Work Text:
This was a new level of sad that Elliott didn’t think that he would ever let himself reach, let alone voluntarily. And yet here he was, sitting at a bar that wasn’t even his own, staring down at the colorful drink in his hand and stirring at his mocktail with the pick that came with it. Elliott wasn’t even allowed to drink, being the designated driver and all, which quite possibly made this situation even more pathetic.
Not only was Elliott talked into driving Octavio to his date with a person that wasn’t even him, he also had to wait for him to finish his date so he could drive him back home. Elliott rolled his eyes and downed his drink as though there was actually a chance that the non-alcoholic cocktail would give him even the slightest of buzz.
The bar that he had driven Octavio to was in the middle of ass backwards nowhere and it was either he sit here and drink fake cocktails or frown alone in his car. Elliott honestly didn’t know which was worse. He sighed and let his eyes wonder over to the booth where Octavio sat across from his date who - yeah sure, she was pretty (and yeah, Elliott had already forgotten her name) - but she was not as pretty as Octavio. And Elliott doubted she was crushing on Octavio as hard as he was.
Elliott watched Octavio who sat with a small smile on his face, twirling a glass in his hand before taking a drink and slipping into what looked like easy conversation. And God, Elliott wasn’t sure he was ever going to forgive himself for being talked into such a new low. Elliott ordered another drink - pina colada, of course - even the non-alcoholic version was his favorite and he could at least enjoy the taste of the drink as he sat alone, waiting for his crush to finish up his date. Jeez.
The sudden hand on his shoulder took Elliott by surprise as he slightly jumped, looking to see Octavio looking at him with a cheeky smile on his face, “Did I scare you, amigo?”
“You could say that,” Elliott replied, looking past Octavio to the booth he had just occupied to see that it was completely empty. He allowed his lips to tug into his own mischievous smile, “What, you get ditched or something?”
“No but I wish I had,” Elliott watched as Octavio looked towards where the bathrooms are, “She’s in the bathroom but uh, long story short, I need you to kiss me.”
Elliott was glad he didn’t have a mouthful of drink as he would have certainly spat it all over Octavio’s white button down. The shock at the sudden nature of the request must have been apparent on his face because he didn’t miss the sudden snigger that Octavio gave him, “What? I got something on my face?”
Elliott shook his head, “Why? What’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing, it’s just ... she’s boring. I need outta here, and fast. But I can’t just ... up and leave. So would you go over there and pretend you know me and plant a kiss on me?” Octavio spoke fast, gesturing wildly with his hands whilst his eyes occasionally flickered towards the general direction of the bathroom so his lady friend didn’t make a return, “Cool? Okay. Muchas gracias.”
And with that Octavio was off and Elliott had no choice but to stare after him as he crossed the room and slid back into the booth, looking over at Elliott with something of a shy smile. A few seconds after that Octavio’s date slid back in across the booth and finished the last of her whiskey-cola. Elliott mirrored her actions and finished the last of his pina colada, suddenly aware of the race in his heart.
Octavio caught his eye from across the room in a silent plead to come and be his knight in shining armor. “Oh, fuck this,” Elliott muttered to himself then stood up, striding towards the booth and forcing himself to adopt the charismatic charm that he was so well renowned for.
“Octavio! What are you doing here, silly?” Elliott asked lighthearted with a smile on his face. Octavio looked up at him with a smile that he didn’t even bother hiding, “I know I dared you to go on a date but I didn’t think you would actually do it. Guess that’s a 20 I owe you know, huh?”
“What’s going on?” The woman asked, confusion apparent as she looked between the two men with a furrowed eyebrow.
“It’s true what he’s saying. I was just dared to go on this date,” Octavio slid out from the booth and stood next to Elliott, “Money is money. Nothing on you hermana.”
The woman looked at them incredulously and almost comically shocked which sent a pang of guilt right though Elliott’s whole being. Why was it he was so easily roped into Octavio’s schemes? He sighed quietly and looked at Octavio who looked at him and said, “Isn’t that right dear?”
Reluctantly, Elliott replied, “That’s right. So sorry for the inconve-inco-incon-the trouble that we have caused you,” He let out something that resembled a nervous giggle and was all too aware of the blush that was currently tinting his face a pale shade of scarlet.
“You’ll have to excuse my boyfriend here, he’s not the best with words and English is his first language, heh, can you believe that?” Octavio quipped and Elliott’s breath caught in his throat. Boyfriend? Was this going too far?
“I’m sorry - what?” The woman said, readjusting in the booth so she was fully facing them, “You mean to tell me this whole night was just - what? A ... a dare?”
Octavio shifted his weight from one hip to the other and wore an awkward smile, “Something like that,” He said, and Elliott shook his head despite himself.
“And you two are .. dating?” She asked again, her hand wrapped around her glass albeit being empty for the better part of five minutes.
“Yeah, we’re dating. Boyfriends. Smushing butts partners,” Octavio said which earned him a groan from both the woman and Elliott who rolled his eyes but Octavio continued to smirk like nothing weird and completely morally debatable was currently happening.
