you're aces, kid. [2/3]
“You’re such a fucking cheater,” Grieco whines before lunging at Rian and very nearly pushing him off the couch. Not that Rian particularly minds - he’s secretly enjoying this a lot more than he probably should - but he hasn’t got the heart to fight back properly, not with the cutest boy in the entire world pawing at him, pouting his lips and looking incredibly kissable. It’s their ninth or tenth round of Mario Kart and he’s refused, thus far, to let Grieco win. To be fair, he’s kind of proud of himself for managing to play as well as he has when he’s watching the boy out of the corner of his eye the entire time. And it is extremely distracting - how the hell is he supposed to concentrate on anything when the object of his affection is sitting there on the couch next to him gnawing on his lower lip while he concentrates? So maybe it was a little mean to use that fuckin’ spike shell thing, but Grieco was just asking for it, looking all adorable like that.
“I wasn’t about to let Princess Peach pass me, I had to do something! Bitch,” he grumbles.
Grieco scowls and elbows him in the side. He retaliates, and somehow - he kind of loses track because he’s laughing too hard - he ends up on top of Grieco on the couch, which is a totally compromising position. Again, not that he minds. But if they keep doing this, it could get very awkward very quickly. He clears his throat and sits up quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “God, you fight dirty too,” Grieco mutters, glaring coldly at him. “Is there anything you won’t cheat on?”
‘You’, he wants to say. Then he realizes he’s been staring again - but it’s hard not to, seriously, with those lips and those eyes - and looks away awkwardly. The silence is broken by Jack racing down the stairs in his underwear. “Put some clothes on, you fuckin’ nympho,” he calls over the half-wall into the kitchen. He’s got hickeys all down his torso and his nipples are pink and swollen, so it’s obvious what he and Alex have been doing.
“Alex wants the whipped cream from the fridge,” Jack replies, rummaging around for the canister noisily. Apparently he’s been very busy this afternoon, judging from the faint pink lines down his back that Rian is almost sure are from his boyfriend’s nails. And the bruises blooming on his hips that just about match Alex’s fingers. He really doesn’t want to know what they get up to when they’re alone, but unfortunately he does get exposed to it often because his bedroom shares a wall with theirs. Consequently, he’s gotten very good at sleeping with earplugs in. He’s also slept through his alarm more than once because he doesn’t always hear it through his earplugs. If there were a sleepy Grieco in his bed, though, maybe he wouldn’t need those anymore...
Jack leans over the half-wall and offers him the nozzle of the whipped cream canister. “Want some before Alex eats it all?” In response, he opens his mouth and waits while Jack sprays some into his waiting maw. Except that Jack’s a little trigger-happy with it so he ends up drooling some of it down his chin, which is tragically unattractive. Grieco leans over him - pressing the palm of his hand into Rian’s knee so he doesn’t lose his balance - and carefully accepts the proffered nozzle. And he somehow manages to make it look sexy; Rian watches helplessly as he parts his lips, swallowing down the fluffy white substance in one gulp - and his fucking throat, dear sweet baby Jesus up in heaven above, the way his throat moves when he swallows - and then licks his lips afterward, tipping his head back with closed eyes and making this hot little ‘Mmm’ sound.
“Jaaaaaaaaack,” Alex hollers from upstairs, “What’s taking you so long?”
“I would love to stay and chat, but my man needs me,” Jack smirks. “I’m coming, baby,” he shouts before running back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. A few seconds later the door to his and Alex’s shared bedroom slams shut.
Grieco rolls his eyes and asks, “Do they ever stop?” He pauses for a minute, leans forward and drags his thumb over Rian’s lower lip slowly. “You had some whipped cream on your lip,” he explains, licking it off his thumb while looking at Rian innocently. “What?”
“N-nothing,” Rian stutters. “Wanna go another round of Mario Kart and see if you can beat me this time?” He’s having a little difficulty tearing his eyes away from Grieco’s lips - and breathing, if he’s being entirely honest - so a distraction would be greatly appreciated. Damn Jack for putting him into this situation to begin with. Now he’s never going to be able to get that image out of his mind, which is bad since he and Grieco are definitely Just Friends. And people that are friends definitely don’t sit there staring at their friend’s lips and fantasizing about kissing them. So he maybe kind of lets himself lose the next round of Mario and it’s maybe kind of worth it to see Grieco smile when he finally wins for once. The hug he gets is definitely worth it. It leaves him feeling all flushed and tingly. He’s so thoroughly fucked, in other words. The crush keeps getting more and more hopeless.
&
Vinny is bustling around their dorm room getting ready to take some girl on a date when it happens. He’s just lying there on his bed, watching the spectacle unfold, and he asks, “What makes this girl so special?” He watches as Vinny digs through his drawers, tossing perfectly good clothes onto the floor that end up getting mixed in with his dirty laundry. Shirt after shirt goes flying through the air only to end up in the growing heap in the middle of the room.
“I dunno, man, she’s fucking gorgeous?” Vinny holds up a shirt, squints at it, and asks, “What do you think of this one? It kind of reminds me too much of something a guido would wear.”
Grieco responds with, “You are kind of a guido sometimes, so it’s okay. Seriously, though, what does it even feel like when you like a girl? I don’t get it.” He’s been in a deeply pensive mood all week. There’s really no one else for him to talk to about this kind of thing; Jack and Alex never break apart long enough to have an actual conversation with either of them, he doesn’t want to bother Matt since he’s been working all week and what little free time he does have he spends with Danny, and he feels weird talking to Evan about it since they’re not really particularly close. He would talk to Rian about it, but. Something about the thought makes him feel all weird and the idea of saying the word - ASEXUAL! ASEXUAL FREAK SHOW! - causes his throat to feel tight and threaten to close up on him.
Vinny sits down at the foot of his bed, looks at him very seriously, and says, “You would choose now to discuss your fledgling sexuality crisis with me.”
“I - what, do you, how did you...” he stammers.
“Anyone can tell something is going on with you. You’re jumpy as fuck and you act all weird anytime someone brings up relationships lately, so I figured you probably had a crush on somebody you shouldn’t and that’s why you’re acting all... sketchy.” Vinny holds up two different shoes and looks at him helplessly. “Pick one, I can’t decide.”
He considers. “Uh... I don’t know, you’ll probably be more comfortable in your Converse? And what even makes you think that? I haven’t been acting any different than I normally do.”
“Well, I want you to know that I don’t care what sexuality you are. Unless, y’know, you had a crush on me, then we might have a problem.” Vinny chuckles; Grieco just feels awkward and wants to wither away or suddenly develop a chameleon-like ability to blend in with his surroundings. This is the most mortifying conversation he’s ever had. And the worst part is that he can tell that Vinny’s being totally serious. “You’re one of my best friends, bro. I just want you to be happy and I don’t care who you wanna date.”
It comes out before he can stop it, and almost immediately he wishes he could take back the word vomit that spews out. “I kind of... IthinkI’masexual,” he whispers. So there it is.
Vinny drops his hair gel and the bottle goes skittering underneath his bed. “What?”
