by Elaine White
“I love that about you,” Austin continued, a gentleness to his voice that caught Harrison off guard. Laying his elbow on the back of the sofa, he leaned in close and his voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “You're not afraid to tell the truth. To put me in my place. And you keep looking at me like I'm Ragnar from Vikings.”
Swallowing back his nerves, Harrison couldn't stop the words falling out of his mouth. “I'm more partial to Rollo.”
Austin's lips twitched with approval a split second before he cut the distance and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. As he lingered, Harrison snapped out of his shock and added a light pressure of his own.
Far too soon, Austin broke the kiss to look into his eyes, a hint of hesitancy suggesting that he was waiting for judgement or acceptance. Clearly leaving the ball in Harrison's court, this time.
So Harrison leaned across the dog curled up between them and did something about it. They were already sitting side on to face each other, but it required a little nudge of his nose against Austin's chin to make him lift and tilt his head enough to let Harrison get close. Then he kissed him, just as sweetly and innocently as their first kiss. Harrison's hand had found a mind of its own and cupped his neck, drawing his new friend closer.
As they kissed, tasting lips and teasing with tongues, he could hear the sound of music going on in the kitchen. It made him smile as he broke the kiss and stayed close, rather than sitting back. “My mum is a nosy cow. If she interrogates you later, say nothing!” he demanded.
Austin grinned and leaned in for one more, lingering, kiss. “Promise. But before we're bombarded with questions, maybe we could sort out some stuff,” he whispered, either because of the 'moment' Harrison felt sure they were having or because of the threat of his mother.
He nodded, prepared to talk about what he wanted and what he was hoping for in return. But, before he could voice any of it, Austin sighed and lay his elbow on the back of the sofa, to run his fingers through his hair and rest his head on his hand.
“So, I've met your friends and your mother...I don't really have any friends to introduce you to and my folks are insane, so I'd rather that didn't happen right now,” he said, at least sounding like there would be an opportunity in the future to change that. “What I'm wondering is...why me?”
“What?” The word burst out of him in a laugh, until he held his hand over his mouth and composed himself. “Sorry, but I'm the one who should be asking that. I'm short, fat and a total loser. I accept that and I'm okay with it. But, you? You're this big, burly Viking God and I don't get it, at all,” he confessed, in a blur of rambled emotions and stupid words that made him sound pathetic.
Thankfully, Austin was getting used to his speak-before-you-think philosophy. He smiled and reached his free hand up to brush a strand of dark brown hair behind his ear. “Actually, you're pretty great. I've liked you ever since you smacked my hand and told me I was an idiot.”
If he'd been able to move, he might have put his hands over his face and screamed in embarrassment, but Harrison was so transfixed by those blue eyes holding his that he just sat there and listened to that low, deep voice saying such sweet things about him.
“Yes, you're overweight and that's not healthy for you, but it's not as if you have any choice,” Austin argued, refusing to lie to him, just as Harrison had asked. “I mean, with the muscle weakness and the nerve damage in your feet and hands, you're lucky you can function without help, but you do. You're strong on the inside where it counts, and you accept who you are, even if that means you'll never lose the weight,” he said, recounting some of the harsher truths he'd only recently confessed to him.
Harrison hated that he'd probably be this rotund shape forever, though he still had a few years left for an unexpected growth spurt that might even him out a little. Still, it was unlikely. “I really like that you tell the truth, even before I ask you to. You know what it's like and you just...get it. I don't even have to say why, sometimes. You just know and that's amazing to me,” he replied, needing Austin to know that he was a great source of comfort as he confessed his worst secrets.
He was kissed sweetly, then soft words were whispered against his lips. “Your mum is hovering by the kitchen door, staring at us. But I want to say one last thing, before we see what she wants,” he insisted, cupping Harrison's cheek before he could turn to glare at his nosy mother. “Everything you said...I feel about you. Because, it's really bloody hard to deal with what we went through and, together, we don't have to deal with it. We know, we see and we don't have to ask. We lived through it and we feel it.”
