#burrjeff

The man could talk for hours and Aaron thinks that he would still hang on every word, would still marvel at the smirk that never drops from Thomas’s mouth and the playful looks in his eyes. Thomas knows how good he is, knows how to spin words into an argument that never gives his opponent a chance, and Aaron likes that.

Aaron knows a big part of it is Thomas’s charm. He’s confident in himself, practically oozes smugness and egotism, but somehow it’s not annoying or overbearing. It just seems to work for him. And despite only having a few conversations with the guy, Aaron is drawn to him, more so than he wants to be.

But he doesn’t fool himself in thinking that Thomas feels the same towards him. Beyond the few conversations they’ve had together (usually taking place whenever Thomas comes over to visit James, Aaron’s roommate), they’ve only hung out in group settings, and when Aaron has seen Thomas at parties, there’s always with someone new plastered against him.

So Aaron doesn’t let himself think that Thomas notices him as much as he notices Thomas, and lets himself continue to admire from afar.

-

Aaron has barely made it back from the showers when he hears the door to his room open. Figuring it’s just James getting back from class, Aaron doesn’t bother turning around, just continues to dig around in his dresser for a clean shirt.

“Hey, Aaron,” comes James’s familiar, soft voice. “Sorry to barge in.”

“Aaron,” another voice says, also familiar, and Aaron spins around, eyes meeting Thomas’s as the man smiles at him. “Nice to see you.”

Aaron, suddenly aware that he’s in nothing but his sweatpants, nods at Thomas before pulling on a t-shirt, and then notices that James is gathering his wallet off of his desk. “Are you guys going out?”

“You should come,” Thomas says in way of a response, eyes still on Aaron. “There’s a party at the Schuyler’s tonight.”

“I’m not really dressed for a party,” Aaron tells him.

“I think you look great, and we all know that I’m always right.”

Aaron laughs at that, watches as Thomas grins even wider in response, and then Aaron is hit with the realization that if he does go to the party, he’ll have to watch that smile be directed at other people.

“I’m going to have to pass tonight,” Aaron eventually says, and Thomas frowns, looks like he’s going to say something, but then James is grabbing his friend’s arm and pushing him out of the room.

“That’s fine, Aaron. I’ll try not to wake you when I get back.”

James does wake him, stumbling into the room and smelling faintly of alcohol. Once he’s in his pajamas and lying on his bed on the other side of the room, he turns his head on the pillow, makes eye contact with Aaron.

“Thomas is into you.”

The words make Aaron’s stomach flutter, and he breathes in and out a few times before responding. “He only thinks that because he finally saw me with my shirt off.”

James snorts. “That’s probably part of it,” he admits, and then he’s turning onto his side, still facing Aaron. “But I’m serious. He’s into you. Like, into you into you. He talked about you.”

Aaron just hums at that, doesn’t want to show how much he wants all of this to be true. He bites at the inside of his cheek, considers the situation. “And what exactly do you want me to do about it?”

“Would you do something about it? I mean...” James waves his hand in the air. “Would you go out with him if he asked?”

“He would never ask.”

James groans, slaps his hand to his face. “I’m literally telling you that he wants to. You should be thanking me for this, since you’ve been pining after him for at least a year.”

“I have not been - “

“You have. And Thomas has too. It’s why he’s always coming back to the room with me, just so he can say hi to you.”

Aaron doesn’t respond to that, refuses to get his hopes up. James is drunk. And he’s sure Thomas had been drunk when they had this conversation. How can he trust any of this?

“He doesn’t seem like the dating type,” Aaron finally says, and James laughs.

“Oh, he’s not. I mean, not because he doesn’t want to, but because he’s bad at it. The last time he had a crush, he was walking over to the guy to ask him out, fell over his own feet and broke his nose. Hence why he’s been sticking to casual hookups lately, doesn’t even stay the night with any of them.”

Aaron hums, takes in this new information. It’s hard to picture Thomas as anything but charming. It seems like he could date anyone he wanted to.

“He doesn’t want to date me,” Aaron murmurs, and James just groans again, and then turns over onto his other side, clearly done trying to convince Aaron.

-

The following week, Thomas follows James back to the room no less than five times, saying hello to Aaron each instance. By the fourth time, Aaron is starting to put more faith into what James had told him.

That Friday, Thomas asks Aaron to come to a party again, and this time, Aaron finds himself saying yes.

“It starts at nine,” Thomas tells him, a smile on his lips. “I can pick you up, if you want.”

“No,” Aaron says quickly, knowing that if that happened, he’d lose all his nerve about going to the party in the first place. Or make a fool of himself in the cramped space of the car. He wants to play this as smoothly as he can. “No, that’s okay. I’ll just...I’ll meet you there.”