Grieco rolls over and buries his face in the pillow. “I think I’m asexual,” he mumbles, hugging the pillow. He’s afraid to look up and see Vinny’s expression. The word hangs in the air for at least a whole minute before either of them say anything. He feels the mattress shift under Vinny’s weight and them a hand sitting awkwardly on his shoulder. Everything feels awful; there are tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall, and it feels like he wants to scream or throw up or do anything to rid himself of this horrible, horrible sense that something is wrong with him.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t be upset. Grieco, Grieco, don’t be upset, I was just asking, I didn’t know...” And he sobs quietly into his bedding while Vinny rubs his back because neither of them knows what to do. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s alright. No one is going to think any less of you for this. Although, certain things make a lot more sense to me now...”
“I hate myself,” he sighs.
Vinny pets his hair. “Don’t. You want to know something funny, though?”
“What?”
“I kind of always thought you had a crush on Rian, to be honest...”
He groans and rubs his face wearily. He’s been trying not to think about that. “I don’t even know what having a crush on someone feels like,” he whispers. “Like, how is it any different than normal friendship besides really wanting to have sex with the person?”
“I think...” Vinny says, “I think it’s about how they make you feel. I dunno, like, you feel happier when they’re around and you just want to smile all the time, maybe, and it’s kind of... You feel lighter, somehow, and all you want to do is hug them or cuddle, I guess? And - okay, I’m really not supposed to say this because he will totally hit me if he finds out I told you, but - you know Ri has, like, a huge crush on you, right?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s the most fucking obvious thing in the world. You two should just... date already.”
He curls up in the fetal position. “But I don’t... I mean, I don’t think I like him that way. We’re just friends. Right?”
Vinny rolls his eyes. “I kind of think there’s a little more than friendship between you two, but it’s up to you what you do with it. Speaking of doing it,” he says, “You mind finding somewhere else to be for the night so I can bring my girl back here after our date?” And because Grieco is the best friend ever, he nods forlornly and sighs before curling up in the corner of his bed. The things he does for his friends in their endless pursuit of sex... They totally owe him, like, a fuckin’ trophy or something for the amount of patience he’s had for their crazy shenanigans.
&
When Rian’s phone rings, he’s got his hand down the front of his boxers and he’s trying desperately to get off. It kind of goes without saying what - or in this case, who - he’s fantasizing about. Wide, innocent brown eyes, pouty lips, slightly calloused hands from years of playing the drums... He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Grieco all day and that thing with the whipped cream sent his mind spiralling down into the gutter. So the first time his phone rings, he ignores it. Then it starts ringing again less than five minutes later, so he figures it’s got to be kind of important. It wouldn’t be the first time his mother’s called while he’s been jerking off. He flips it open without checking the call display and finds himself pleasantly surprised by the voice on the other end of the line.
“Are you doing anything tonight?”
He sits up ramrod straight. “I - Hey - Uh, n-no, I’m... I’m free,” he says, stumbling over the words and trying to keep all traces of arousal out of his voice. “What’s up?” But he’s a total fuckin’ hypocrite, because even as he’s holding his phone in one hand he’s working his dick with the other.
“Um, Vinny needs our room tonight for... y’know, and I don’t want to go to Matt’s because he’s got a date and so... Can I stay with you? Please?” Grieco asks. And his hand is still down his boxers, the sound of Grieco’s voice is only turning him on more, and now he’s probably got about fifteen minutes to take care of business at most.
Clearing his throat loudly, he answers, “Y-yeah, totally, but just as a warning I might be in the shower when you get here.” A very, very cold shower, but a shower nonetheless.
“That’s okay, I’ll just hang out in your room or something.” The idea of Grieco in his bed is quite appealing, but - dammit - that is not something he should be thinking about now. Or ever. Preferably ever, now that he thinks about it, because there’s way less potential for humiliation that way. “Anyway, I’ll be there in like ten minutes? You’re the best, seriously.”
“Uh, ‘kay? See ya soon,” he says quickly. Then, he dashes out into the hallway, nearly knocking Alex over. He tries to explain with, “Grieco - Vinny - date - our house - I’m, I need to take a cold shower so now is really not the time!” and then locks himself in the bathroom and turns the shower knob all the way to the right before stepping under the icy spray. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really do much in the way of helping to solve his problem, so after about thirty seconds of being blasted by cold water, he turns the heat up and gives in to his... urge. He stands under the showerhead, jerking himself furiously. The thoughts flipping through his mind aren’t even fully formed; when he comes all over his hand he’s still thinking of Grieco. In the back of his mind he feels really guilty for being such a creep.
Even though he knows it’s completely ridiculous, he takes his time in the shower. It’s stupid; he’s trying to impress a boy who will never see him as anything more than a friend. When he finally goes back to his room - first checking to make sure there’s no sign of Alex or Jack, whom Alex has undoubtedly told about his little episode in the hallway - the first thing he sees is Grieco lying on his bed. Which... creates a lot of conflicting feelings for him, because he’s still kind of riding his post-orgasm high and so most of the things he wants to do involve getting naked and a lot of kissing as a beautiful expression of his love or some equally semantic shit.
“Mm, hey,” Grieco sighs, looking quite at home curled up on Rian’s bed. His voice is hoarse; it kind of sounds like he’s been crying and Rian is struck by this intense need to hold him. “Can I please stay here and, like, not move?”
Rian shuffles through the responses forming in his head - ‘What’s wrong, baby?’ is definitely not appropriate and neither is ‘Fkjldfsa let me hold you and make it all better’ - and settles for a casual, “You okay?”
“Not really... I’m having a fuckin’ shitty day and everything is wrong.”
It takes him about five seconds to decide that - fuck it - he can’t stand to see Grieco upset and even less than that to be on the bed wrapping his arms around the younger man. “I’m here for you,” he says, “Whatever you need.” This is the part where, if he were dreaming, they would come together in a montage with a sappy romantic soundtrack and start kissing softly - leading to some hot, passionate love-making, of course - but real life is not like the movies. Grieco whimpers and curls into his chest unhappily and it makes his heart ache. “C’mere, it’s okay. Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m right here... Fuck.” He’s decided that he’s going to punch whoever made his boy cry.
“I’m s-sorry for coming over here and being all, like, a mess... I just c-can’t go anywhere else and Matt’s always busy and I’m sorry for always bugging you b-but I don’t even want anyone else right now besides y-you...” Yeah. He doesn’t know the exact reason Grieco is a crying, shaking mess right now, but he is definitely going to end that person’s life prematurely when he finds out who to blame. When it comes to Alex Grieco, he can’t be rational. Because, well, he’s kind of head-over-heels for the guy, so the idea of him crying is highly distressing. He is not sure how to react at all.
“Please don’t cry, baby, it’s okay,” he says helplessly. Rian’s never been very good at comforting anyone, much less the love of his life. It’s fuckin’ painful as hell knowing that there’s nothing - or at least, very little - that he can do to help. He’s a man of action. He needs to fix things. “Did, um, did you want to talk about it, or... Or you could just... Or, okay...”
“I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to go to sleep.”
Sigh. “Okay. Did you want me to sleep down on the couch or, um... Are-are you...?”
Grieco sniffles delicately and cuddles farther into his arms, if that’s even possible. “It’s your bed, you should stay. An’ I don’t really want to be alone right now, if you don’t mind...”
