#as4mason

Mason knew the nerves didn't make sense. He knew Sam pretty well by now, they'd hung out quite a few times and talked pretty consistently for almost a month now, but the idea of things shifting... that had to be what the nerves were from. As soon as they got to Breadstix Mason slid into a booth and started fiddling with his napkin, giving Sam the shyest grin as he offered him a breadstick. "You look really good. I know I've said that like... a half dozen times already, but you really do."

Sam grabbed a breadstick and bit a piece off, willing himself to relax. He'd been on plenty of dates before. But this was different for some obvious reasons and maybe some not as obvious ones. He wasn't sure yet. He smiled softly at Mason's compliment. "You do too. I'm gonna be honest. This is my first date with... a guy. Not that it's totally different. A date's a date, right? But it feels kinda different, I guess."

Mason took a bite out of his own breadstick and washed it down before replying, the weird shy feeling creeping out again and making it hard to speak normally. "If it makes you feel any better this is my first date with a guy too. It feels... definitely something new. Good, but it's still new. At least the basics are still the same! Plus we don't have to deal with the super awkward initial get to know you part in the process."

"I guess it's harder to get a date with a guy around here," Sam reasoned. "But Blaine has two boyfriends, so I still think he must be really good at this dating thing, no matter what he says." He shrugged and slurped at his water for a moment. "That's true. I already know you're awesome."

"I've never met anyone who had two boyfriends before so he must be a big smooth talker...." Mason thought back to what Sebastian had mentioned about the three of them and blushed all over again. "What did he tell you about this whole dating thing, then?" It was an assumption, but not one he was too worried about making. "Same! Plus, you know from the get-go we'll get along."

"He is pretty charming. I think it's a requirement to be a Warbler," Sam chuckled. His own cheeks turned a soft pink at the question though for different reasons. "If I tell you that, I'll have to tell you what I asked him and then you'll know what a major doofus I am, so..."

"I think so, considering Sebastian and Skylar seem to have a similar vein of charming too. Just... slightly different." Mason's eyebrows raised and he leaned forward in his seat curiously, both elbows going up on the table. "I wouldn't think you were a doofus, Sam!"

"Blaine's totally got a nerd side too though, which is why we make such good friends." Sam nodded simply before he saw Mason leaning in towards him and he sighed. Mason already agreed to go out with him, so he might as well just be honest since it obviously wasn't going to freak the guy out too much. "I just asked him what I should do cause I liked you... I do like you. And I didn't know if you liked me and I didn't want you to stop being my friend," he admitted, looking down at his menu for a moment. "So he told me to just... ask you to dinner and see how you reacted. And if you weren't into it I could play it off like a friend thing."

"Blaine has a nerd side?! Like, outside of the musicals and stuff?" Mason was genuinely surprised - Blaine seemed very suave, and he admittedly didn't typically associate suave with nerdy. The idea of Sam being nervous about asking him out - and not knowing if Mason liked him back - had a pleased grin spreading over his face and he reached forward to squeeze Sam's hand quickly before letting it go. "I like you too. Just for the record. I also think that was a brilliant idea on his part, but I can definitely say it wasn't needed - I was already trying to figure out how to tell you that I wasn't just like... jokingly flirting with you."

"Oh, yeah. He sends me links to the best Star Wars fanfic. And we were talking about starting a superhero club before he transferred," Sam explained. He smiled as Mason's hand laid over his and he squeezed back, finding himself kind of sad when Mason took his hand back. "Yeah? I mean that makes sense, since you said yes and everything. But it's nice to hear and stuff."

“Okay but please tell me there’s some shipping of the robots in there. You should still start that! I know several interested parties.” Where before their hands had touched, Mason let his foot nudge forward until it was pressed again Sam’s, looking a little shy still. “Yeah. Like.... it’s really really nice to be able to call you my date. Plus, you have good taste in restaurants!”

"If it exists, someone will ship it, that's for sure. I like the ones about Endor and ewoks. They get way too much hate if you ask me," Sam insisted, shaking his head in disappointment. "Are they all you?" He squinted, but let out a playful laugh. "It is really nice. And to be fair, there aren't a ton of options."

"Tell me, Sam Evans, have you actually written any of this fanfiction yourself?" Mason just grinned a little, dipping his breadstick in marinara sauce. "Well. Maybe most of them...." He knew he was being silly, but it was still so nice to be here with someone on a DATE, with Sam specifically after weeks of flirting. "No, but I'm also a big fan of italian food. Especially lasagna. And breadsticks. And alfredo sauce."

