Work Text:
Todd opened the door and immediately wished he hadn’t.
He stood in the doorway of the local coffee shop he liked to frequent, his eyes wide as he took in the surroundings. The place was packed. Every table was full, his normally quiet hangout now crowded to the brim. People were chattering loudly everywhere he looked. His favorite squishy chair in the back corner was occupied by some college-aged couple making out unabashedly. Todd clutched his notebook tighter to his chest and searched for an explanation for the chaos. His eyes finally landed on a chalkboard by the service counter. Oh. He’d completely forgotten that today was the shop’s annual anniversary event, which meant free coffee all day. He usually stayed away on this day, but in his desire to get away from home, it’d slipped his mind entirely.
Todd sighed. Jeffrey had dropped him off here on the way to campus for his summer courses, which meant that he wouldn’t be back to pick Todd up for at least another three hours. Unsure what to do, he tapped his fingers against his notebook, then finally spotted the only remaining free chair. It was at a small table for two by the window. The sole occupant of the table had his head down with his face smashed into the keyboard of his open laptop (every square inch of which was decorated with theater-themed stickers and decals), somehow sleeping in the midst of all the ruckus. Todd figured he wouldn’t mind if he sat down.
As Todd took his seat, he accidentally bumped the table with his elbow, jarring the stranger awake. The guy popped his head back up with a start, blinking indignantly and making an expression of such confusion that Todd would have laughed had the man not been a total stranger. Todd was now face to face with a boy about his age whose messy brown bangs flopped over his admittedly striking face. When he finally kept his eyes open long enough for Todd to see them, time stopped for just a second. The sunlight hit his brown eyes in a way that made them almost impossibly deep and beautiful and warm and welcoming and-
“Hi,” the stranger’s bewildered greeting snapped Todd out of his daze. His tone was baffled yet friendly, soft and bright all at once. Todd stiffened and opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out.
“Hi. Sorry. I-I should go.” he finally managed. He stood up abruptly before realizing he had nowhere to go. Todd looked around like a deer in headlights.
The stranger laughed awkwardly. “Hey, it’s alright. You can sit back down if you want, it’s not like there are any other spots.” Todd reluctantly obliged, fidgeting nervously with the hem of his plain white t-shirt. “I’m glad you woke me up, actually.” he continued, stretching his arms above his head and scrunching his face in a funny little way that made Todd’s heart start to beat a bit faster. His voice was as angelic as his appearance - a perfect match. It reminded him of fireplaces and blankets and comfort, like you could curl up inside it and be home. “I need to finish m- annnd I typed five pages of ‘h’s while I was asleep.” He chuckled and the corners of his mouth tugged upwards in a smile that embodied the gentle heat of an August morning. His face was as beautiful as the summer landscape outside, perhaps more. “I’m Neil, by the way.” Neil reached his hand across the table for a quick handshake that sent electricity racing through Todd’s veins. God, he was weak.
“Todd,” he almost whispered, starstruck.
“Todd,” Neil repeated in the same hushed tone. His voice held a trace of awe, like it was the most beautiful name in the world and not some boring single syllable that was used to refer to a million other people. He said it like it was poetry, like it was scripture. Todd never knew he could love the sound of his name so much. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yeah,” Todd gave a quick nod. “What, uh, what are you working on?”
“Oh!” Neil replied, pleasantly surprised Todd was taking an interest. “It’s an essay for an online summer course I’ve been taking. My father wants me to get ahead.” Neil smiled and adjusted a pin on his plaid button up, which was black, red, and white with short sleeves. Todd looked closer and saw that the pin was a tiny rainbow flag. His stomach did a funny little flip-flop.
“What’s it about?” Todd asked.
“It’s, uh, LGBT history in America.” Neil replied.
Todd’s eyes flicked back to the pride pin. “Did you go to the pride parade last week?“
Neil shook his head. “I would have, but all my friends are out of town and I didn’t have anyone to go with.”
“You’re not single.” Todd said in disbelief, not fully realizing what he had said until it was too late. He barely ever talked as it was, so it was alarming that something would just come flying out of his mouth like that. Something about Neil just made him want to talk. It was both exciting and terrifying.
Neil chuckled. “I am.” His face flushed slightly. “My father… he likes to make sure I’m focused on what’s important.” His smile dropped and he lowered his gaze back to the computer screen. Todd heard pecking at the keyboard as he tapped his fingers anxiously against the table.
“I wish I was that brave.” Todd blurted suddenly. Neil paused and looked up at him. He’d already said too much, but his mouth just kept going. “I-” he let out a breathy laugh. “I-I’m not even out yet.” Todd had no idea what possessed him to pour all of this out to some beautiful stranger he’d met two minutes ago. He hated himself for it. “My parents, they, I- they’re already barely tolerating that I’m not their daughter anymore…” He couldn’t even make eye contact with Neil. “I don’t know what they’d say if I told them I-I’m not interested in… in dating girls.”
Neil stared at him. The silence seemed the stretch on forever before he spoke again. Neil closed his laptop and leaned across the table a little. He took a deep breath, looked right into Todd’s eyes, and spoke. “Want to go somewhere and get dinner?”