He couldn't help but nod his agreement, even as Austin's eyes held his so intently.
“But that's not why I like you and want to explore what this might be,” Austin said, stopping his flight of fanciful thoughts from drifting too far. “I'd like to date you, to be your boyfriend. But I need you to know that I'm not here, kissing you, or wanting that with you because of what we share in our past. I'm here because of your smile, your eyes, your sense of humour, your laugh, the books you read, the way you argue with me and the fact that you called your dog Noodles,” he revealed.
Laughing at that last ridiculous notion, Harrison ignored the flush creeping up his cheeks and bit his bottom lip. “Well, I like that you're really hot, of course,” he admitted, rolling his eyes teasingly, until Austin chuckled, “but I like arguing with you too. And I like how open you are, that you don't lie, that you like to hold my hand and you're not afraid of what people think when they see us together. And, honestly...I really, really love that you look at me like I'm some hunk from the cover of a magazine.”
Austin's smile softened as he leaned in and stole one more kiss. “You're beautiful to me, no matter what anyone might say or what your over analytic brain might suggest. Because I don't care about this,” he said, letting his hand drift down to pinch his overhanging waist. He smiled when Harrison squeaked in surprise, but didn't say anything about it. “I care about what's in here,” he tapped his forehead, “and here.”
Harrison held Austin's hand over his heart and took a deep breath. “Okay. So...you want to be my boyfriend?” he asked, since he guessed that was exactly what they'd been leading up to Austin asking him.
“Yeah, I really do.”
Smiling, he slipped off the seat and stood up. “Then we shouldn't leave my mum waiting any longer,” he decided, holding his hand out.
Austin took it without complaint or anything but a smile, following him willingly into the kitchen, where he struck up a conversation with his mother about the amazing smell and how he'd end up piling on the weight if he kept being invited over for dinner.
Though his mum glanced his way, Harrison barely noticed. He was too busy letting this moment run away with him. He didn't care if Austin really did mean his words the way his mum was afraid he did; a big enough part of him knew that he was only complimenting her cooking, not making a dig about his weight. The small insecure part was so distracted that it didn't notice.
Because he had a boyfriend!
His second boyfriend and it was someone like Austin. Smart, funny, sweet and tough as nails as well. He had a tough outer layer, with a soft, gooey centre and wasn't afraid to expose a little bit of that when the occasion called for it.
Holy crap! He had a boyfriend. A real, adult, official boyfriend.
He had to call Sterling. And Kenichi. And Ginny. Maybe he'd just conference call all of them and spill the beans then.
After Austin was gone. He wanted a little more time with his boyfriend; once he left, then he'd call his friends.
After dinner, his mum was so frustrating with constant questions, that Harrison led Austin up to his bedroom, promising to leave his door open to make sure they didn't get up to 'hanky panky'.
“She's really getting on my last nerve,” he complained, leading Austin into his room by the hand. He let go as he reached the bed and flopped down onto his face.
Behind him, Austin chuckled and a hand d
rifted to his hair. “She's fine. Better than my mum. She wouldn't have let you in the door without the whole 'what are your intentions' speech,” he admitted.
Harrison turned over with a smile and slid up to sit against the headboard. He was about to ask, when Austin climbed onto the bed to sit beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “You've been a real surprise, you know?” he whispered, hoping he wasn't about to ruin the mood.
“Have I?”
“Yeah. You weren't exactly Prince Charming when we met, but you kind of are,” he revealed, though he wasn't sure if Austin would agree. “You're sweet and thoughtful. You talk to me without presuming anything, you share as much as you want me to share with you, and it's just really nice to feel...on an equal footing with someone, you know?”
Nodding, he leaned in close and whispered against his lips, “I think I do.”
They shared an all too brief kiss that made his spine tingle. When they parted, he peeked up to see Austin smiling to himself.