“Okay, I think I’ve seen and heard all I need to, you two have a good life together,” The woman said spitefully and stood from the booth, grabbing her purse before she turned on her heel and pushed past Elliott with a hard knock to his shoulder.
Elliott rubbed at his shoulder, looking after her before he turned to face Octavio, “What the hell, man? You couldn’t have just waited the date out like a normal human?”
Octavio shrugged, gently swaying in his clear tipsiness as a dumb smile spread across his face, “I could have, but you know me amigo. I don’t wait.”
Elliott let himself huff out a laugh at him - a demonstration of amusement despite the annoyance that fought so hard to be present, “You’re so weird. And to think I didn’t even need to kiss you,” Elliott dared let himself say.
Octavio giggled at him, a cute little thing that scrunched his nose up, “Come on, let’s go back into the city. I wanna be drunk but not here.”
It would seem as though Elliott would follow Octavio anywhere as he, without a single question, objection or even thought, followed Octavio as he walked out of the bar and into the car that brought him here and Elliott slipped into the drivers side with a sigh. It was silent for a few moments and although it was only a few seconds, it felt like minutes had passed.
“Listen -,” Elliott started but Octavio had started to talk at the exact same time and then they were both apologising and Elliott felt the same clouding of scarlet on his cheeks and he directed Octavio to speak first.
“I’m sorry for dragging you out here tonight. I really didn’t have a ride here,” Octavio said and Elliott watched him as he spoke, his eyes darting to his jet black hair and his eyebrow piercing and the way his hands seemed to accompany every word that left his mouth.
“Eh, it’s fine, it’s not like I had anything better to do with my time,” Elliott tried joking but it felt flat and the awkward verse of laughter didn’t help matters much. He internally cringed then looked to Octavio who was staring back at him, small from where he sat in the passenger seat.
“But the whole thing I said about you kissing me ... I said that in hopes that you would actually kiss me,” Octavio said and his eyes were low, searching his own hands that were bundled together in his lap. Elliott watched with wide eyes at the younger man who seemed impossibly vulnerable in the yellow of the parking lights that illuminated the front seats.
Elliott couldn’t believe what he was hearing right now. How could tonight have started out so wrong but seemingly ended so right? The confession from Octavio settled over him in a new shade of confidence and he turned his body slightly to face the other man a bit better and he inhaled deeply before daring himself to say, “You still can ... if you want to. Kiss me, I mean...you know...”
He saw Octavio glance up at him with a twinkle in his dark eyes, and Elliott let his eyes drag over the curve of Octavio’s smile and soft skin. Elliott exhaled as Octavio shifted in his chair, turning to face the other man, “I hope that you mean that.”
Elliott let himself shift closer still, as much as possible in the current situation, and the two were fully facing each other now, “I do,” He breathed out and the end result was little more than a whisper. His eyebrows were slightly raised as Octavio inched closer and he wasn’t sure who closed the gap but suddenly their lips were pressed together in a shy, sweet contact that seemed to take the both of them by surprise.
They pulled apart and looked at each other with a mutual expression of incredulity for a few short seconds before they met half way again, lips pressed together in something more desperate and passionate as their lips worked together, closed mouthed for now but still dripping in a newfound passion that ran deep within the hearts of both of them.
Elliott reached his hand out to let it rest on Octavio’s ribs, feeling the shirt underneath the skin of his palm and discreetly rubbing his fingers lightly at the spot where they landed. Octavio’s hand came to rest on Elliott’s jaw and suddenly his tongue was swiping along Elliott’s lips who was all too eager to allow him access. They moved in a nice, slow rhythm, the sweet sounds of their contact filling the all too enclosed space of the car they sat in.
When Elliott felt Octavio’s hand drop from his jaw to the bottom of his shirt where it traced his bare skin in place of the shirt that rode up he gasped and pulled away. Elliott grabbed Octavio’s wrist to removed his hand from his skin but kept his wrist in his hand. “We - we can’t do this. Not now - you’re drunk.”
Octavio frowned at him but didn’t seem to protest at his wrist in Elliott’s hand, and in fact he barely moved away from Elliott - there was mere inches between them and their picked up breathing that sounded between them, “I’m not - I’m not drunk. I know you want to kiss me.”
Elliott sighed hard and heavy and let Octavio’s wrist go, it hovered where he left it and he shook his head, “I do, but not like this.”
Octavio’s hand finally dropped back to his lap with a dull thud and he turned his back to Elliott with a huff and a shaking head, electing instead to stare out the window. Elliott went to reach out and dared to touch him on the shoulder but he second guessed himself and pulled his hand back at the last second, letting it rest on the steering wheel. Instead, he tried to talk, “Tav-,”
“Just drive,” Was all Octavio said in response and Elliott allowed himself to look at Octavio’s back for a few seconds before he bit his lip and started the car, reversing out of the spot he was parked in and made his way out of the mostly vacant parking lot, trying not to let his thoughts linger too hard on the events that had unfolded in the past half hour.