Sam shrugged but then shook his head a little. "Nah. I mean not actually written. I do make up stories in my head a lot, but I'm not very good at the writing part. I'm more a fan art guy. Or I can do comics. But not really long stories," he explained. "I mean, we could still try though maybe. It might be fun. And I'm glad you're having a good time. I feel really like... comfortable with you. It's cool."

"That is so cool! You do fan art?! You mentioned liking sketching before, but I didn't connect the dots to how much you actually liked drawing. What kind of stuff?" The idea of trying it had him nodding, and he was already thinking of things they could do. "Reasons to date your friends, right? Oh! Speaking of! Do you happen to be a fan of spooky things outside of spooky movies?"

"Yeah, I love drawing. I want to learn animation too, but I'm saving up for some of the equipment you need to do it, " Sam explained proudly. "I like to create my own comics and make up characters and stuff. And I do a lotta Cap designs cause he's my favorite." He smiled shyly at that thought. He'd never really dated someone he was close friends with beforehand. "I mean, it's Halloween. It's all about the spoopy!"

“That would be so cool! Do you want to animate based off the characters you come up with? You’re a very Captain America kind of guy, it makes sense. Not just the physique either, but the way you care about people and your entire personality.” Mason complimented intentionally all the time, sure, but some things were merely glaringly obvious observations. “It is! Okay good. You mentioned wanting to go see Halloween - why don’t we do a haunted house beforehand?”

"Maybe." Sam shrugged, still unsure of himself in that particularly area. "I'm just having fun with it and seeing what I can learn for now." His smile returned and his cheeks turned a soft pink at Mason's compliment. "Ooh, that'd be fun! We totally have to dress up too. In the spirit of Halloween and all."

The conversation flowed so easily the rest of the night that Mason was almost giddy with it - maybe he'd done the right thing in waiting to date someone properly who was more of a friend than simply an infatuation. Asking Sam to take him home was admittedly in part to extend their time together, and when they pulled up to his house Mason was already turning to face Sam. "Tonight was so much fun, Sam."

Sam put his car in park and turned his body as much as he could as well, smiling over at Mason. With a quick calming breath, he reached over and took Mason's hand in his own. "It was. I had a blast. I'm really glad you said... over and over," he added with a little laugh. Mason's excitement about everything was super contagious.

"So am I! I'm really glad my rambling hasn't scared you off yet." Mason squeezed Sam's hand, and this time he kept their hands pressed together. The contact was so night and the 'first date' feel of it all was so nice that he wanted to just... soak it up.  For a second his eyes darted down to Sam's lips and he didn't know what proper protocol was, so he went for a whispered "Can I kiss you?"(edited)

The corners of Sam's lips curled up slowly and he took another breath. It seemed he hadn't forgotten how to make words with his mouth, so he just nodded slightly at first as he kept staring at Mason's eyes. "Yeah," he finally managed to get out. "Definitely yeah."

Mason waited for consent before he leaned in and pressed his lips to Sam's. The pressure was gentle, but firm, and he let himself enjoy it for exactly what it was. It was like physically manifesting all the wonderful things Sam had been making him feel since they'd first met and putting them into the kiss.

Sam's hand instinctively came up and his fingertips brushed over Mason's cheek. In the moment, the thought ran through his hand how different it felt from kissing a girl. Mason's skin was still soft but it was in a different way, his jaw more pronounced. He really liked it. He returned the kiss, careful not to press forward to quickly and enjoy the moment for what it was. He was still smiling like a fool when they broke apart.

Mason felt a little like he was floating when Sam's lips pulled away from his, and like a teenager very much in like he let his eyes stay closed for a few moments more just to really let the feeling linger before finally he opened his eyes and grinned. "Holy /wow/, Sam."

Sam let out a breathy little chuckle because he couldn't imagine a better reaction, especially from Mason. "Yeah, dude. Same," he replied before realizing how incredibly stupid that sounded. Not that his brain was really in working order right now anyway. "I mean... you're really good at that."

"So are you," Mason admitted, hoping Sam wouldn't think he was too weird for not really knowing what to say after that. "Usually I can string words together at least. I really, really hope that kiss means you're interested in a second date, because if you are, then the answer is already yes."

"Well, you're usually doing better than me then," Sam joked, still holding tight to Mason's hand. "And, yeah. Most definitely. Haunted house and Halloween, yeah? You can even hide against my shoulder if you want. Or I might have to hide against yours. I can't make any promises."