#bellens

Bellamy and Laurens meet for the first time after Aaron and Alexander officially start dating again.

They run into each other at a bar, where Laurens is trying to distract himself by drinking as much alcohol as he can in order to forget the fact that Alex is currently on a date with Burr. Of course, he’s making that almost impossible by scrolling through Instagram at the same time, muttering under his breath about how annoyingly cute the new couple is. He spends way too much time flicking through every app of social media, purposefully not liking any of the pictures that Alex and Burr post. They're even Facebook Official. Disgusting. 

Bellamy walks into the bar, not exactly looking to drink, but just hoping to find something to occupy his mind and take his thoughts away from Aaron. He’s been trying to convince himself for days that he’s happy for Aaron, even that he just wants him to be happy, even going as far as to like and comment on all of Aaron’s posts about Alexander on social media. But of course Bellamy is lying to himself. He’s upset that he lost his chance, and he can’t stand the idea of someone else being there for Aaron when it could have been him. 

Bellamy spots Laurens with his chin on his arm at the bar and, after a moment of just standing there and staring, recognizes him as Alexander's friend. He only hesitates a moment before approaching him. What does he have to lose? Besides, he's the only person Bellamy knows, and he remembers Aaron telling him that Laurens and Alexander had a thing a while back, so maybe the guy is in a need of a distraction just as much as Bellamy is.

So Bellamy goes over to Laurens, opening his mouth to introduce himself, but then he sees what Laurens is looking at on his phone, and can’t help but chuckle. Laurens turns around at the noise, getting ready to yell at whoever is standing behind him, but then his eyes land on Bellamy and he pauses, trying to figure out why this guy looks familiar. Then Bellamy steps forward, introduces himself, and then flops down on the chair next to Laurens, smiling at him and simply saying, “You too huh?"

They start to talk, each of them taking turns moping and ranting about getting dumped by the people that they liked. Bellamy is trying to say that they should be supportive, and even tries to take Laurens’s phone so he can get him to like Alex and Aaron’s photos, but Laurens snatches it back and then retaliates by grabbing Bellamy’s phone and attempting to unfriend Aaron for him on Facebook, which makes Bellamy shriek and reach out for his phone. That makes Laurens laugh, and he fiddles around with Bellamy’s phone before putting it, and his, down on the bar face down so they can just talk without thinking about Aaron or Alex. Cause hey, a cute guy is sitting next to him, and Laurens isn’t going to let that opportunity pass. So he buys Bellamy a drink, and they have a reasonably good time together before parting ways. It isn’t until the next morning that Bellamy will finds out that Laurens put his number into his phone contacts.

The first few days after they got drinks, Bellamy just stares at the new number in his phone, arguing with himself over whether or not he should call Laurens. Did he actually want him to call? Neither of them are exactly in a good space to date, and does Laurens even want to? Is Bellamy ready to date? Cause every time he closes his eyes, he still sees Aaron's face and feels a pain in his chest. But finally, after hours and hours of picking his phone up and then setting it back down, he just thinks, fuck it, and calls Laurens. At the very least, they can just talk to each other like the night at the bar. It’s just friendly. However, he is not expecting Laurens to pick up before the first ring of the phone even ends. And he definitely doesn't expect to feel so happy about that.

And Laurens had so many insecure thoughts leading up to that call. Had he put in the wrong number? Had Bellamy just not noticed? Or, even worse, had he noticed and just not wanted to talk to him? Maybe he creeped him out by being too forward. But then the phone rings, an unknown number flashes across the screen, and Laurens jumps to answer it, knowing that he must sound way too eager when it turns out it’s Bellamy. But he doesn’t care. He answers the phone with a teasing tone, "Took you long enough," and trying to act like he hadn’t freaking out for the past few days. And Bellamy just laughs in response, sounding nervous himself and then admitting as much. And that makes Laurens grins so hard at his phone, and he is suddenly very thankful Herc isn't there to ask him why his face is turning such a rosy shade of red.

They limit their contact to just phone calls for a few days, neither of them really sure what the other wants from this...well, whatever this thing is that they’re doing. I mean, they met because both of them got rejected by the people they've been pining over for years, that's not exactly a great way to meet. But then during one phone conversation, Laurens just blurts out "so are you going to ask me out or what?" And Bellamy is kind of in shock, but then he just goes, "name a time and place.”

And of course both of them are freaking out before the date. Bellamy doesn't know what to wear and is totally second guessing himself. Maybe he isn't ready for this. And just when he manages to calm himself down, he gets a text from Laurens that says "have to reschedule. sorry." And Bellamy feels a stab of disappointment before responding with a simple "it's fine." But then Laurens is calling him in tears, telling him that he had been so nervous and had wanted to call Alex for advice but Burr had answered the phone and he knows it's dumb but he's upset. Bellamy listens to Laurens sniffle on the other end for a few seconds, and then asks if he can come over. Laurens says yes.

Bellamy gets to Laurens's apartment as fast as he can, herding a red eyed Laurens over to the couch and putting a blanket around his shoulders. They put on a movie they've both seen 100 times in the background, and Bellamy orders them pizza and they drink whatever soda and alcohol is left in the fridge and just sit cross-legged on the couch talk about anything and everything. They talk about their feelings, about how they're not over Alex or Aaron. They talk about how they're probably not ready to be in a relationship but the interest is definitely there, a statement that makes both of them duck their heads and smile. But they agree to take things really slow, because they both know that they need to process all of their emotions before jumping into a new relationship.

