Chapter Text
Brian had many good ideas, and this definitely wasn’t one of them. Freddie definitely wasn’t someone Brian would usually confide in, yet here he was knocking on his door anyways.
After a few moments, Freddie’s roommate John opened the door and let him in, knowing he was probably here to see Freddie. The two didn’t know each other very well, but they got along just fine, even though Brian has barely heard John say two words since he met him.
Brian was about to ask if Freddie was in his room when he heard a hysterical scream from down the hall and Freddie ran into the room. “John, darling, you’ll never believe what- oh, hi Brian!”
“Hey, Fred. I was just wondering if we could talk for a bit? It’s about my date.” Freddie seemed to have calmed down a bit and nodded, sitting on the couch and patting the seat next to him. John seemed to have gotten the memo and shuffled down the hall to his room, leaving the two to talk alone.
“What is it, dear? Did something happen?” More like someone, Brian thought. By the look on his face, Freddie knew he was going to be getting some good gossip.
“Well it’s just... I think I have feelings for someone else. I don’t know if I really want to go on this date. I’m sure Chrissie is a nice girl, but I’ll never like her as much as I like this... other person. You know what I mean?” Brian thought Freddie might catch his purposely not using pronouns, but he simply nodded and sighed.
“A bit too well. But I don’t think you should let your feelings for another girl stop you from at least giving Chrissie a chance.” Brian would have to talk to Freddie later about the ‘a bit too well’ part, but for now he had something else in his mind.
“That’s the issue. The other girl... well, isn’t a girl. He’s a guy. I’m uh... I’m bisexual.” Brian realized he was staring down at his feet and lifted his eyes up towards Freddie. His expression was nearly unreadable, which was unusual for him, but Brian thought he could sense a bit of relief judging by his more relaxed posture. A bit confusing, but at least he wasn’t angry with him.
“Damn it. I thought I had pretty good gaydar.” Freddie actually looked disappointed. Brian was even more confused now. Freddie sensed his friend’s confusion and gave him a surprised look. “You know I’m gay, right Bri?” Brian slowly shook his head, a surprised expression on his face. “I thought everyone knew! Huh. Anyways, who’s the guy? Do I know him?”
“Freddie, I’m pretty sure he’s straight. Even if he’s not, why would he like me? There’s really nothing appealing about me. What’s the point? And besides, if I told you his name, half the school would know before break is even over!” Brian was having a hard time processing everything. He had just come out, Freddie was gay and apparently crushing, and his worries about his date still weren’t resolved. Brian had a feeling this conversation wouldn’t go as planned, but he didn’t think it’d be this far from what he imagined.
“How do you know? Maybe he’s having the same crisis you are. And there’s plenty of reasons to date you, dear. You’re sweet, handsome, smart, funny, talented, creative, and the list goes on! Anyone would be lucky to have you.” Brian gave Freddie a ‘thank you’ smile and Freddie smiled back at him. “I have to admit that last part is true, though. But if you felt the need to tell me about your feelings then there has to be something more to him. I still think you should go on that date, though. It’s not like you’re obliged to go on a second one, and I think it would really hurt her to be stood up.”
Brian nodded and made up his mind. It wasn’t Chrissie’s fault he was catching feelings, and he definitely didn’t want to stand her up and hurt her in any way. He was going on that date- just not with any intention of starting a relationship.
Freddie’s face suddenly dropped and Brian gave him a confused look.
“I owe John £20.”
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Brian had a lot to think about on the walk home. He couldn’t believe anything that just happened. Hell, this visit was supposed to make him less confused, not confuse him even further.
First things first, he just came out for the first time. Even in all the confusion, he did feel relief, no longer feeling like he was alone. Someone else now knew his secret and he wasn’t bottling every emotion he felt anymore. If he needed someone to vent to about guys (specifically one guy), he could knock on Freddie’s door. He also felt relief that he had a friend who was experiencing, more or less, the same feelings he was for a guy.
The more he thought about it, the more Brian realized Freddie would often hang out with guys after getting drunk at a bar with Brian, John, and Roger or comment on a jacket a random man in the streets was wearing. Brian thought he was just being nosy or something, but now he realizes Freddie really wasn’t subtle at all and Brian was just oblivious. To be fair, he does hang around Mary a lot and anyone who didn’t know them probably thought they were a couple.
