Even if Raff wasn't succeeding in any level of being smooth, he was still managing to learn about his mate. If Natias moved from job to job he must be some kind of mercenary, man-for-hire, something akin to that, a person that moved around quite a lot. That made his stomach clinch a bit, but he fought down the worry. Just because his mate traveled all over the place didn't mean that he would reject him, it just meant they would have to decide what kind of lifestyle they would once they were together instead of unattached bachelors.
"Waiting for the weather to clear seems like a wise move." It made him hope it would keep raining, at least until he had a chance to get closer to his mate, until he could make him not want to leave. Raff smiled and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly when asked if he lived close. "Me? The rain never bothered me much, but yeah, I'm what you'd call a local, I guess. Don't live in town, though. My place is out in the woods."
Actually it was his mother's home. Would his mate look down on that? It really was normal in his family for the unmated children to live at home until they found their mate and got a den of their own. Raff felt a bit of a shock as he realized he wasn't going to be considered unmated any longer. He wished he had a home to provide Natias, but they could figure that out after the rest got sorted. There was no promise that his mate would accept him, and maybe Natias wouldn't want a permanent home. What if his mate wanted to keep traveling and going from job to job?
Raff didn't even have to think about it that hard. He would do whatever made Natias happy and kept him close to his side. If his mate traveled the world, then he would follow him to the ends of this earth and back if he had to.
What a revelation.
"So, uh..." He cast his eyes around, trying to figure out what to say next and found himself coming up with not much at all. "Geez, okay, can I ask you something? Have you ever met someone before that you are just immediately drawn to? I hope it doesn't sound creepy, but when you came in and sat at the bar I just...knew I had to talk to you. Maybe it makes no sense, but there it is."
The words had sort of tumbled out of his mouth, not able to stop once they started. Raff clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes going wide as he stared at his mate, torn between being embarrassed and afraid that Natias would think he was a complete weirdo and want to get away from him.