Aaron doesn’t end up arriving until almost ten thirty, having spent a large majority of the evening sitting on his bed and debating with himself whether or not he should go.

When he finally does get there, he doesn’t spot Thomas or James, ends up running into Alexander and Mulligan instead, which is fine, but Aaron can feel himself glancing around the room and zoning in and out of the conversation, checking his phone constantly.

A little after eleven, Aaron finally does spot Thomas, and he feels his stomach drop, feels his hands clench around his phone.

Thomas is leaning against the wall opposite Aaron, smirk on his face and hands resting on the hips of some guy that Aaron can’t see the face of, but he still feels a rush of anger towards that person, followed by a rush of embarrassment heating his own cheeks at having allowed himself to think that Thomas was actually interested in him.

Suddenly, Thomas makes eye contact with Aaron over the shoulder of the man in front of him, and Aaron quickly looks away, stands up just as quickly and makes his way over to the front door, the room  feeling far too cramped and warm. He needs to find James, needs to get a ride home and just hide in his room for a few days. 

When he steps outside onto the porch, he curses under his breath when he doesn’t spot James. Then he curses again when his phone flashes a dead battery symbol at him. Shit. This night is definitely not going as planned.

“Do you need a ride home?”

Aaron spins around, finds himself staring at the dark fabric of Thomas’s shirt before he tilts his head up to meet the man’s eyes.

“I...no.” Aaron shifts on his feet, shoves his useless phone into his pocket. “James can drive me, I just need to - “

“He’s at Dolley’s,” Thomas interjects, already pulling his keys out from his jean pocket. “So unless you want to interrupt whatever they’re doing.” Thomas pauses there, his gaze heavy as he observes Aaron. “Let me give you a ride.”

Aaron bites at the inside of his cheek, considers the offer, knowing that there’s more behind it than just Thomas being polite. “Have you had anything to drink?”

“I’m sober as a whistle.”

“That’s not how the saying goes.”

“Whatever. The point is, I’m sober. Haven’t had a drop to drink. I’m rarely this nice while not being drunk, so you really should take advantage of this moment.”

Aaron cracks a smile, can’t help it. But then he grows more serious. “You sure the guy inside won’t mind?” he asks as lightly as he can, and Thomas blinks at him.

“Lee? Lee is just a friend. We aren’t - “

“You don’t need to explain it to me,” Aaron says in a rush, suddenly feeling stupid for having even brought it up. “I mean, it’s not like we’re...or...” He breathes out loudly. “You don’t need to explain it to me.”

Thomas gives him a long look, and Aaron feels the back of his neck grow warm. “Okay,” Thomas says slowly. He opens his mouth to say more, but then pauses and shakes his head. “Do you still want a ride?”

Once they’re in Thomas’s car, all conversation between comes to a halt, and the drive is silent and stifling, and Aaron’s gaze keeps flicking between Thomas’s hands on the steering wheel and the way the street lamps cast an orange glow against his face.

His neck grows warm again, but this time for a different reason.

After about ten minutes of silence, they get to Aaron’s dorm, and Thomas parks the car, still doesn’t say anything.

Aaron glances at him, an unasked question in his gaze, but Thomas just stares, keeps his lips pressed together in a firm line, hands still on the wheel.

Figuring that’s a clear signal to get out, that nothing more is going to happen, Aaron unbuckles his seatbelt with jerky movements, has his hand on the door handle when Thomas’s hand suddenly lands on his shoulder, stopping him. 

“You know,” Thomas starts, his voice casual. “James has this book that I’ve been meaning to borrow from him. He said it’s on his desk, so...mind if I come up to get it?”

Aaron slowly looks over his shoulder, thinks he spots signs of nervousness in Thomas’s expression before the man is smiling at Aaron, eyes roaming over his face, clearly not interested in the book.

“Sure,” Aaron says, proud of the way his voice comes out casual.

They walk up to Aaron’s room side by side, still not speaking, but every now and then, Thomas’s hand will brush against his, and Aaron feels his face heat up.

Once they’re in his room, Aaron walks over to his desk, drapes his jacket over his chair and listens to Thomas close the door. When he turns around, Thomas is leaning against James’s desk, his arms crossed as he stares at Aaron.

“No sign of the book?”

Thomas shakes his head. “I’m devastated.”

“Guess you came up here for nothing, then.”

“Aaron...” Thomas trails off after his name, takes a step towards him. “You know I didn’t come up here for the book, right?”

Aaron laughs, moves closer to Thomas and angles his head up. “You’re not that smooth,” he murmurs, and he hopes that he looks more confident than he feels as he reaches his hands out to rest them on Thomas’s hips. “I know exactly what you’re doing.”