“No, no, it’s fine, you can just.... you know... be in my bed, it’s okay, we’ll...” He decides that it’s in his best interest to shut up now, before he says anything embarrassing that he will regret later. That is how he ends up holding Grieco until the boy falls asleep and stays awake for a long time afterward, stroking his hair and - as if he hadn’t already won the creeper award for the day - watching him sleep. Once he’s positive that the gorgeous boy in his arms is really asleep, he leans over, presses his lips to Grieco’s forehead softly and whispers, “Love you” before finally going to sleep himself.
&
Grieco wakes up with Rian’s arms still tight around his waist. It’s kind of a nice feeling, to be honest. So he lies there a while with his cheek pressed against Rian’s chest, comfortable and relaxed and... Well, it makes him feel really safe, like nothing’s changed about his life and everything’s going to be okay somehow. But at the same time, he feels all warm and tingly and that, he’s almost positive, is a symptom of his growing feelings for the older man. He’s nervous about that. Because he’s okay with the idea of being in a relationship, and he likes the idea of holding hands and cuddling and even kissing, maybe, but... It’s not really fair to start a relationship with anyone when he’s not interested in one of the major components of a relationship. He couldn’t do that to Rian. On the other hand... he maybe kind of wants to hold hands and cuddle with the guy... and possibly also to kiss him, if it ever comes to that.
“Hi there,” Rian says sleepily, barely stifling a yawn. “D’d you sleep okay?”
He groans and burrows further under the covers; he doesn’t remember falling asleep with them on, so Rian must have tucked him in at some point. “Mmmmmm, don’t wanna move.” Having his hair played with is really soothing and makes him a little sleepy. The combination of that and Rian’s steady breathing causes him to doze off for a few minutes more. “Ummmmm,” he sighs happily. “That feels nice...” Okay, so he’s a sucker for being cuddled. What else is new?
“Hmmm?”
“Never mind.” The awful part is that, as much as he wishes he could just lie in Rian’s bed all day, he actually has stuff to do. He’s supposed to help Matt, Danny and Evan get ready for the Halloween party they’re all going to later. He’s supposed to help Vinny with the essay for Organic Bio. He’s not supposed to be developing a crush on one of his best fucking friends. Finally - after another ten minutes of being held because he’s feeling particularly needy - he has to say, “I should get up, I’m supposed to go to Matt’s and help them get ready.”
Rian’s grip on his waist slackens enough that he can sit up and stretch. “Okay, but promise you’ll call if you guys need anything? I’m just gonna chug Red Bull all day and play Call of Duty solo since you’re abandoning me...”
“Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. But seriously,” he says, feeling all of his joints crack as he stands up, “Thank you for last night. I’ll see you at the girls’ later.” After a brief period of consideration, he grabs a hoodie from Rian’s closet and pulls it on, explaining, “It’s supposed to be fuckin’ cold out today, so you can have this back when I see you.” It has nothing to do with his newly-found desire to keep smelling Rian even after he’s gone, because... How did he not notice before that Rian smells kind of, um, delicious? He doesn’t care that it’s a little too big for him or that the sleeves hang down past his fingertips.
The walk to Matt’s apartment is short enough that it only takes three songs on his iPod to get him there. Evan’s car is in its designated spot, so they’ve probably started without him. He’s had his own key to Matt’s for over a year, so it’s no problem when he lets himself in. Vinny’s sitting on the arm of the couch, feet in Danny’s lap, and Danny is wearing a shirt that is quite recognizably Matt’s. “Hey, champ, how was your night?” Vinny asks brightly.
“Eh,” he shrugs. “What’s Evan doi - Oh dear lord.” Evan emerges from his bedroom wearing a suit of clashing plaids, a bald-cap and a fake moustache stuck to his upper lip. He’s even got the tacky wing-tip shoes Danny thought were so cool in sophomore year on, which only adds to the overall creepiness of the outfit. It’s possibly the most ridiculous thing he’s ever seen.
Very quietly, Vinny says, “... What are you wearing?”
“It’s my used-car salesman costume! Look!” Evan beams, doing an awkward sort of twirl in the middle of the kitchen to show off his... killer threads, emphasis possibly on ‘killer’.
“You look like my uncle Panini.”
Evan replies, “But you don’t have an uncle Panini...” and adjusts his moustache.
“Well, I do now!” Vinny stares at him for a minute longer, then says, “Hey, put my sunglasses on and you’ll look like the kind of guy that sits in parking lots after school and gawks at the Catholic school girls. And that, gentlemen, is how a legend is born.”
“... Vin, what are you even supposed to be?”
“I’m a douchebag,” he says proudly.
Grieco sighs and slumps down onto the couch beside Danny. “You dress like a douchebag every other day of the year! That hardly counts as a costume at all.” He only half-listens to their conversation on the merits of Heineken versus Jagermeister and instead cuddles into his borrowed hoodie as far as possible and deeply contemplates the matter of his emerging crush on Rian. He waits for a lull in the conversation - and Matt to finish showering because he seriously takes millennia to get ready for a dude whose wardrobe is exclusively made up of band t-shirts and jeans - before bringing it up. He clears his throat anxiously and asks, “Uh... do you guys think Rian wants to have sex with me?”
Matt laughs. “Yeah, he wants to do that and then make you breakfast afterward.”
“I think I have a crush on him.”
Vinny looks confused. “But I thought - and you said - but you - and there was...”
He hugs his knees to his chest and plays with the cuffs of the sleeves on Rian’s hoodie. “I know! And I do like him, I just don’t want to have sex with him. Or anyone. Ever. So I don’t know how that would work in a dating-type scenario, which really sucks because I kind of... want that. With him. Possibly. A lot.”
Matt hugs him over the back of the couch and murmurs, “Oh, honey...” into his hair. “He’s not going to care. And if he does have a problem with it, I’ll break his kneecaps.” Which makes him laugh, because the idea of Matt breaking anyone’s kneecaps is slightly ridiculous. He weighs about a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. It’s a relief to know that his best friends, at least, don’t think he’s a total freak. The word seems less glaring in the back of his mind now. Other people knowing how he feels is way more freeing than he thought it would be.
&
The turnout to the party is pretty good, to Kara’s mind, though she wishes that utter skank-bag Cassadee would leave poor Grieco alone. She’s been hanging all over him all night, and he’s such a delicate little thing that someone should probably step in before the bitch starts rubbing herself all over him like a cat in heat. She grabs the first one of their little group she can find - incidentally, it just so happens to be Rian, which is convenient - and says, “Can you go save Grieco from that slut-faced whore, please? I don’t know who invited her but that chick has got to go. Seriously. She doesn’t even go here. I want her and her army of skanks out of my house.”
Rian gives her a funny little look and says, weakly, “Does it have to be me? He looks all...”
“Go, be his knight in shining armour. You can be as annoyingly protective as you’d like and I’m sure he won’t mind,” she mutters.
Okay, full disclosure: Cassadee probably isn’t as much of a skank as Kara makes her out to be, but the thing is that Kara has very good reasons to hate her. In freshman year, the bitch tried to make out with Lisa at a party. Then she started all but stalking Grieco in this demented campaign to get him to go out with her, and it upsets Rian whenever she’s around because Ri is completely and utterly in love with Grieco, and as his best friend it is her sworn duty to keep the slut away from his crush. It really helps that she thinks Rian and Grieco would look adorable together, and it’s hard not to ‘awwww’ whenever Rian fawns over the boy, which he does quite frequently.