“You know why I came back to thank you for what you did? It wasn't because you called me an idiot. Well, not just because of that.” He chuckled. “You cared. I was a total stranger and you didn't question whether to stop and help me or whether to run and let someone else deal with it,” he said, as though that had ever been an option. “You stayed with me, made sure I was lucid and took care of me. No Good Samaritan who felt obligated to help me would have smacked my hand and called me an idiot. But he definitely wouldn't have called me a loner,” he explained.
“Oh God, I said that, didn't I?” Harrison smacked his hand against his forehead, almost reliving that moment, as he thought about how stupid it had been.
“Yup.” Austin popped the 'p' and didn't protest when Harrison turned to rest his forehead against his shoulder, to hide the blush creeping up his cheeks. ““Us loners really need to learn to eat somewhere public.” It was adorable and you only said it because you were embarrassed by calling me an idiot,” he recalled, still chuckling away to himself. “I knew then that you were interesting, so I took the risk that you might want to see me again.”
“I did.” Which was obvious. Lifting his head, he decided to explain, since 'I did' said nothing of any importance. “I've really enjoyed these last two weeks with you. Getting to know someone has never been so much fun before,” he admitted, wondering if dating was supposed to feel this way all the time.
His last boyfriend had been when they were fourteen, from another school; someone he met through an after school book club. But it had never felt like this.
“I still can't believe you like me,” he confessed, stunned that Austin was the kind of man who was so full of layers and deeper emotions than it first seemed, that it was impossible to figure him out. “I mean, putting all the physical stuff aside, I never pegged you for liking a geeky bookworm. Both of which will be etched on my tombstone, since I'll always be a fandom geek, until I die.”
Austin laughed again, as though he was the most hilarious thing in existence. “It's cute. You're cute. As a button,” he whispered, dropping a kiss onto the tip of his nose.
“I'm really glad you gave me a chance.”
“Same here.” He nodded and stretched his legs out in front of him, while changing the subject. But even as he talked about the movie they'd watched earlier, Harrison knew that he was the most different, interesting and attentive boyfriend he could have asked for.
Chapter 6
Just twenty minutes later, with one final kiss, Austin left him and that strange, lonely feeling washed over him again, as it had every day of the last two weeks. Harrison closed the front door as his motorbike took off down the street.
There was one more thing to do before falling into a lonely abyss of ridiculous pining, until he went to school tomorrow and his friends were able to distract him.
Harrison returned to his bedroom, grabbed his phone and flopped down onto his bed. Drawing up his contact list, he made a conference call to his best friends and hoped they were all in tonight.
“Hey, what's up?” Sterling replied, answering first. Over his shoulder, Fearghas waved hello and smiled.
“Hey!”
“Harrison?” Karsyn and Freddie popped up, sitting side by side, with gaming controllers in their hands. “What made you escape the love cave?” he teased.
“Ha ha.” Harrison rolled his eyes, knowing fine well he should have expected teasing from Karsyn. He was the singleton of their group and had never made his preference known, for whether he liked boys or girls or neither, and they all respected that. But it made it damned impossible to try to set him up on dates. Which he suspected was Karsyn's plan all along.
Ginny clicked 'busy' and disengaged from the call, so he assumed she was at one of her many after school clubs and couldn't talk. Harrison would fill her in later in a text or something.
Last up was Kenichi, who was whispering in the background when his acceptance brought up his video screen.
“Don't shut Alvin out,” Harrison scolded him quietly. “If he's there, he can join in. He's part of the group, so stop being stuffy.”
Kenichi gave him the finger, before drawing his attention to his screen, split up into four little boxes on his screen, so they could all see each other. “Piss off. It was my mum,” he grumbled, only to sigh. “Alvin just went home. He and Javon have some kind of family dinner ritual. But don't you worry; I'd have let him snoop if he was here,” he promised, grinning in an exaggerated manner to show off his 'good manners'.