Thomas’s eyes roam over Aaron’s face, his lips slightly parted as he brings up a hand to rest it against Aaron’s jaw, moving in one more step until they’re basically flush against each other. “So you don’t mind if I kiss you?” he asks, his voice pitched low.

“At this point, I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Thomas tells him with a smile, and then he’s leaning in, his breath ghosting over Aaron’s cheek before he’s pressing their mouths together in a kiss.

Aaron holds his breath at first, keeps his hands still where they’re resting on Thomas’s hips. He doesn’t want to disturb the weight of this moment, doesn’t want to move too quickly and shatter everything. But then Thomas brings his other hand up so that he’s cupping Aaron’s face, kisses him harder and licks over Aaron’s lower lip.

And Aaron’s breath stutters on his inhale, hands twitching against Thomas’s sides as Thomas slowly coaxes his lips apart, the kiss become wet and heated, making Aaron push up into it, not caring that he has to stand on his tiptoes to get a better angle.

Thomas makes an appreciative hum in the back of his throat, and his fingers trailing over Aaron’s neck as he moves his hands down to his shoulders and then down his back until he’s cupping Aaron’s ass, squeezing.

Aaron laughs into Thomas’s mouth, arches against him and then slides his hands up Thomas’s chest, clinging tightly to his shirt as Thomas starts to walk him backwards. Then Aaron is inhaling in surprise, Thomas’s hands moving even lower to cup the backs of Aaron’s thighs, lifting him up and setting him down onto the surface of his desk.

They break apart after that, both of them breathing heavily, Thomas looking pleased with himself.

“Hi,” Thomas says, chuckling when Aaron rolls his eyes in response. Then he’s moving in for another kiss, hands smoothing up and down Aaron’s thighs, and while the gesture should be calming, Aaron feels nerves beginning to prick along his spine.

“Thomas,” he manages to breathe about between kisses, but Thomas just hums, keeps kissing him, and Aaron allows himself to be swept up in it for a few more seconds before pushing at Thomas’s chest, separating them.

“Too much?” Thomas asks, and he goes to pull his hands away, but Aaron covers them with his own, stopping him. “Aaron?”

“Why did you come here?” He has to know what this is. Has to know what Thomas wants. He doesn’t think he can keep trying to guess only to be disappointed.

Thomas furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said,” Aaron answers. “Why did you come up to the room? And why did you want me to come to the party?”

“I thought I was making that rather obvious?”

“So it was all just for sex?”

Thomas makes a startled noise at that, stares at Aaron with wide eyes. “What? No! Aaron, that’s not...I like you. I think you’re...you know...I think you’re great. And I...I mean you’re definitely...” Thomas pulls one hand away and gestures at Aaron. “Like, seeing you with your shirt off was a spiritual experience but it’s more than that. And kissing you was...wow. But it’s...I’m - or, you’re - I just - “

Aaron starts laughing, Thomas’s bewildered expression just making him laugh harder, and he eventually pulls himself together once Thomas’s bewilderment seems to turn into embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry,” Aaron tells him over one last laugh. “I just don’t think I’ve ever heard you sound so ineloquent.”

Thomas narrows his eyes, but then he smirks, leans in to press a kiss to the corner of Aaron’s mouth. “Well, it’s not my fault that you’re beyond words.” 

Aaron huffs, glances down to stare at where his hand is still covering one of Thomas’s, and he taps his fingers against the back of Thomas’s hand, bites at his lip. “Sorry I killed the mood.”

“Don’t be. Besides, while one mood may be killed, another rises in its place.” Thomas smiles when Aaron looks up, and then he nods towards Aaron’s bed. “Can we watch something? Cuddle up under the covers in just our boxers until we fall asleep?”

“You...that would be okay with you?”

“I’m not a sex addict, Aaron. Contrary to popular belief, apparently. I’m more than happy to cuddle with you. And as I said, I like you. A lot. And would definitely enjoy waking up to your face.”

Aaron grins at that, and Thomas gives him a fond look before starting to strip down to his boxers, smirking when he catches Aaron staring.

They crawl onto Aaron’s bed, kissing softly and letting their hands roam, but it isn’t as heated as before, is much slower, both of them taking the time to explore each other.

They never get to watching something, their movements growing even slower as they both start to grow tired. The last thing Aaron remembers is Thomas pressing kisses to his shoulder as his eyes slip shut, sleep washing over him.

When Aaron wakes in the morning, Thomas is wrapped tightly around him, clinging to Aaron with his long limbs, one leg thrown over his waist, and his face is pressed to Aaron’s chest, mouth wide open as he breathes, the occasional snore escaping him.