Chapter Text
Darwin answered his door to see Hero. Before he could get a word out, Hero interrupted, “You want to leave?” Darwin looked surprised and confused but he still couldn’t say anything before Hero answered, “I saw the papers on your desk.”
“I’m not discussing this with you.” He attempted to close the door but Hero put his hand out to keep it open.
“If it’s because of me, then you should.”
“It has nothing to do with you.” Darwin tried pushing the door closed again, but only got annoyed at how effortlessly Hero was keeping it open.
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“Fine, if I admit that it is, will you leave me alone?”
“Darwin, I don’t like Marilyn.”
“Why are you telling me? I don’t care.” That was partially the truth. It didn’t matter to him if Hero liked Marilyn or not. The more important thing was that he believed Marilyn liked Hero and eventually something was going to happen between the two of them. He didn’t want to be around when it did. Darwin put his back against the door to apply more force to get it to shut.
Hero pushed open the door wide enough for him to squeeze through and Darwin, who had been applying more pressure to the door, pushed the door closed after him by complete accident. “I have things I need to say. Just hear me out.”
“Fine…” Darwin begrudgingly accepted. He crossed his arms in an attempt to look annoyed, but in all honesty, he was uncomfortable and it just made him feel better.
“I never intended to hurt you. Looking back, I can see how it looked like I did. I said things to ruffle Marliyn’s feathers as a joke and when I saw how overprotective you were with her, I did it more to mess with the both of you. I’ve never been interested in dating Marilyn and I never meant to do anything that would intentionally make her not interested in you. And I apologize for anything that I’ve said to make you feel inferior in any way or undeserving of her attention.”
“Okay, thank you. Can you leave now?” He reached for the doorknob, but Hero leaned his hand on the door to keep it closed.
“Are you going to finish that form?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
“Don’t leave. I know how much you love it there.”
“Why? Why does any of this matter to you so much?” Darwin was feeling fed up now. This was one of the many reasons he was trying not to tell anyone. He had made his decision and he was determined to go through with it for his own sanity.
“Because there’s something here.” Hero hadn’t planned this being part of his apology. He hadn’t planned anything he felt he was now on the urge of saying. The plan was just to apologize, convince Darwin to stay, work on becoming friends, and then maybe work up to admitting his feelings if they hadn’t dispersed by then. But now everything was happening out of order. Everything was being rushed. He felt he needed to say everything now or he didn’t know when he'd get another chance. “I’ve noticed the way you look at me and I’ve heard the way you talk about me. Usually, it’s out of anger but…. I like you... A lot… And I would be very interested in getting to know you better and… seeing where this goes. If you don’t want to, tell me to leave and we’ll forget any of this ever happened and never talk about it again. But don’t leave because you think that I don’t like you or that I want Marilyn.” It sounded rough even to his ears, but he was hoping he got his point across.
“Hero.” He said, sounding stern but feeling overwhelmed because the more Hero talked, the closer he was getting into his space. Darwin raised his hands to push against Hero's chest to stop his approach and to get more breathing room. Mentally he was prepared for this to be a joke. Just a way to mess with him before he transferred or it was an odd way to get him to stay. But then he notices his hand over Hero's heart and feels how rapidly it's beating. Nobody should be that nervous about saying something that wasn't true unless they were worried about the reaction. He decided to take the risk, “This isn’t a joke? Because if it is—”
“Course not.” He says slightly offended. They stayed like that for a moment, Darwin looking lost in thought like he’s trying to play back every interaction they’ve had trying to find where he missed something, and Hero taking glances between Darwin's eyes and mouth while waiting for permission. It occurred to Hero that words weren’t enough and Darwin would need something more concrete to take him seriously. To break him out of his thoughts, Hero gently grabbed one of Darwin’s wrists and held it up to press a light kiss to his hand. “Are you going to let me kiss you at some point?”
Darwin could feel his face get warmer, “Y-you want to?”
“Very much.”
Darwin eases his hand off of Hero's chest and Hero takes the chance to lean in to connect their lips with a gentle kiss. It's short and sweet. Hero pulls away but before he can say anything, Darwin reconnects with a slightly more eager kiss. He pulls him closer by the waist and Darwin runs his hands up his neck. Hero grows enamored with the satisfaction of how well they fit together and he tests the waters by trying to slip his tongue in. Darwin responds with a surprised whine but anxiously matches his energy. The kiss slowly grows in intensity until Darwin pulls away gasping for air and Hero presses their foreheads together. “Sorry. Bit carried away. I've been waiting to do that for so long.”
“You have?” Darwin says in between breaths. ”Since when?”
“Well… when I first found out that you liked Marilyn, I tried to see you two together, and for some reason… I couldn't. But then I started thinking about who I could see you with. I don’t know why, it was just something that would cross my mind during boring patrols as I looked around at people. It wasn't until I pulled you back into the boat when you fell—”
“Pushed.” Darwin corrected him.
“When I pushed you, and you were standing there freezing, I had this sudden urge to pull you close, keep you warm, and kiss you. I wrote it off quick as just one of those random weird thoughts that happen sometimes. But then it came back when I came to give you medicine and I moved you to your bed.”
Darwin pushed on his chest to fully look at him. “I was sick! That would have been disgusting.”
“But I didn't care. And when I was preparing you food, it felt… domestic and I liked the idea it was for you. That's when it hit me that I liked the idea of being the one with you.” Hero hoped Darwin would have a better understanding of his intentions now.
“This is a lot to take in.” He felt a bit light-headed and still in shock at the sudden turn of events.
“I didn’t mean to overwhelm you, but… you weren’t exactly leaving me much choice.”
Darwin took a short moment to gather his thoughts and settle his nerves. “Okay…We can give this a chance, under one condition.”
“Anything.”
“No more of that flirtatious teasing with Marilyn.”
“I only ever did it to get a reaction out of you anyway. Now that I know I have your full attention…” Hero pulled Darwin closer, hoping to get another kiss out of him.
“Oh god, you’re going to be insufferable, aren’t you?” He tried to sound irritated but the blush forming on his face gave away that he was enjoying the new attention.
“Absolutely.”
Even though Darwin felt satisfied where this conversation had gone, a brief thought crossed his mind that made him anxious. “Can we not tell people at work about any of this? I’ll never hear the end of it.”
Hero hadn’t thought that far but he wasn’t going to disagree. The thought of putting up with their colleagues' comments and questions did unsettle him a bit. “I’m okay with that. Our little secret.”