William brought Nate over to Parker and Kell's place in the afternoon after going in to eat lunch at Send Noods, and he decided to spend the rest of the day at the restaurant until Dakota got off for their date. It'd been Dakota's idea. William could see he was worried about him, even though he assured him that he would be fine at home alone. Even so, a chance to spend more time with Dakota was a no brainer.

The man was so good, so gentle, so thoughtful and kind. It was hard to imagine the Dakota from his story; angry and troubled. He'd obviously changed a lot. They both had. William had been angry and troubled too. He could understand Dakota's pain, because he'd lived it. Hearing his story had drawn him even closer to Dakota, so incredibly close.

William helped Ellie clear dishes and bowls and went around refilling drinks and even took a few orders. He was having fun; it brought him back to when he'd been a bartender several years ago.

After the lunch rush, Tom came in to fill in for the rest of Dakota's shift. "Don't burn the place down," Dakota told them as he and William left the restaurant. They drove to Dakota's apartment so that Dakota could change and clean up before their date night. It was his first time seeing Dakota's place, and he was surprised at how small and simple it was. He had barely any decorations. There was a bookshelf filled with books in Japanese that all seemed to be about cooking and food. He didn't have a TV or a couch. The dining table was just a folding card table. The fridge was bare. The only photo in the place was a single frame sitting on one of the bookshelves, of a younger Dakota standing next to an older, grey-haired man.

"Katsuo-sensei," Dakota said, pulling off his shirt. "That was taken in front of the restaurant I worked at."

William averted his eyes from Dakota's rippling abs. If they got into it here, they might never leave for their date.

"Your place is so..."

"Depressing?" Dakota filled in. "I know, I'm kinda embarrassed for you to see, it honestly. I hardly spend any time here."

"Yeah," William said. Dakota must've been lonely, spending all day at work and then coming home to a place like this. Poor Dakota, it made him sad to think about it.

"So, what do you have planned for us for date number two?" Dakota asked.

"I guess we can probably say this isn't date number two," William said. "We've seen each other practically every day this week. I'm gonna take us to a park up in the hills. There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, so I figured we could have a picnic for dinner and then watch it happen."

"That sounds pretty fucking magical," Dakota said, and William felt a little flutter of happiness in his heart.

They drove to the supermarket to pick up food for their dinner, and William marveled at how giddy he felt just holding hands as they walked side by side, or even sitting together in the car as they got stuck in LA traffic. He felt so happy to be by Dakota's side and to know that he was his and his alone. It was an amazing, sparkling, feet-lifting-off-the-ground feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time, and the best part about it was how confident he was about being with Dakota. He felt so free, so unrestrained by the apprehensions that had weighed on his mind before.

It was wonderful.

At the park, they spread out a blanket on the grass and got their food out of the cooler. They'd gotten freshly made sandwiches from the supermarket's deli, and Dakota picked out a small wheel of brie cheese and a bag of red grapes.

"You gonna feed those to me?" William asked, reclining on his side. "Aaaaah."

Dakota plucked a grape and tossed it at William's mouth, and he chomped down and caught it.

"Hey, not bad," Dakota said, laughing.

A plane streaked across the sky, leaving a pale white trail behind it. The sun was setting, soaking them in vibrant hues. They laid back on the blanket and stared up at the changing sky.

"You know," said William. "It's the smog that causes these brilliant sunsets. Pretty crazy that something so gross can create such beautiful colors."

"Seriously?" Dakota asked.

"I think I read that somewhere," William said, nuzzling up against Dakota's chest.

When the sky finally darkened, Dakota unfolded and covered them up in a blanket. A couple faint stars began to just barely peek out in the night sky. An orange glow rose up from the horizon to the east, the unending light emanating from the sprawl of Los Angeles.

"I can't see any stars," said Dakota, "but this is perfect."

"There's one right there!" William pointed up at a barely-there, flickering dot that may or may not have been an airplane.

"And right here," Dakota said, and he pulled him in for a kiss.

"Ooh, smooth." William grinned.

"Was that cheesy?"

"A little, but I'm not complaining." He kissed Dakota again. "I guess we're too close to the city to see any shooting stars..."

"Mm."