She gives Rian a well-deserved shove and hisses, “Get going already before she sinks her claws into him” right in his ear. It’s an extremely valid concern. He looks so nervous and shy as he approaches the younger man, wrapping an arm around Grieco’s waist in a way that is definitely more than just friendly. And though she can’t tell exactly what is being said because it’s too noisy, she can sort of read their body language, and from what she’s picking up it looks pretty good for Rian. Grieco laughs, smiles, and leans into Rian. They’re too cute together. “Oh, come on Ri, just ask him out already,” she sighs.
A pair of familiar arms snake around her waist. “Oh, would you let that poor boy have a moment alone with him already?” Lisa scolds her playfully. “Don’t forget how long it took you to ask me ‘cause everybody wouldn’t leave you alone for long enough to do it. Having you watching over him like a hawk probably isn’t helping his nerves any.”
“Yes, your highness. Maybe if I had a distraction I wouldn’t be forced to spend my time living vicariously through my best friend’s love life...” she murmurs, hating the fact that the heels she’s currently wearing make her so much taller than her girlfriend. “Hey, we should go make sure no one is having sex in our bedroom or anything.”
“Is that code for ‘I’ve had enough of this dress and these heels and I’d like you to unzip me, please’, lady?”
“Always. And if the rest of my clothes happen to come off in the process, well... So be it.” She looks over her shoulder just once as Lisa leads her away and sees her best friend with his arms around Grieco, grinning like a fool. He catches her eye and mouths the words ‘He said yes!’ Mission accomplished. Now, to get her girlfriend out of those pesky clothes...
&
His heart is pounding in his chest as soon as he walks out the front door of the house on his way to pick up Grieco for their first date. It’s not like it’s anything that exciting - they’re just going to see the shitty bands that play at the pub every Thursday - but he’s still incredibly nervous because, hi. He’s going on a date with the boy of his dreams. They’re going on a date. Together. With each other. There is a large possibility that they will hold hands. Alex tried to force a thing of breath-freshener strips upon him because, according to him, “You should be prepared to kiss him whenever. If you two have a shitty first kiss I’m going to smack you upside the head.” Then Alex also tried to give him twenty dollars for the cover charge, so that’s probably just Alex’s way of saying he approves of the relationship. He only brushed his teeth about eight times before leaving the house, because, seriously. Date with Grieco. Holy shit, he’s so nervous he’s going to die.
He’s been replaying the memory of Grieco smiling at him and saying, “I really like you too,” over and over in his mind to remind himself that it actually happened. Grieco’s arms around his neck, the cute little smile, the really long hug at the end of the night... He’d consider writing Cassadee a thank-you card for setting him up with the perfect occasion to ask Grieco out, but she’s such an unscrupulous whore that he doesn’t really want to bother.
Grieco’s waiting for him in front of the dorms, looking cuter than ever. Damn. “Hey, you,” he says nervously, rocking back and forth on his toes. “Ready to go?” Which is a dumb question. He’s dumb. He’s dumb, and so completely awkward. So he’s infinitely glad when his date - and how completely fuckin’ exciting is that, seriously - reaches for his hand and smiles at him. They talk about stupid stuff the entire way across campus because he’s too nervous to think of anything intelligent to say and he kind of can’t think, period, since they’re holding hands and his entire body is practically vibrating with nerves.
“Ri, stop being nervous. It’s just me,” Grieco says, squeezing his fingers lightly. And right on cue, his heart flutters in his chest. They’ve arrived fashionably late, so the first band is already playing. He kind of planned it that way so the place would already be full enough that he’d have an excuse for them to keep holding hands and so that they’ll have to stand closer together than usual. It’s a plan that is totally working, too; they end up standing towards the back - far enough away from the stage to look casually unimpressed but still interested enough to be there - and a few songs in, he’s finally convinced himself that it’s okay if he wants to put his arm around Grieco. Because they’re on a date. A fact which makes him want to pinch himself because he can’t believe that it’s actually happening.
“So, um, ‘re you having fun?” he asks anxiously.
“Other than that kid totally murdering the syncopation on their last song? Yeah. You’re cute when you’re all nervous like this.” It’s loud enough that Grieco has to lean over to talk into his ear, so he takes the opportunity and slips his arm around the boy’s waist. “Hi,” Grieco says softly, leaning into him just enough that everyone around them can probably tell that they are An Item. “I’m really glad you asked me out, you know.”
And - oh fuck, he is seriously the most adorable when he blushes, holy shit - Rian replies, “Well, I’m really glad you said yes,” sheepishly before getting all cheesy and kissing him on the cheek. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a really long time.”
“Awww, Ri...” Grieco purrs, reaching for his other hand. “You’re such a dork.”
It’s not the best first date ever - it’s noisy and it’s crowded - but as long as he gets to stand there with his arms around Alex Grieco, it’s perfect. They spend the next hour making stupid comments to each other about anything and everything like they normally would and he starts to feel less nervous. After the second band the crowd starts to filter out, slowly, off to other bars or house parties. “Hey,” he murmurs, “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, ‘kay. Will you walk me home though?” It’s adorable that Grieco even has to ask; they hold hands the entire way back and it doesn’t matter that his hands are sweaty or that he feels like an asshole in the shirt Alex picked out for him. When they get back to the dorms, he starts to feel nervous again. “So um,” Grieco says, biting his lower lip, “I had a really good time with you tonight.”
His heart is pounding in his chest again. “I’m, um, I’m really glad.” And this is the part where he’s supposed to be all smooth, lean in and kiss Grieco goodnight, but he’s too nervous and too awkward to. He really wants to, though. Maybe if he sort of announces his intentions - or is that too weird, he doesn’t even know - or starts to lean in and goes by the ninety-ten rule? It’s safer to go for another hug first, he decides, and it ends up being one of those lovely, really long ones that make his whole body tingle. “I, can I kiss you right now?” he asks. Not that he’s been thinking about it all night - or all week - or anything, just. Grieco looks so goddamn kissable he can’t stand it any longer.
“Uh, y-yeah.”
Everything feels like it’s in slow motion: He’s leaning in slowly, trying not to appear too nervous, and then his eyes are closed and their lips are touching softly. The butterflies in his stomach are about to reach maximum velocity. Grieco kisses back, moves closer to him, and pretty much the only thing he can think is ‘omg, kissing! Aaaaaaah holy shit’ because. Holy shit. Kissing Grieco. And the thing about it is that he’s afraid to move to fast, so they’re just standing in the entryway to the building and kissing and he’s not really sure how or when his fingers ended up in Grieco’s hair, but he’s not complaining. When he finally forces himself to pull away, he kind of forgets how to breathe for a minute. “God, you’re so,” he mumbles, trailing his fingers over the younger man’s cheek. “We should do this again sometime. If you want to, I mean...”
