, you've spent your money in some odd places the last few days." He took the card and handed it back to the cashier, and on the third swipe it went through without issue. She packed up Blue's clothes and handed him a paper back with the store's name emblazoned on the side, her big white teeth shining in the bright fluorescent light of the store.<br/><br/>The next store was a bit smaller, but more refined, with clothing that seemed to reflect Eivind's simple tastes a bit better. Blue pulled out a dark blue pair of jeans, a heather gray t-shirt and a plaid blue and white overshirt with black buttons, light and airy as Blue didn't think Eivind would like wearing anything too thick. "What about these?" Blue asked, presenting the clothing to Eivind after about ten minutes of wandering. "They're simple, but nice. Not too far off from what you usually wear. And they won't be too hot. It's still pretty cool outside, but I know you run hotter than, well, than everyone else," Blue finished, his eyes momentarily darting to a couple not too far off from them, certainly within earshot.<br/><br/>"And it's casual enough that you won't feel like you're trapped and itching to get out. We can get you a nice pair of shoes, too. Just some simple lace-ups, easy stuff. What do you think?"