A few of them laughed, then slowly quietened to let Harrison talk. “Austin just left, as well. It's the first time he's ever agreed to come in and he only did it because my mum bullied him into joining us for dinner,” he admitted, with a smirk of his own. Though it had been lovely, he did feel sorry for Kenichi not being allowed the same thing with his own boyfriend. “Anyway, what's important is that...he said we should talk about 'us' and we kind of...well, I asked him if he wanted to be my boyfriend.”
“And?” Sterling insisted, pushing Fearghas back, as he tried to turn the screen.
“And he said yes!” He almost squealed in excitement. “We kissed. And he stayed for dinner and after. We watched a movie and we sat in my room to talk. We kind of gushed over each other,” he confessed, though it was less embarrassing since Austin had done just as much 'gushing' as he'd done.
There was a round of 'congratulations' and well wishes for their budding relationship, all of his friends showing the support and approval that he'd hoped for.
Karysn groaned, after giving his blessing. “I guess this means I'm the only singleton left, then?” he asked, knowing that Ginny and Freddie were too young to care about dating just yet. They were only fourteen and had no interest in romance, yet.
“Yes. And if you'd only tell us who you're looking for – boy, girl, both or none – then we'd be able to set you up or leave you be,” Harrison reminded him, still convinced that they could help if he'd only open his big mouth and tell them. It wasn't as though they'd judge him for his choices or preferences, because they were the biggest collection of misfits and accepting open minds in their whole school.
Kenichi was androromantic and asexual, Sterling was asexual and Fearghas was sapioromantic. Harrison was flat out gay and he was pretty sure that Austin was bisexual, though he'd never openly said so. The way he'd spoken of his past relationships, and a girlfriend somewhere along the way, suggested that they'd been purely physical relationships and his feelings for Harrison were his first romantic attachment in a long time.
So why was Karsyn so afraid to tell them how he felt?
“Yeah, maybe in the next lifetime, my friends.” Karsyn laughed off his attempt, while giving Freddie a nudge. “But good try. Maybe next time I'll believe you.”
Harrison ignored the teasing and sighed. “So, since it's Wednesday and there are no clubs and it's not Pizza night, I'm going to kick back and get some homework done. I'll leave you all to your exciting lives and see you tomorrow,” he sa
id, feeling tired. He would finish some homework then pick a book to keep him company for the rest of the night.
“No longer a free man,” Karsyn teased, with a mocking tut. “Now it's all pining and longing for your boyfriend. You'll be wishing you were single again in no time,” he claimed.
He and Sterling both laughed aloud, while Kenichi smirked. “Hardly. It might be lonely for those few hours between seeing Austin and seeing you guys at school, but I'm sure I'll survive it. After all, I get all the kissing, cuddling and romantic stuff instead,” he reminded him, with a wink.
For a split second, he thought he saw Karsyn's smile falter, then he was back to laughing and ribbing Kenichi for his new romance. As they joked together, Sterling waved and gave him a thumbs up in goodbye, before he hung up on the call. Karysn and Kenichi went next, both saying they'd see him tomorrow, then it was just Harrison, sitting staring at a hung up conference call.
He sighed as he switched his phone off and set it on the bedside table, then got up and grabbed his schoolbag from the desk, where he'd dumped it when he came in. He picked up his maths homework, then the novel he was reading and retreated to bed for the rest of the night.
Tomorrow, he would start the day as one half of a couple. He had a feeling it was going to be the greatest adventure of his life so far.
The End
Anonymous
Chapter 1
Karsyn zoned out of his father's lecture once again as he packed his bag for another day at school. He understood that his father was worried and unhappy about what he was doing, but he didn't have much of a choice.
This was Chance Harbour they were talking about; pro offers didn't come along every day. And although he knew that the majority of his teammates were accepting, they weren't the ones he was worried about. It was the rest of the world that scared him.