Sweatpants
Pairing: Tony and Derrick
Series: Kindered Spirits; High school yearsĀ
Warnings: none
A/N: soft.
Derrick felt the knock at the door before he heard it. The light pound rattled the shelves and broke his fragile trance of slumber. It was like he never fully closed his eyes, yet as he brought himself to a straighter posture and rubbed at them, it was as if they were sewed shut.
He took his time peeling his body off the couch. His tight uniform sticking to his skin with glue made from old and recent sweat heās collected from various jobs, and the muscles in his arms and legs crackle back to life as he sluggishly raises his sore body to his feet. Derrick could feel the fingerprints of sleep on his cheeks and arms, and he rubs at a few that sting as if they took bite out of his flesh. Altogether, the nap wasnāt exactly satisfying, and he feels grosser in this over-worn uniform than before he even laid down.
Making it to the door was a challenging thing, and Derrick takes his sweet time doing so. After all, It didnāt sound like the person behind the door was in any rush.
Derrick yawns as he opens the door, and his eyes become wide open once he sees whoās behind it.
It was Tony well dressed in a mint green button up and his hair slicked back with a little more attention and care. Tony whoās waited expectantly for Derrick to answer the door with the same amount of excitement as him. Tony excited for a date that heās been talking about for the past week.
āAre you ready, Dare? It took you awhile to answer the door.ā
Suddenly, Derrickās entire body becomes about a thousand pounds heavier.
āOh my God.ā He rubs at his eyes again, this time a little harder so the pain is a punishment. āI am actually the worst boyfriend in existence and still need to shower. How much longer until the reservation?ā
But the flash of disappointment in Tonyās eyes is a shadow compared to the excitement in his face, and Derrick was tired, but he wasnāt tired enough to let it slip past him. They both knew the truth: That Derrick forgot their date tonight.
āI guessā¦ā Tony pulls a small phone from somewhere and glances at the screen. ā...We have a few minutes but donāt worry about it, Dare. We can go next-ā
Tony was already led in the house.
āIāll be super quick. In and out. Don't worry, Tones. Weāll make your reservation.ā
Then, a kiss was slapped upon Tonyās cheek as he watches Derrick tread the stairs. Some rustling came from above him; drawers being opened and doors being closed. Soon he heard the shower water hitting the tile floor and Derrick stepping in.
Tony spent the next few minutes touring his home, glancing at the pictures on the walls, trying to find the story behind them. He quickly realized how boring his house was. It had simply two pictures and a wooden clock covering the little wall space, and the two pictures were old by several years. Nothing recent to show the growth of the family that resides inside of it.
Tony eventually finds his way upstairs and strolls down the hallway that leads to Derrickās room. His pace is slow and careful and shadow is faint amongst the dim light that shines through the bottom of the bathroom floor; the shower water still echoing as it rains.
He lets himself in Derrickās room, finding it a little unorganized than whatās acceptable for his standards. The drawers of his dresser were left open and throwing up clothes. Some books lay on the ground with their spines to the ceiling and pages crumbling under weight. Tony takes a second to pick them up and return them to the holes on the shelves. Then, he takes another second to return the drawers to their natural state as well, until a thought stills him.
Derrickās room wasnāt usually this bad. Sure, he wasnāt perfect and his room wasnāt spotless, and sure, his room isnāt at itās worst right now, but he still never exactly lets it get this bad. Unless he was busy like he is now.
Working three jobs at a time would take its toll on anyone, and lately, it's been taking its cruel time turning Derrick into a giant ball of stress that isnāt fun to cuddle with anymore. Tony has been taking note of whatever he can since no matter what he says to Derrick, it wonāt change his mind about his decision to work three jobs this summer. This was a big sign to Tony. A sign that may not convince Derrick to change his plans for the summer, but it just convinced Tony to change his plans for the evening.
-~-~-~-~@-~-~-~-~
That shower wasnāt exactly Derrickās record time. There were too many instances where the steam trapped by the walls would soak into his tense muscles and work to ease his mind. His eyes would close, forehead would lean against the wall, and body would merely concentrate on the feeling of water running down the curves in his back. His heavy eyelids would find relief anytime they would close. Enough relief to send Derrick straight into a nap that wouldnāt leave him more exhausted once he woke up.
Steam spills out of the bathroom when he opens the door, and a slap of cold air hits his dripping curls. He dries it off in his towel as he blindly enters his room, shirt unbuttoned and tie hanging loosely around his neck.
Suddenly, Derrickās scared to remove the towel from his eyes.
Tonyās mint green shirt laying on the floor caught his eye first. Then, he notices his black pants and a belt not far away from it.
He swallows thickly.
But it wasnāt what Derrick was expecting. In fact, it was what he was hoping for deep down in his aching body. Tony holds a pair of sweatpants out to him, dressed in one of Derrickās large t-shirts and baggy sweatpants.
āHere Darey, put this on instead.ā
Derrick looked to Tony, then to the pants in his hand, then to Tony again. He notices how small Tony looked in his clothes, but how cozy as well. Reluctantly, he slowly raises his hand to grab the sweatpants from him.
āI thought this was a nice restaurantā¦ā
Tony nods his head to a tilt. āOh it is, but I thought that we should go next week. I have better plans for tonight.ā
He knew exactly what Tony was doing, and Derrick couldnāt hide the guilt on his face. This was supposed to be the night heās been waiting for. The night heās been wanting for weeks. Derrick looks down to the sweatpants that are now in his hands.
āThank you, Tony, but I canāt. I know what youāre doing, and I appreciate it, but this is your night, baby. I canāt take that away from you.ā
His smile was genuine, small but very genuine. āYouāre not taking it away from me, Darey. Iām giving it to you. Youāre tired. I see it in your eyes.ā Tony doesnāt wait for Derrick to respond before heās already walking out the door. āIām picking the movie though. Hurry and change so you can order pizza.ā
And after a game of rock, paper, scissors to decide with or without sausage, Derrick collapses on the couch once again. His weight sinks into the worn cushions that mold perfectly to his shoulders, and Tony nestles into the spot on his chest that heās been so carefully shaped to fit into. Itās warm, under the covers of the throw blanket and on top of cushions of the stained couch. Warmer than the air outside of this nest of soft comfort.
Then, somewhere between the blankets and shared body heat between the two, Derrick falls dead asleep, fallen victim to the heaviness in his eyelids.







