Tobias Osborn Allan

“then you’ve been selling yourself too short, pretty boy.” the banter is familiar and much easier than the topic tobias keeps trying to bring up. relationships and feelings ⏤ all things not made for people like him. “if you say so, i’ll just take your word for it.” he had tried that before, naively thinking that it was the path to happiness; in the end, it had brought nothing but more pain. “i’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” he defends himself with a playful smirk. “it actually looks good on you.”

shrugging modestly, florian didn’t expect – or really want – any sort of special praise for this. sure, he was more than happy to dote on his boyfriend whenever he needed it, but the musician wasn’t sure that was deserving of any particular attention, the thanks was nice, but not needed. “well, i mean. you need it. you’d do it for me, so, it’s fine.”

laughing, florian placed toby’s hand against his cheek, holding it there softly. it was nice to have him, he reflected a little, surprising himself with the sentiment. he loved him. oh, he– he loved him. of course, the shorter of the two had known it for a while, but moments like this just struck him and he couldn’t help but sigh. “we can do whatever you want,” he replied, half listening, far too smitten with the man opposite. kissing toby’s forehead as their heads came together, florian hummed softly. “whenever you need me, and even when you don’t. i’m always going to worry.” he said simply, shrugging again. opening his mouth to find an answer, florian replied with, “uh, yeah. yeah, you can – i’m writing something for jason and roy’s wedding. it’s not too good yet but it’s something, so.”

“In a heartbeat.” Tobias assures him with a smile, not missing a beat. He knows Florian does things like this because he cares, because he wants to take care of Tobias even though this is all self-inflicted. Just like Tobias would do the same for him if he wasn’t feeling okay.

“anything to help you feel better,” florian said simply, shrugging a little with a little smile on his face. he wasn’t trying to impress toby in any way, nor was he fishing for some sort of praise. all he wanted was to make sure his boyfriend was looked after, and that was his job – and, for the record, he loved his job.

laughing, florian shook his head. sometimes he could never get over how sweet toby could be, but it was never rejected. capturing his boyfriend’s spare hand and kissing the back of it, the musician shrugged. the intensity in which he was delivering his speech did catch him off guard, admittedly, and it did make him blush but it wasn’t something he was going to knock back. it made him feel nice, really. “i also would kiss you whenever i could, but i don’t want you to be– i don’t know, self-conscious of it, or whatever. eat your breakfast.” he huffed a little shyly, though his smile didn’t leave from his face. “what can i say? i feel the need to worry. i know you’re safe, but i can’t help it. plus – if something happens, who am i going to buy breakfast for?” he asked. “you… yeah, you can. not now, not when you’re hungover, but yeah. whenever you like.”

“You’re actually the best.” Tobias says with a smile, and he means it. Not just because Florian’s come to take care of him and his dumb hungover ass, but it’s definitely sweet of him to have done so. There’s so many things about Florian he absolutely adores, though - the more he learns about Florian, the further he falls and he’s absolutely okay with that.

“wait– that’s today?” All at once, Cassie remembers the day of the week and the date and groans, “crap, hang on,” they’re careful not to drop the hot iron, but stop working to look over at their friend, “I’m so sorry– I’m so swamped with TA work and getting Stinger to where I want to be– I got more help from a professor! new and improved cassie lang, comin’ up soon,” They’re wrapping up, but it certainly takes a few minutes, slow as they let the soldering iron cool, “man, I have so much to do, but it feels great,” they barely noticed how irritated Toby was with how enthusiastic about their work they were getting, “nah I just got mixed up on the day. Sometimes I’m in here until past midnight so the days run together,” they chuckle, not even thinking about ways that could be taken badly. in truth, when it came to life/work balance, cassie had a TON of work to do.

“you know, i wouldn’t have GUESSED. you seem just as well practiced as ever.” she’s only teasing. it comes naturally to her with anyone, not just tobias, but perhaps especially him - a kind of ease that she’s already settling into, because he’s someone warm and solid and familiar, but far from any sort of threat. the world, these days, was divided in TWO for nora - good & bad. tobias fell into the former solely because of past experience - and so far, so good, as he wasn’t doing anything to counter it. “well, i, for one, am glad that he did,” her eyes sparkled, “it was starting to feel a little LONELY ‘round these parts, and now you’re here, that’s bound to change. unless, that is…- you’ve maybe outgrown me?”

looking after toby really wasn’t all that bad. considering how much he cared for the other male, it really wasn’t too much skin off his nose at all. feeling his heart melt a little as the tobias closed his eyes just to feel the forehead kiss. that was something he could never really get over – despite being a closet softie, he couldn’t believe just how soft he was for toby.

chuckling, florian shrugged. “i don’t know, i’m sure you were fine. but hey, you don’t have to anymore, and that’s what matters.” he said quietly, before reaching into the bag to pull out a hash brown for himself. admittedly, he’d waited until he thought it was a reasonable time for toby to wake up before coming over with breakfast. biting into the hash brown, he hummed softly. “i don’t mind. i’m only really holding back because you don’t want to kiss.” florian admitted, before shrugging. “worked on some music, really. nothing exciting. i got a bit worried at one point because i heard some big bangs but almost immediately after you messaged me being completely fine, so, i wasn’t too worried. i guess.”