They lay silent for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being close to one another. William had never given much thought to the idea of soulmates, until now. That was how strongly he felt about Dakota. What else could explain such a quick and deep connection like the one they had? In the vastness of the world and the universe, it was amazing to him that such wonderfully complementary souls could cross paths at just the right time to form something so perfect.

God, he was in love with him, wasn't he?

"I guess we should get going," William said. "I don't feel like getting mugged tonight."

As they were getting up, Dakota thrust his finger up at the sky. "Look!"

William looked up just in time to catch the glowing streak of a shooting star directly above them, and he found himself making a silent wish.

Please, let him feel the same way about me.

"Whoa," Dakota said, still staring up into the sky. "That was cool. I've never seen one before." He slid his arm around William's waist and kissed his lips. "We got our meteor shower after all. The date wasn't a total failure."

He smacked Dakota's arm. "Ha-ha. This date isn't over yet. We can make our own shooting stars back home."

"Shit, then what are we waiting around here for? Come on, let's go. Race you to the car. Go!"

"Hey!"

They sprinted across the grass and through the parking lot, laughing giddily. Dakota was carrying all the blankets, and they fluttered across him like an oversized poncho. William lunged and touched the car. "I win."

They tossed the stuff in the back and got into the front seats. Dakota grabbed his arm and tugged him in to kiss him. He felt his cock stiffening as Dakota's tongue caressed his. He slid his palm along Dakota's cheek, feeling the scratch of his stubble, and curled his fingers around the back of his neck. They just couldn't keep their hands off one another. Their kisses grew more intense, and William knew they wouldn't be going anywhere just yet. He tossed the keys onto the dashboard and pulled himself closer to Dakota, their lips still locked together. He felt Dakota's hand on his thigh, pulling his legs open to let him reach up and caress his balls. William let out a soft moan against Dakota's lips, a beg to take it even further. Dakota popped open the button of his pants, and William pushed everything down. His cock bounced up, hard and ready. Dakota dropped his face into William's lap, taking his cock into his mouth. He moaned and grabbed the wheel as he slowly bucked his hips in rhythm with Dakota's sucking.

"Use your hand, too," William begged. Dakota obliged, and he groaned with happy satisfaction. God, he was good at that. "Mm, shit... That feels so good." He looked out the window across the empty parking lot, and saw a man walking his dog through the park. William felt a twirl of excitement from the risk of getting caught. "Take me in the back and fuck me," he murmured softly.

William crawled over the front seats and Dakota got out and went around, too large to follow him that way. William kicked off his pants and tugged his shirt free as Dakota grabbed him and pushed him up against the side window, the back of his head pressed up against the roof of the car. They were all over the place, filling up the backseat and grabbing at the headrests and door handles for leverage. Dakota grabbed William's chin and pulled his head back to kiss him as he reached around and stroked William's cock. William could feel Dakota pressing up against his ass, hot and hard. "Put it in me," he begged him. "C'mon..."

He moaned when he felt Dakota's thick fingers push into him, curling down to massage his spot. He moaned and squirmed, dying to be given the real thing. "Please," he said.

Then, finally Dakota rewarded him. He felt the huge swell of his cock press up again his opening, slowly stretching him as he moved inside, inch by inch. And then he was in to the hilt. William opened his mouth in a silent moan. He loved how deep he could feel Dakota inside of him. Dakota fucked him hard. He held nothing back. The windows of the car were white with condensation, streaked only where William's palm and cheek pressed against the glass. The car rocked and creaked, and William moaned and pounded his fist against the door. It felt so fucking good!

"I'm gonna fucking come," Dakota grunted. "Oh, fuck."

"Just a little more," William moaned.

Dakota pounded into him harder and faster and then, with one final thrust, pushed in as deep as he could. William felt his cock throbbing inside of him, filling up the condom with his alpha seed. For one brilliant moment, he wished that the condom wasn't there, and that Dakota's come could spill deep into him. The thought pushed him over the edge, and the orgasm rolled over him like a cascading tidal wave. His cock pulsed and unloaded onto the seat. Dakota pulled out, and they collapsed backwards against the opposite door, panting and gasping for breath. Dakota wrapped his huge arms around William, hugging him tightly against his chest. Dakota nuzzled his face into William's neck and kissed him there, and a gentle shiver ran through William's tingling muscles.

"I made another mess," William said between breaths. "My poor car."