But it doesn’t take long for Bellamy to start to love Laurens's freckles and the way his nose crinkles when he laughs. And Laurens loves the way Bellamy's eyes light up and how Bellamy laughs with his whole body, head thrown back and shoulders shaking. And when they are out having drinks or at a movie or when Bellamy manages to drag Laurens to a pet store to look at the animals, both of them love how happy they feel. They start to hang out even more. 

Bellamy starts inviting Laurens over and cooking for him, making way too much every time but feeling so happy when Laurens eats two servings of it and looks like he’s died and gone to heaven each time. Then Bellamy starts teaching Laurens how to cook, loving how excited the other man gets when whatever he’s learning to cook doesn’t burn. And sure, Bellamy might tell a white lie every now and then about Laurens’s food being good (he’s got a long way to go) but he loves seeing Laurens look proud of himself, and the fact that Laurens still needs a lot of improvement gives Bellamy an excuse to keep inviting him over for lessons.

Then Laurens starts teaching Bellamy how to play some his favorite video game. And Laurens can’t help but laugh at how bad Bellamy is, because yeah, Bellamy is pretty awful. But he loves how amused Laurens gets at watching him fail, so he may or may not exaggerate how bad he is, just to see Lauren’s smile. And after a long night of losing over and over again, Bellamy is surprised when Laurens leans over onto him, falling asleep on Bellamy's lap. Bellamy freezes, unsure of what he should do. Should he wake Laurens up? Should he stay, or is it weird for him to stay without asking? But then he looks down at Laurens’s sleeping face and convinces himself to stay. He throws a blanket over Laurens and then gets more comfortable on the couch, letting his hand rest on top of Laurens’s head and runs his fingers through the soft, curly hair as he drifts off himself.

Something shifts between them after that night. A sort of tension creeps into their relationship, and Bellamy knows what it is. He knows that his feelings for Laurens are suddenly hitting him like a truck, but he still has no idea what to do about it. And Laurens feels exactly the same way, wanting to take things a step further but not knowing if Bellamy wants the same thing. There are more awkward silences between them when they hang out, eyes lingering on lips before darting away, and both of them jump whenever they accidentally brush against the other.

Laurens is walking Bellamy home one night after dinner, and the walk has been silent the entire time. Whenever he glances at Bellamy, he had caught the man staring at him but looking away quickly whenever they made eye contact. Laurens was overwhelmed by a desire to just reach out and take Bellamy’s hand in his, but he stops himself every time and eventually just shoves his hands into his coat pockets, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground the rest of the walk. But then they get to Bellamy’s door, and are just staring at each other with wide, nervous eyes. Bellamy starts to speak, starts to tell Laurens he had a good time as always, and then, before he knows what’s happening, Laurens pulls his hands from his pockets and pulls Bellamy down and presses their lips together. Bellamy makes a startled noise that he is immediately embarrassed of, even if he does feel Laurens smile against his lips, but he forces that feeling down and focuses on the fact that he is finally kissing John Laurens. Those ridiculously soft lips are on his, and those smooth hands are on his chest, those long fingers twining into the fabric of his shirt. They break apart moments later, both of them breathing heavily, and then Bellamy smiles and says “Took you long enough” with the same teasing tone that Laurens had used so long ago when they had talked on the phone for the first time.

They start dating a few days later, laughing to themselves like lovestruck teenagers when they make the relationship Facebook official. Laurens convinces Bellamy to let him take a picture of them kissing so he can put it on Instagram, because hell, they deserve to gloat a little bit. They deserve to be together and they deserve to show the world just how happy they are. They post a couple pictures, Laurens smiling whenever someone likes them, and he looks up at Bellamy with a teasing light in his eye before saying, “Took us long enough.”

Bellamy is surprised by how well they work together, despite them being so different. Laurens is loud and abrasive at times, acting spontaneously and rashly. He can go through five different moods in the span of a couple of hours, but Bellamy doesn’t mind at all. Laurens is a bit of a challenge for him, but it’s a challenge that Bellamy loves, a challenge that isn’t really even a challenge, because Bellamy loves every part of Laurens. He loves how passionate he is, how funny he is, how talkative he can get when he finds a topic that he loves or cares about, and Bellamy really loves how Laurens looks at him, soft eyes and crooked smile that never fails to make Bellamy’s heart beat quickly in his chest.

And Laurens learns to read Bellamy’s moods as well. He learns that Bellamy needs time to himself sometimes, gets anxious when Laurens tries to force him to be just as spontaneous as he is. He learns that Bellamy is a morning person, but that he hates to be woken up before his alarm, and that Bellamy will easily get lost in a book for hours, not even looking up once no matter how hard Laurens is trying to get his attention. It’s an adjustment, being a couple, but Laurens wouldn’t change anything. Because he loves how sometimes Bellamy will burst into his apartment, declaring some elaborate plan he has made for them to do. He loves how Bellamy will surprise him with home-cooked meals every week, and how he will gladly sit for hours and listen to Laurens rant about something that’s been bothering. And Laurens really loves how gentle Bellamy is, how he’ll play with his hair or give him a massage, or lie with Laurens in bed and murmur kind things into his ear that never fail to make Laurens’s heart beat quickly in his chest.