“That is definitely what matters. I’ll never have to face another hangover miserable again, do you know how amazing that is?” Tobias says with a soft chuckle - as soft as he can, at least. Loud noises aren’t a great idea until he’s had some aspirin, food, and probably a nap.

Tobias getting called out by his boyfriend Tobias showing off on instagram

“i weep ‘bout it every single day,” he agrees sarcastically. not that his time ( or times ) with tobias hadn’t been memorable enough, but if there was one thing liam didn’t do was get stuck in the past. ( or that was what he liked to think anyway ). “but i get it, you’ve moved to bigger and better things.” he scoffs at the words, it’s not the first time tobias tries to say something along those lines ⏤ he really doesn’t deserve him as a friend ⏤ and it has the same effect that it had the other times. none. “sure, toby. ⏤ you sure sound like it.”

florian couldn’t help but think how cute toby was, even if he felt awful. looking entirely disheveled was kind of adorable. still, the young musician didn’t want his boyfriend to feel sick, and so slipping off his shoes, florian sat on the bed beside him with the bag of take away breakfast in his hands.

“it’s all the gross greasy stuff. so… the best for these types of mornings, really.” he said, handing it over to toby with an amused look on his face. leaning over to kiss his forehead gently, florian shifted so the older man could lean back against him as he ate, if he wanted. running a hand through his hair, florian hummed, “that’s okay, i can wait until you’ve brushed your teeth. or at least had a breakfast sandwich first to mask it all.”

No matter how awful he feels, how terrible his hangover is, Tobias can’t deny he feels better with Florian here with him. Horribly cliche, he knows, but he can’t help it. There’s just something about Florian that always beings a smile to his face, even when he feels like death warmed up.

“i’ll be just a couple more minutes,” they turned a moment to see toby enter the lab, shooting a quick smirk his way before turning right back to the tools in their hand, soldering iron in their sting pack. once again, cassie lang was buried nose deep in their work, “wasn’t expecting any company– to what do i owe this surprise?” [ @nctgcblin ]

“ohh, snap,” she laughed, and it was maybe the first time in a while that it was honest and TRUE, “you got me there. strobe is definitely your color, and i’d be a special brand of FOOL to imply otherwise.” strobe would definitely be his color now, anyway. she couldn’t get over how DIFFERENT he looked - grown up in a way that kids who used to party together never thought they’d get to, she supposed. it’s half physical change, and half not having seen him in so long. she was probably remembering him shorter. “flattery, eh? you sure know how to get back into a gal’s good graces,” as if he’d ever really been out of them, “well- allow me amend to ‘best kept secret, from me’. what’s brought you to this neck of the woods?”

florian genuinely didn’t have a problem with tobias going out with his friends and without him – he trusted his boyfriend and didn’t see why it might cause concern. where he was worried, however, was the morning after. considering that the last time they’d had a drink he’d had a massive headache, he expected his boyfriend to have a terrible hangover.

and, lo and behold, he was right. smiling as toby groaned at him, florian reached out to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. “no, no plans. i brought over some take out breakfast, though, because i knew somebody might need some greasy food.” he teased. “was i right, or can i take these hashbrowns for myself?” 

“Mmph.” Tobias responds, relieved in the knowledge that he at least didn’t forget a date with Florian. It’s been a while since he had a night out like this, and while he knows he could be in worse shape he definitely could be in better shape too. At least Florian doesn’t seem to mind, and it’s good to see him. It always is.

reaching up on his toes to press his forehead against tobias’ softly, florian hummed. he supposed it was fair for toby to be at least a little nervous about meeting bruce wayne – after all, he had been. but making a good impression was so important, and having toby’s parents at least like him was a necessity. chuckling gently as tobias replied, florian couldn’t help but hum a little. “well, that’s reassuring. at least if i can’t charm them, i can still charm you, right?” he teased. “okay. alright, i’ll get dressed, only try to back out once more, and we can go.”

“you promise you’ll be–” florian couldn’t help but chuckle as he repeated tobias’ words, clicking his tongue a little. he didn’t mean it like that, but he was comforted by the idea that toby would be nervous to meet his dad. it meant there was something at risk, something to lose, something to get right – and of course, when the man was bruce wayne, it did make things significantly more high risk. “alright, alright. okay. i just… i really like you, you know? i don’t want to get this wrong and ruin the whole damn thing.”

he doesn’t feel bad, he really doesn’t. if tobias had wanted anything more than what they had, he would have put an end to it rather quickly. besides, it was like tobias himself said, liam had never given him any false hopes. if he could walk around with a sign saying ‘not emotionally available’ he would. maybe he should; lately, he had met more and more people who just didn’t seem to get the idea. “well, m’always glad to serve,” he quips, loopsided smirk and all. “just do everything i wouldn’t do and you’ll be fine.” that was officially the best advice he had ever given anyone. “charming sounds whipped already anyway.”