Another thing to think about was that Freddie was not only gay gay, but crushing on someone. They’d have to have a talk next time they visited one another. Brian thought about all of their mutual male friends that could be possible contenders, excluding Roger and himself. That only left John. Hmm...
Speaking of John, he couldn’t believe two of his closest friends bet on his sexuality! What great friends he had. John did seem to be the rather quiet type, so it was pretty plausible that he’d notice what Brian had been hiding before anyone else. Freddie really wasn’t the attentive type, often focusing on many things at once. Brian couldn’t really think why Roger wouldn’t notice. They were closer than most couples, in many ways.
Brian finally arrived home and fumbled with his keys, unlocking the door. His mind was a bit jumbled up and he figured he’d spend even longer thinking before bed than usual. When he walked in the doorway, Roger was sitting on the couch next to a bowl of popcorn watching a movie. He didn’t seem to have heard the door open, so Brian thought he’d surprise him.
Brian admired Roger for a moment before moving out of the doorway and walking into the living room. He seemed to be watching some sort of horror movie, judging my the eerie music and the nervous look on his face. Roger had his knees up to his chest, arms around his legs protectively.
Brian snuck up behind Roger and put his hands on his shoulders, “Hey Rog, I’m home!” Roger let out a very high pitched scream and whipped his head around to look at the taller man. His mouth was still open and he put his hand on his chest.
Brian couldn’t help but laugh. This seemed to anger Roger, who pulled him down over the couch and the two ended up on the floor, along with all the popcorn. Brian knew he’d be the one to clean it all, but he still laughed. Roger’s anger seemed to have disappeared and now he was laughing, too. The sound blessed Brian’s ears.
After a few moments of pure laughter, Roger rolled over next to Brian and poked him. “Now look what you’ve done. There’s popcorn everywhere and I’m going to have to rewind the movie.” Brian looked up and beamed at Roger, all thoughts about his conversation with Freddie completely gone.
Roger could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. Brian’s face was filled with pure joy, which was filling his face with pure joy. Suddenly, he got an idea. “Now to make up for it you’re gonna watch the movie with me. After you clean up and get some more popcorn, of course.”
Brian nodded and padded into the kitchen to get a broom and a dustpan. Roger got to work on rewinding the movie, this time all the way to the beginning so he could watch it with Brian. He was only a half an hour in anyways.
After the floor was popcorn-free and Brian made some new popcorn, he returned to the living room to see Roger laying across the couch with an open spot next to him. Brian was too excited to even be surprised and he climbed in next to the blonde, letting him rest his head on his chest. He was a lot more relaxed than last time and Roger’s warm body was very comforting.
Every time something scary happened on-screen, Roger would dig his face into Brian’s chest and Brian would rub his back. They were both really enjoying this, even though neither of them were fully paying attention to the movie. Brian had a confusing day and needed relaxation, so cuddling up with Roger was definitely helping him.
Roger had also been feeling quite lonely that day, with Brian going out and all. He found himself actually doing schoolwork, which was something he rarely did even when he wasn’t on break. He thought a horror movie would entertain him, but he didn’t know quite how scary it’d actually be. So, he too was finding great joy in the cuddling that was happening.
When the movie finally ended, both men were too comfortable to get up to turn off the tv, so they just let the credits play. At this point, the two were just looking each other in the eyes while Brian played with Roger’s hair. There was a long-running silence, but it wasn’t awkward. Neither of them felt the need to say anything, so they just didn’t.
They did this for a while, the credits eventually ending and the tv screen going blank. Roger didn’t know why, but he felt the urge to kiss Brian. So he did. There wasn’t any thought to it, really, and when Brian started kissing back there were no worries about wether or not he made a mistake.
This felt more intimate than any other time they practiced. There was no talk beforehand about how it was just as friends and for Brian to increase his skills. There was a lot of love poured into the kiss, something that hadn’t been there before.
When they pulled away, they kept their foreheads and their noses touching. The pair opened their eyes and made eye contact, grinning, both men feeling utterly careless and in the moment. They went in for another kiss.
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When Brian woke up, it was around 2 am and he was still on the couch with Roger’s face stuffed into his shoulder, Brian’s hands around his torso. Seeing him there made him smile and he quickly fell back to sleep, nothing to worry about because he had the person he cared about most next to him. He couldn’t have asked for anything more.