“I do want to! You’re... you’re all... Yeah. So, um, I’ll see you in the morning, I guess?” Grieco asks shyly. God, if he gets any cuter Rian is totally going to die. He ends up standing there and waiting until Grieco has gone inside, and then, once he’s sure no one is going to see him, he grins like a fool and does a little happy dance, right there in the parking lot of the dorms on campus. This has officially been the best date of his entire life. And he’s totally going to get up early tomorrow so he can be all stupidly romantic and buy Grieco coffee or something before class because he kind of lives to see the boy smile these days.
Part Three
“I wasn’t about to let Princess Peach pass me, I had to do something! Bitch,” he grumbles.
Grieco scowls and elbows him in the side. He retaliates, and somehow - he kind of loses track because he’s laughing too hard - he ends up on top of Grieco on the couch, which is a totally compromising position. Again, not that he minds. But if they keep doing this, it could get very awkward very quickly. He clears his throat and sits up quickly, rubbing the back of his neck. “God, you fight dirty too,” Grieco mutters, glaring coldly at him. “Is there anything you won’t cheat on?”
‘You’, he wants to say. Then he realizes he’s been staring again - but it’s hard not to, seriously, with those lips and those eyes - and looks away awkwardly. The silence is broken by Jack racing down the stairs in his underwear. “Put some clothes on, you fuckin’ nympho,” he calls over the half-wall into the kitchen. He’s got hickeys all down his torso and his nipples are pink and swollen, so it’s obvious what he and Alex have been doing.
“Alex wants the whipped cream from the fridge,” Jack replies, rummaging around for the canister noisily. Apparently he’s been very busy this afternoon, judging from the faint pink lines down his back that Rian is almost sure are from his boyfriend’s nails. And the bruises blooming on his hips that just about match Alex’s fingers. He really doesn’t want to know what they get up to when they’re alone, but unfortunately he does get exposed to it often because his bedroom shares a wall with theirs. Consequently, he’s gotten very good at sleeping with earplugs in. He’s also slept through his alarm more than once because he doesn’t always hear it through his earplugs. If there were a sleepy Grieco in his bed, though, maybe he wouldn’t need those anymore...
Jack leans over the half-wall and offers him the nozzle of the whipped cream canister. “Want some before Alex eats it all?” In response, he opens his mouth and waits while Jack sprays some into his waiting maw. Except that Jack’s a little trigger-happy with it so he ends up drooling some of it down his chin, which is tragically unattractive. Grieco leans over him - pressing the palm of his hand into Rian’s knee so he doesn’t lose his balance - and carefully accepts the proffered nozzle. And he somehow manages to make it look sexy; Rian watches helplessly as he parts his lips, swallowing down the fluffy white substance in one gulp - and his fucking throat, dear sweet baby Jesus up in heaven above, the way his throat moves when he swallows - and then licks his lips afterward, tipping his head back with closed eyes and making this hot little ‘Mmm’ sound.
“Jaaaaaaaaack,” Alex hollers from upstairs, “What’s taking you so long?”
“I would love to stay and chat, but my man needs me,” Jack smirks. “I’m coming, baby,” he shouts before running back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. A few seconds later the door to his and Alex’s shared bedroom slams shut.
Grieco rolls his eyes and asks, “Do they ever stop?” He pauses for a minute, leans forward and drags his thumb over Rian’s lower lip slowly. “You had some whipped cream on your lip,” he explains, licking it off his thumb while looking at Rian innocently. “What?”
“N-nothing,” Rian stutters. “Wanna go another round of Mario Kart and see if you can beat me this time?” He’s having a little difficulty tearing his eyes away from Grieco’s lips - and breathing, if he’s being entirely honest - so a distraction would be greatly appreciated. Damn Jack for putting him into this situation to begin with. Now he’s never going to be able to get that image out of his mind, which is bad since he and Grieco are definitely Just Friends. And people that are friends definitely don’t sit there staring at their friend’s lips and fantasizing about kissing them. So he maybe kind of lets himself lose the next round of Mario and it’s maybe kind of worth it to see Grieco smile when he finally wins for once. The hug he gets is definitely worth it. It leaves him feeling all flushed and tingly. He’s so thoroughly fucked, in other words. The crush keeps getting more and more hopeless.
&
Vinny is bustling around their dorm room getting ready to take some girl on a date when it happens. He’s just lying there on his bed, watching the spectacle unfold, and he asks, “What makes this girl so special?” He watches as Vinny digs through his drawers, tossing perfectly good clothes onto the floor that end up getting mixed in with his dirty laundry. Shirt after shirt goes flying through the air only to end up in the growing heap in the middle of the room.
“I dunno, man, she’s fucking gorgeous?” Vinny holds up a shirt, squints at it, and asks, “What do you think of this one? It kind of reminds me too much of something a guido would wear.”
Grieco responds with, “You are kind of a guido sometimes, so it’s okay. Seriously, though, what does it even feel like when you like a girl? I don’t get it.” He’s been in a deeply pensive mood all week. There’s really no one else for him to talk to about this kind of thing; Jack and Alex never break apart long enough to have an actual conversation with either of them, he doesn’t want to bother Matt since he’s been working all week and what little free time he does have he spends with Danny, and he feels weird talking to Evan about it since they’re not really particularly close. He would talk to Rian about it, but. Something about the thought makes him feel all weird and the idea of saying the word - ASEXUAL! ASEXUAL FREAK SHOW! - causes his throat to feel tight and threaten to close up on him.
Vinny sits down at the foot of his bed, looks at him very seriously, and says, “You would choose now to discuss your fledgling sexuality crisis with me.”
“I - what, do you, how did you...” he stammers.
“Anyone can tell something is going on with you. You’re jumpy as fuck and you act all weird anytime someone brings up relationships lately, so I figured you probably had a crush on somebody you shouldn’t and that’s why you’re acting all... sketchy.” Vinny holds up two different shoes and looks at him helplessly. “Pick one, I can’t decide.”
He considers. “Uh... I don’t know, you’ll probably be more comfortable in your Converse? And what even makes you think that? I haven’t been acting any different than I normally do.”
“Well, I want you to know that I don’t care what sexuality you are. Unless, y’know, you had a crush on me, then we might have a problem.” Vinny chuckles; Grieco just feels awkward and wants to wither away or suddenly develop a chameleon-like ability to blend in with his surroundings. This is the most mortifying conversation he’s ever had. And the worst part is that he can tell that Vinny’s being totally serious. “You’re one of my best friends, bro. I just want you to be happy and I don’t care who you wanna date.”
It comes out before he can stop it, and almost immediately he wishes he could take back the word vomit that spews out. “I kind of... IthinkI’masexual,” he whispers. So there it is.
Vinny drops his hair gel and the bottle goes skittering underneath his bed. “What?”
Grieco rolls over and buries his face in the pillow. “I think I’m asexual,” he mumbles, hugging the pillow. He’s afraid to look up and see Vinny’s expression. The word hangs in the air for at least a whole minute before either of them say anything. He feels the mattress shift under Vinny’s weight and them a hand sitting awkwardly on his shoulder. Everything feels awful; there are tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, threatening to fall, and it feels like he wants to scream or throw up or do anything to rid himself of this horrible, horrible sense that something is wrong with him.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, don’t be upset. Grieco, Grieco, don’t be upset, I was just asking, I didn’t know...” And he sobs quietly into his bedding while Vinny rubs his back because neither of them knows what to do. “Hey, it’s okay, it’s alright. No one is going to think any less of you for this. Although, certain things make a lot more sense to me now...”
