Despite Luke teasing him about his sensitive skin, and Brock offering him sunscreen before they went to the beach, he still managed to stay out in the sunlight too long. His shoulders and arms were easy to slather with aloe, but his back burned brightly without the soothing cool of the gel. Plus, it itched; the skin starting to peel was impossible to get to, and it was a torture. His whine rumbled through his neck before he tossed his face into the pillows, praying the pain and uncomfortable sensation would stop. 

“You okay?” The cool hand that touched the shoulder blade made him moan in pleasure, grateful to get the soothing touch over his aching flesh. 

“Ev, please don’t ever stop touching me,” Delirious grumbled, ignoring the needy tone in his voice to ache into the palm. The chuckling above him was teasing, and simply cruel, but he didn’t bother to complain. The drag of nails down his spine felt like an orgasm, knowing his groan was loud after the first scratch peeled part of his sunburn away. It hurt, slightly, but also felt amazing. “Scratch ri-right there!”

“You’re not supposed to peel a sunburn.” Evan’s scolding tone made Delirious growl, then whimpered as the fingernails stopped.

“No- I d-don’t care, just-I- please please please-”

“Okay, okay. I got you.” A gentle kiss to the back of his neck, one of the only parts of his body that hadn’t been burned, pressed Evan’s smile into his skin. Then the scratching started again, and he was sure he’d never been in more bliss than that very moment. His limbs shivered, forehead rolling against the pillows in happiness. He was sure it wasn’t an attractive look, and if this had been four years ago, maybe he wouldn’t have asked. But Evan and him shared too many embarrassing moments for this to even make the top ten. 

“God, yo-you- amazing. You’re so a-amazingful.” Delirious felt drunk at the gentle care Evan took to scratch and smooth the damaged skin, knowing the burst of cold liquid that dripped over his spine was aloe. It burned in the way that meant it would numb soon, and Evan’s smooth spread of the medicine helped ease away the sensation. 

“Thanks, tomato-lirious.” The tease was soft, and he was sure it wasn’t the only nickname he’d get over the next week. 

“Evil,” he grumbled with far less venom than he’d originally wanted. 

“You chose me; remember that.” Another calculated scratch melted Delirious into the mattress, and the words that’d floated so easily between them were no longer needed. They weren’t always soft like this, and Evan gave as good as he got. They were sneaky, fierce, confusing and a pain according to all of their friends. Evan said sometimes he wondered if they were too dangerous together, even after all the years that proved the opposite. Delirious would take every different side of him with a smile, so long as Evan never stopped touching him.  

“I look dumb!” Evan had to bite back a sigh at the common phrase that had been spat out throughout the day of preparing for prom. He stared at his reflection, trying to remember everything on his mental checklist. He had his ticket, he’d gotten his hair cut, shoes polished. Now, tugging on the edges of his tux, he had perfected his prom look. His best friend, who had refused to come out of the bathroom for the past half hour since getting his own ‘penguin suit’, was the last part of his duties before he got to enjoy the night with his friends.

“First of all, you always look dumb. The suit isn’t mean to change that-”

“Excuse me?!”

“And second of all,” Evan continued, hiding his smile in his voice. “We are all gonna look dumb. So stop complaining about it. We still need to pin your boutonniere on and take pictures.” 

“Pictures? But we’re-it’s not like we go-got dates or nothing.” 

“You know how my mom is,” Evan answered, struggling to pin the bright blue flower onto his suit. Though he’d told her so many times that he and Delirious weren’t dating, she continued to act as if they were meant to go to prom together. It didn’t help that their friends, co-workers, peers, parents, and even some teachers thought the same thing. But Delirious hadn’t asked him. Not that he wanted to! It was just..weird, for so many people to think there was something even remotely close to a relationship happening between them was-

“Uh, you-I- oh, wow.” Vanoss lifted his head up at the fumbled words, surprised to see how quietly Delirious had snuck out of the bathroom. He’d only make it half a step out, seeming frozen in the doorway. His hands were vice grips on the frame, something close to awe speckling over the freckles that covered pink cheeks. 

“Hey, you wore the blue tie. It looks great, and it brings out your eyes-” 

“I love you.” The admission fell through Evan’s mind like a sledge hammer, making his brain slam to a stop. Floored, he froze in his room, mouth dropping open with nothing to say. The disgust or confusion he should have felt was non-existent, the bloom of excitement far too easy to grow with each second their eyes stayed locked together in the silence. His hands were slow to drop away from the flower half hooked into his suit, unsure why they twitched with the need to feel the smooth cheeks Delirious had shaved an hour ago. The space between them was like a canyon, but Vanoss wanted to try jumping it. 

“W-what?” 

“Oh God.” The craziest part of the moment was the knowing panic that crossed the pale face before Delirious’s fingers slapped over his mouth. Like the information, which felt so life-altering and new to Evan, was already ingrained in his best friend’s mind. “Luke said I should have-there w-was a plan and I-I-I’m so stupid-”

“You love me.” Because it wasn’t a question he wanted Delirious to take back. A shuddering breath at the thought proved that despite the shock, the lack of knowledge or any of the embarrassment he knew would come from his friends later, Vanoss wanted nothing more than to hear the words tumble from Delirious again. 

“I’m so dead, this wa-was just-I’m sorry, I swear Ev, I swear I-I can stop-”

“Please don’t.” Then Evan was moving, finally gathering Jonathan’s face into his warm palms to pull him into a kiss. Their lips didn’t line up because of Delirious’s still moving mouth, but the awkward first moment was lulled into an easy pleasure once the other’s mind clicked into what they were doing. The force that Delirious used to return the kiss proved how desperate he was to hold onto the moment, and Evan let his head lean back to give him the space to show his affection. Hands crinkled the front of his tux, but Evan couldn’t be bothered to care.