Fic: Candy Apple
Eric sighed for about the tenth time in as many minutes as he trailed a few feet behind Sam and Joan, who had her arms full of a rather weary Hank. When Joan had asked for the two of them to join her for lunch, he hadn’t thought that she was going to bring Hank along, or that lunch would turn into a mixture of a shopping trip and an entertainment excursion for Hank. But that’s exactly what had happened, and Sam had happily gone along, claiming that if Eric didn’t spend more time with his nephew the kid was liable to grow up not knowing who he was. Eric, however, figured that at three years old, Hank probably couldn’t care less.
So they’d traipsed through the mall to a clothing store, then a toy store, and now to a confectionary shop where Hank instantly got a second wind. The little boy got a small piece of fudge and Sam and Joan both got candy apples. Eric didn’t get anything but saw fit to remind his companions that they were adults, and candy apple eating was pretty much supposed to be over after childhood.
Sam just rolled his eyes and took another bite, licking his lips afterwards and leaving a trail of red sugar behind.
Before they could reach that glorious promise of freedom heralded by the doublewide glass doors of the exit, Joan suddenly remembered “one more thing” she had to pick up. She left Sam and Eric alone with the promise of being back in just a few minutes.
“I hate shopping,” Eric grumbled once she was out of earshot. He normally would have said it in front of her, but he was starting to realize just how quickly little kids picked up the language of the adults around them, as Hank had already started repeating things he’d heard them discussing. He wasn’t sure how Joan would take to her son picking up Eric’s disdain and then throwing it back in her face.
Sam ignored him, finishing off his apple and tossing the core into the trash. They continued walking at a slow pace with very little conversation passing between them. Even now that Joan and Hank had left, Sam was still walking several steps in front of Eric. Or actually, now that Eric thought of it, maybe he was walking several steps behind Sam. This latter option seemed more likely, since that’s exactly what Eric had been doing a little while ago because he was afraid that Joan was going to ask him to carry Hank.
He took a few longer strides to catch up, but Sam didn’t seem to notice. He was watching a couple of teenagers who flitted by, arms linked as the girl stole a kiss from the boy. The boy looked pleased with the attention but sent a mock glare at his girlfriend, who just giggled.
Sometimes, Eric wished that all public displays of affection were banned. That way they couldn’t serve to remind him of what he’d given up. Or never had, actually.
“God I’m ready to get out of here,” Eric groaned, more to fill the silence than anything else.
“Mhmm,” Sam nodded absentmindedly. Now that Joan was gone he looked rather bored. He hadn’t seemed so before, when he’d been happily chatting away with Joan and even Hank. Maybe he was just annoyed with what little effort Eric had put into hiding his exasperation at being stuck at the mall with his sister and a toddler.
And, despite how often it happened, once Eric was able to screw his head back on his shoulders he always regretted annoying Sam.
They passed by one of those little photo booths that had suddenly popped up at all the malls, and feeling a sudden wind of spontaneity, Eric reached out and gripped Sam by his shirt to pull him behind the black curtain.
“Eric, what-“
Before Sam could finish getting out his surprise Eric pressed his lips up against him, kissing him firmly.
“What?” Sam smiled, leaning back slightly after a few seconds.
“I was bored,” Eric replied. “And you had some of that candy apple sugar on your lips.”
“In a photo booth?” Sam laughed, but he leaned in for another kiss.
“What? It’s better than a public restroom, isn’t it?”
The vibration of Sam’s laugh against his lips tickled Eric enough for him to have to pull back and bite the feeling away.
“Well since you’re bored, and we’re in a photo booth,” Sam said now that his mouth was free. “Why don’t we take some photos?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Eric shot back instantly.
“Yeah, I was. Of course I was. Why would we ever take photos in a photo booth?”
Eric shifted back a little to study Sam with a probing stare. Sam kept his expression neutral, but his eyes twinkled. He was teasing, of course.
“Alright then. Go ahead,” Eric said with a put-on air of nonchalance.
Eric would have thought Sam would appear more flustered by his acquiescence, but Sam was too smart to allow for any time to waste. He knew a golden opportunity when he saw it.
“Okay,” Sam nodded, grabbing at his wallet and thrusting a few dollar bills into the machine.
A second ago, Eric had thought that agreeing-for the sake of the joke-had seemed like a good idea. But now that Sam had called his bluff, he was not very pleased.
“Wait . . . what are we supposed to do?”
“Well, you can look at the screen in front of you and smile . . . or you could just kiss me.”
Without giving Eric a chance to deliberate over either of those equally unappealing options, Sam grabbed him and proceeded to make the decision for him. As soon as their lips connected Eric heard an automated click, and he pulled back with wide eyes to regard Sam in disbelief.
“Oh, you are so going to pay for that.”
The next three clicks occurred while Eric was mock wrestling Sam, pushing his hands up under his jacket to get at Sam’s ribs and deliver his punishment in the form of painful tickling.
“Okay, okay,” Sam choked out with ragged breaths as he threw his hands up, admitting defeat. “The pictures print and drop on the outside so we’d better get out there and make sure no one else picks them up.”
There really wasn’t anything Sam could have said to get Eric out of that booth any faster.
They straightened their rumpled clothing once they stepped back into the bustle of the mall and Eric made sure to grab the tiny white strip as soon as it dropped. He handed it over to Sam without even glancing at it.
Sam looked it over with a grin, though, making sure that Eric saw it as well. The first picture had indeed caught them in a lip-lock, and the next three were blurry and out-of-focus, the only thing discernable in the mess being that both of them had been laughing.
“If you ever tell anyone I did that . . . especially Joan . . . I’ll kill you.”
Sam tucked the photos away in his jacket pocket. “Don’t worry,” he grinned with blatant self-satisfaction. “Your secret is safe with me.”
And just at that moment, Eric felt the sudden desire to reach out and kiss that smug expression right off of Sam’s face. He almost went with it, too, until a voice behind him reminded him of where he was.
“What are you two smiling about?” Joan asked.
“Nothing,” Sam piped in immediately.
“Alright . . .” Joan said in that tone of voice that meant she clearly believed otherwise. “Well, it’s definitely time to go. The kiddo’s about had it, I think.”
Hank was hoisted up on her hip with his eyes closed and his open mouth pressing up against her shoulder, leaving behind a wet mark of saliva.
Joan shifted her stance to get a better grip on the bags she held in the arm that wasn’t currently around her son. “Can you hold him for a sec?” she asked Eric, and without waiting for a reply handed him over.
Eric took him without much reluctance. His real fear had been trying to make conversation with the kid when he was awake . . . although he could do without the slobber.
Sam grinned at him again, but gently instead of smugly, and Eric felt one last shot of that strange kissing urge course through his body. He shook it off quickly, though, and opted for a smile combined with a roll of the eyes.
He couldn’t do it today, but maybe someday.
******