“I hate myself,” he sighs.
Vinny pets his hair. “Don’t. You want to know something funny, though?”
“What?”
“I kind of always thought you had a crush on Rian, to be honest...”
He groans and rubs his face wearily. He’s been trying not to think about that. “I don’t even know what having a crush on someone feels like,” he whispers. “Like, how is it any different than normal friendship besides really wanting to have sex with the person?”
“I think...” Vinny says, “I think it’s about how they make you feel. I dunno, like, you feel happier when they’re around and you just want to smile all the time, maybe, and it’s kind of... You feel lighter, somehow, and all you want to do is hug them or cuddle, I guess? And - okay, I’m really not supposed to say this because he will totally hit me if he finds out I told you, but - you know Ri has, like, a huge crush on you, right?”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s the most fucking obvious thing in the world. You two should just... date already.”
He curls up in the fetal position. “But I don’t... I mean, I don’t think I like him that way. We’re just friends. Right?”
Vinny rolls his eyes. “I kind of think there’s a little more than friendship between you two, but it’s up to you what you do with it. Speaking of doing it,” he says, “You mind finding somewhere else to be for the night so I can bring my girl back here after our date?” And because Grieco is the best friend ever, he nods forlornly and sighs before curling up in the corner of his bed. The things he does for his friends in their endless pursuit of sex... They totally owe him, like, a fuckin’ trophy or something for the amount of patience he’s had for their crazy shenanigans.
&
When Rian’s phone rings, he’s got his hand down the front of his boxers and he’s trying desperately to get off. It kind of goes without saying what - or in this case, who - he’s fantasizing about. Wide, innocent brown eyes, pouty lips, slightly calloused hands from years of playing the drums... He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Grieco all day and that thing with the whipped cream sent his mind spiralling down into the gutter. So the first time his phone rings, he ignores it. Then it starts ringing again less than five minutes later, so he figures it’s got to be kind of important. It wouldn’t be the first time his mother’s called while he’s been jerking off. He flips it open without checking the call display and finds himself pleasantly surprised by the voice on the other end of the line.
“Are you doing anything tonight?”
He sits up ramrod straight. “I - Hey - Uh, n-no, I’m... I’m free,” he says, stumbling over the words and trying to keep all traces of arousal out of his voice. “What’s up?” But he’s a total fuckin’ hypocrite, because even as he’s holding his phone in one hand he’s working his dick with the other.
“Um, Vinny needs our room tonight for... y’know, and I don’t want to go to Matt’s because he’s got a date and so... Can I stay with you? Please?” Grieco asks. And his hand is still down his boxers, the sound of Grieco’s voice is only turning him on more, and now he’s probably got about fifteen minutes to take care of business at most.
Clearing his throat loudly, he answers, “Y-yeah, totally, but just as a warning I might be in the shower when you get here.” A very, very cold shower, but a shower nonetheless.
“That’s okay, I’ll just hang out in your room or something.” The idea of Grieco in his bed is quite appealing, but - dammit - that is not something he should be thinking about now. Or ever. Preferably ever, now that he thinks about it, because there’s way less potential for humiliation that way. “Anyway, I’ll be there in like ten minutes? You’re the best, seriously.”
“Uh, ‘kay? See ya soon,” he says quickly. Then, he dashes out into the hallway, nearly knocking Alex over. He tries to explain with, “Grieco - Vinny - date - our house - I’m, I need to take a cold shower so now is really not the time!” and then locks himself in the bathroom and turns the shower knob all the way to the right before stepping under the icy spray. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really do much in the way of helping to solve his problem, so after about thirty seconds of being blasted by cold water, he turns the heat up and gives in to his... urge. He stands under the showerhead, jerking himself furiously. The thoughts flipping through his mind aren’t even fully formed; when he comes all over his hand he’s still thinking of Grieco. In the back of his mind he feels really guilty for being such a creep.
Even though he knows it’s completely ridiculous, he takes his time in the shower. It’s stupid; he’s trying to impress a boy who will never see him as anything more than a friend. When he finally goes back to his room - first checking to make sure there’s no sign of Alex or Jack, whom Alex has undoubtedly told about his little episode in the hallway - the first thing he sees is Grieco lying on his bed. Which... creates a lot of conflicting feelings for him, because he’s still kind of riding his post-orgasm high and so most of the things he wants to do involve getting naked and a lot of kissing as a beautiful expression of his love or some equally semantic shit.
“Mm, hey,” Grieco sighs, looking quite at home curled up on Rian’s bed. His voice is hoarse; it kind of sounds like he’s been crying and Rian is struck by this intense need to hold him. “Can I please stay here and, like, not move?”
Rian shuffles through the responses forming in his head - ‘What’s wrong, baby?’ is definitely not appropriate and neither is ‘Fkjldfsa let me hold you and make it all better’ - and settles for a casual, “You okay?”
“Not really... I’m having a fuckin’ shitty day and everything is wrong.”
It takes him about five seconds to decide that - fuck it - he can’t stand to see Grieco upset and even less than that to be on the bed wrapping his arms around the younger man. “I’m here for you,” he says, “Whatever you need.” This is the part where, if he were dreaming, they would come together in a montage with a sappy romantic soundtrack and start kissing softly - leading to some hot, passionate love-making, of course - but real life is not like the movies. Grieco whimpers and curls into his chest unhappily and it makes his heart ache. “C’mere, it’s okay. Don’t cry, don’t cry, I’m right here... Fuck.” He’s decided that he’s going to punch whoever made his boy cry.
“I’m s-sorry for coming over here and being all, like, a mess... I just c-can’t go anywhere else and Matt’s always busy and I’m sorry for always bugging you b-but I don’t even want anyone else right now besides y-you...” Yeah. He doesn’t know the exact reason Grieco is a crying, shaking mess right now, but he is definitely going to end that person’s life prematurely when he finds out who to blame. When it comes to Alex Grieco, he can’t be rational. Because, well, he’s kind of head-over-heels for the guy, so the idea of him crying is highly distressing. He is not sure how to react at all.
“Please don’t cry, baby, it’s okay,” he says helplessly. Rian’s never been very good at comforting anyone, much less the love of his life. It’s fuckin’ painful as hell knowing that there’s nothing - or at least, very little - that he can do to help. He’s a man of action. He needs to fix things. “Did, um, did you want to talk about it, or... Or you could just... Or, okay...”
“I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to go to sleep.”
Sigh. “Okay. Did you want me to sleep down on the couch or, um... Are-are you...?”
Grieco sniffles delicately and cuddles farther into his arms, if that’s even possible. “It’s your bed, you should stay. An’ I don’t really want to be alone right now, if you don’t mind...”
“No, no, it’s fine, you can just.... you know... be in my bed, it’s okay, we’ll...” He decides that it’s in his best interest to shut up now, before he says anything embarrassing that he will regret later. That is how he ends up holding Grieco until the boy falls asleep and stays awake for a long time afterward, stroking his hair and - as if he hadn’t already won the creeper award for the day - watching him sleep. Once he’s positive that the gorgeous boy in his arms is really asleep, he leans over, presses his lips to Grieco’s forehead softly and whispers, “Love you” before finally going to sleep himself.
&
Grieco wakes up with Rian’s arms still tight around his waist. It’s kind of a nice feeling, to be honest. So he lies there a while with his cheek pressed against Rian’s chest, comfortable and relaxed and... Well, it makes him feel really safe, like nothing’s changed about his life and everything’s going to be okay somehow. But at the same time, he feels all warm and tingly and that, he’s almost positive, is a symptom of his growing feelings for the older man. He’s nervous about that. Because he’s okay with the idea of being in a relationship, and he likes the idea of holding hands and cuddling and even kissing, maybe, but... It’s not really fair to start a relationship with anyone when he’s not interested in one of the major components of a relationship. He couldn’t do that to Rian. On the other hand... he maybe kind of wants to hold hands and cuddle with the guy... and possibly also to kiss him, if it ever comes to that.
“Hi there,” Rian says sleepily, barely stifling a yawn. “D’d you sleep okay?”
He groans and burrows further under the covers; he doesn’t remember falling asleep with them on, so Rian must have tucked him in at some point. “Mmmmmm, don’t wanna move.” Having his hair played with is really soothing and makes him a little sleepy. The combination of that and Rian’s steady breathing causes him to doze off for a few minutes more. “Ummmmm,” he sighs happily. “That feels nice...” Okay, so he’s a sucker for being cuddled. What else is new?
“Hmmm?”
“Never mind.” The awful part is that, as much as he wishes he could just lie in Rian’s bed all day, he actually has stuff to do. He’s supposed to help Matt, Danny and Evan get ready for the Halloween party they’re all going to later. He’s supposed to help Vinny with the essay for Organic Bio. He’s not supposed to be developing a crush on one of his best fucking friends. Finally - after another ten minutes of being held because he’s feeling particularly needy - he has to say, “I should get up, I’m supposed to go to Matt’s and help them get ready.”
Rian’s grip on his waist slackens enough that he can sit up and stretch. “Okay, but promise you’ll call if you guys need anything? I’m just gonna chug Red Bull all day and play Call of Duty solo since you’re abandoning me...”
“Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. But seriously,” he says, feeling all of his joints crack as he stands up, “Thank you for last night. I’ll see you at the girls’ later.” After a brief period of consideration, he grabs a hoodie from Rian’s closet and pulls it on, explaining, “It’s supposed to be fuckin’ cold out today, so you can have this back when I see you.” It has nothing to do with his newly-found desire to keep smelling Rian even after he’s gone, because... How did he not notice before that Rian smells kind of, um, delicious? He doesn’t care that it’s a little too big for him or that the sleeves hang down past his fingertips.
The walk to Matt’s apartment is short enough that it only takes three songs on his iPod to get him there. Evan’s car is in its designated spot, so they’ve probably started without him. He’s had his own key to Matt’s for over a year, so it’s no problem when he lets himself in. Vinny’s sitting on the arm of the couch, feet in Danny’s lap, and Danny is wearing a shirt that is quite recognizably Matt’s. “Hey, champ, how was your night?” Vinny asks brightly.
“Eh,” he shrugs. “What’s Evan doi - Oh dear lord.” Evan emerges from his bedroom wearing a suit of clashing plaids, a bald-cap and a fake moustache stuck to his upper lip. He’s even got the tacky wing-tip shoes Danny thought were so cool in sophomore year on, which only adds to the overall creepiness of the outfit. It’s possibly the most ridiculous thing he’s ever seen.
Very quietly, Vinny says, “... What are you wearing?”
“It’s my used-car salesman costume! Look!” Evan beams, doing an awkward sort of twirl in the middle of the kitchen to show off his... killer threads, emphasis possibly on ‘killer’.
“You look like my uncle Panini.”
Evan replies, “But you don’t have an uncle Panini...” and adjusts his moustache.
“Well, I do now!” Vinny stares at him for a minute longer, then says, “Hey, put my sunglasses on and you’ll look like the kind of guy that sits in parking lots after school and gawks at the Catholic school girls. And that, gentlemen, is how a legend is born.”
“... Vin, what are you even supposed to be?”
“I’m a douchebag,” he says proudly.
Grieco sighs and slumps down onto the couch beside Danny. “You dress like a douchebag every other day of the year! That hardly counts as a costume at all.” He only half-listens to their conversation on the merits of Heineken versus Jagermeister and instead cuddles into his borrowed hoodie as far as possible and deeply contemplates the matter of his emerging crush on Rian. He waits for a lull in the conversation - and Matt to finish showering because he seriously takes millennia to get ready for a dude whose wardrobe is exclusively made up of band t-shirts and jeans - before bringing it up. He clears his throat anxiously and asks, “Uh... do you guys think Rian wants to have sex with me?”
Matt laughs. “Yeah, he wants to do that and then make you breakfast afterward.”
“I think I have a crush on him.”
Vinny looks confused. “But I thought - and you said - but you - and there was...”
He hugs his knees to his chest and plays with the cuffs of the sleeves on Rian’s hoodie. “I know! And I do like him, I just don’t want to have sex with him. Or anyone. Ever. So I don’t know how that would work in a dating-type scenario, which really sucks because I kind of... want that. With him. Possibly. A lot.”
Matt hugs him over the back of the couch and murmurs, “Oh, honey...” into his hair. “He’s not going to care. And if he does have a problem with it, I’ll break his kneecaps.” Which makes him laugh, because the idea of Matt breaking anyone’s kneecaps is slightly ridiculous. He weighs about a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. It’s a relief to know that his best friends, at least, don’t think he’s a total freak. The word seems less glaring in the back of his mind now. Other people knowing how he feels is way more freeing than he thought it would be.
&
The turnout to the party is pretty good, to Kara’s mind, though she wishes that utter skank-bag Cassadee would leave poor Grieco alone. She’s been hanging all over him all night, and he’s such a delicate little thing that someone should probably step in before the bitch starts rubbing herself all over him like a cat in heat. She grabs the first one of their little group she can find - incidentally, it just so happens to be Rian, which is convenient - and says, “Can you go save Grieco from that slut-faced whore, please? I don’t know who invited her but that chick has got to go. Seriously. She doesn’t even go here. I want her and her army of skanks out of my house.”
Rian gives her a funny little look and says, weakly, “Does it have to be me? He looks all...”
“Go, be his knight in shining armour. You can be as annoyingly protective as you’d like and I’m sure he won’t mind,” she mutters.
Okay, full disclosure: Cassadee probably isn’t as much of a skank as Kara makes her out to be, but the thing is that Kara has very good reasons to hate her. In freshman year, the bitch tried to make out with Lisa at a party. Then she started all but stalking Grieco in this demented campaign to get him to go out with her, and it upsets Rian whenever she’s around because Ri is completely and utterly in love with Grieco, and as his best friend it is her sworn duty to keep the slut away from his crush. It really helps that she thinks Rian and Grieco would look adorable together, and it’s hard not to ‘awwww’ whenever Rian fawns over the boy, which he does quite frequently.
She gives Rian a well-deserved shove and hisses, “Get going already before she sinks her claws into him” right in his ear. It’s an extremely valid concern. He looks so nervous and shy as he approaches the younger man, wrapping an arm around Grieco’s waist in a way that is definitely more than just friendly. And though she can’t tell exactly what is being said because it’s too noisy, she can sort of read their body language, and from what she’s picking up it looks pretty good for Rian. Grieco laughs, smiles, and leans into Rian. They’re too cute together. “Oh, come on Ri, just ask him out already,” she sighs.
A pair of familiar arms snake around her waist. “Oh, would you let that poor boy have a moment alone with him already?” Lisa scolds her playfully. “Don’t forget how long it took you to ask me ‘cause everybody wouldn’t leave you alone for long enough to do it. Having you watching over him like a hawk probably isn’t helping his nerves any.”
“Yes, your highness. Maybe if I had a distraction I wouldn’t be forced to spend my time living vicariously through my best friend’s love life...” she murmurs, hating the fact that the heels she’s currently wearing make her so much taller than her girlfriend. “Hey, we should go make sure no one is having sex in our bedroom or anything.”
“Is that code for ‘I’ve had enough of this dress and these heels and I’d like you to unzip me, please’, lady?”
“Always. And if the rest of my clothes happen to come off in the process, well... So be it.” She looks over her shoulder just once as Lisa leads her away and sees her best friend with his arms around Grieco, grinning like a fool. He catches her eye and mouths the words ‘He said yes!’ Mission accomplished. Now, to get her girlfriend out of those pesky clothes...
&
His heart is pounding in his chest as soon as he walks out the front door of the house on his way to pick up Grieco for their first date. It’s not like it’s anything that exciting - they’re just going to see the shitty bands that play at the pub every Thursday - but he’s still incredibly nervous because, hi. He’s going on a date with the boy of his dreams. They’re going on a date. Together. With each other. There is a large possibility that they will hold hands. Alex tried to force a thing of breath-freshener strips upon him because, according to him, “You should be prepared to kiss him whenever. If you two have a shitty first kiss I’m going to smack you upside the head.” Then Alex also tried to give him twenty dollars for the cover charge, so that’s probably just Alex’s way of saying he approves of the relationship. He only brushed his teeth about eight times before leaving the house, because, seriously. Date with Grieco. Holy shit, he’s so nervous he’s going to die.
He’s been replaying the memory of Grieco smiling at him and saying, “I really like you too,” over and over in his mind to remind himself that it actually happened. Grieco’s arms around his neck, the cute little smile, the really long hug at the end of the night... He’d consider writing Cassadee a thank-you card for setting him up with the perfect occasion to ask Grieco out, but she’s such an unscrupulous whore that he doesn’t really want to bother.
Grieco’s waiting for him in front of the dorms, looking cuter than ever. Damn. “Hey, you,” he says nervously, rocking back and forth on his toes. “Ready to go?” Which is a dumb question. He’s dumb. He’s dumb, and so completely awkward. So he’s infinitely glad when his date - and how completely fuckin’ exciting is that, seriously - reaches for his hand and smiles at him. They talk about stupid stuff the entire way across campus because he’s too nervous to think of anything intelligent to say and he kind of can’t think, period, since they’re holding hands and his entire body is practically vibrating with nerves.
“Ri, stop being nervous. It’s just me,” Grieco says, squeezing his fingers lightly. And right on cue, his heart flutters in his chest. They’ve arrived fashionably late, so the first band is already playing. He kind of planned it that way so the place would already be full enough that he’d have an excuse for them to keep holding hands and so that they’ll have to stand closer together than usual. It’s a plan that is totally working, too; they end up standing towards the back - far enough away from the stage to look casually unimpressed but still interested enough to be there - and a few songs in, he’s finally convinced himself that it’s okay if he wants to put his arm around Grieco. Because they’re on a date. A fact which makes him want to pinch himself because he can’t believe that it’s actually happening.
“So, um, ‘re you having fun?” he asks anxiously.
“Other than that kid totally murdering the syncopation on their last song? Yeah. You’re cute when you’re all nervous like this.” It’s loud enough that Grieco has to lean over to talk into his ear, so he takes the opportunity and slips his arm around the boy’s waist. “Hi,” Grieco says softly, leaning into him just enough that everyone around them can probably tell that they are An Item. “I’m really glad you asked me out, you know.”
And - oh fuck, he is seriously the most adorable when he blushes, holy shit - Rian replies, “Well, I’m really glad you said yes,” sheepishly before getting all cheesy and kissing him on the cheek. “I’ve kind of had a crush on you for a really long time.”
“Awww, Ri...” Grieco purrs, reaching for his other hand. “You’re such a dork.”
It’s not the best first date ever - it’s noisy and it’s crowded - but as long as he gets to stand there with his arms around Alex Grieco, it’s perfect. They spend the next hour making stupid comments to each other about anything and everything like they normally would and he starts to feel less nervous. After the second band the crowd starts to filter out, slowly, off to other bars or house parties. “Hey,” he murmurs, “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, ‘kay. Will you walk me home though?” It’s adorable that Grieco even has to ask; they hold hands the entire way back and it doesn’t matter that his hands are sweaty or that he feels like an asshole in the shirt Alex picked out for him. When they get back to the dorms, he starts to feel nervous again. “So um,” Grieco says, biting his lower lip, “I had a really good time with you tonight.”
His heart is pounding in his chest again. “I’m, um, I’m really glad.” And this is the part where he’s supposed to be all smooth, lean in and kiss Grieco goodnight, but he’s too nervous and too awkward to. He really wants to, though. Maybe if he sort of announces his intentions - or is that too weird, he doesn’t even know - or starts to lean in and goes by the ninety-ten rule? It’s safer to go for another hug first, he decides, and it ends up being one of those lovely, really long ones that make his whole body tingle. “I, can I kiss you right now?” he asks. Not that he’s been thinking about it all night - or all week - or anything, just. Grieco looks so goddamn kissable he can’t stand it any longer.
“Uh, y-yeah.”
Everything feels like it’s in slow motion: He’s leaning in slowly, trying not to appear too nervous, and then his eyes are closed and their lips are touching softly. The butterflies in his stomach are about to reach maximum velocity. Grieco kisses back, moves closer to him, and pretty much the only thing he can think is ‘omg, kissing! Aaaaaaah holy shit’ because. Holy shit. Kissing Grieco. And the thing about it is that he’s afraid to move to fast, so they’re just standing in the entryway to the building and kissing and he’s not really sure how or when his fingers ended up in Grieco’s hair, but he’s not complaining. When he finally forces himself to pull away, he kind of forgets how to breathe for a minute. “God, you’re so,” he mumbles, trailing his fingers over the younger man’s cheek. “We should do this again sometime. If you want to, I mean...”
“I do want to! You’re... you’re all... Yeah. So, um, I’ll see you in the morning, I guess?” Grieco asks shyly. God, if he gets any cuter Rian is totally going to die. He ends up standing there and waiting until Grieco has gone inside, and then, once he’s sure no one is going to see him, he grins like a fool and does a little happy dance, right there in the parking lot of the dorms on campus. This has officially been the best date of his entire life. And he’s totally going to get up early tomorrow so he can be all stupidly romantic and buy Grieco coffee or something before class because he kind of lives to see the boy smile these days.
Part Three