Chapter Text
Steve can say with all honesty that he never could have even predicted that a trip to Vegas for Hafu's birthday would end up in planning a date with anyone, let alone Apollo. It wasn't even something he could shove under the rug and think about by himself for a bit, they're only 2 whole days into the trip after all. Nowhere to run if things aren't going well or tensions rise and they both need to cool off.
They're sitting side by side cross-legged on Steve's bed in the hotel, phones in hand. It's been an hour since the incident and Steve's head was feeling much better after the both of them downed a liter of water and some pain medication. Hafu had messaged them asking if they'd made it back to their room alright.
Apparently they had been very intoxicated and she'd asked someone to take them back to the hotel. She had staff return them to their room too, apparently. So whatever started between them started in the room evidently.
"Steve." Apollo says, nudging Steve's knee with his.
"Yeah?" He replies, scrolling through discord looking for any other messages he might have missed.
"Did you bring, like, turtlenecks by any chance?" He asks. "Two, even?"
Steve turns comically slow towards him with disgusted look, "Why the fuck would I ever even own a turtleneck?"
"We have Hafu's birthday lunch today." Apollo says.
"I know?" Steve frowns, "What does that have to do with turtlene- oh wait. Fuck."
"I don't want them to know about, um, us." Apollo mumbles, "At least not right now."
Steve nods, "Yeah that's probably for the best actually."
"We could buy a scarf each? Maybe play it off as a joke?" Apollo suggests, he doesn't sound serious but Steve's not sure if they have another choice at this point; he's sure as hell not going to get them turtlenecks.
Steve stares at Apollo for a second and thinks that maybe a black turtleneck might suit him. "We'll get you a turtleneck. I'll get a scarf, or something."
"Why am I forced to wear the turtleneck?" Apollo says.
"You'd suit one." Steve replies, he goes back to his phone and switches to camera mode, checking the bruises around his neck, "Oh man, a scarf is going to look ridiculous but also it might not work. You hickey'd me up pretty harsh on my jaw."
"Sorry." Apollo mumbles.
Steve rolls his eyes and gently nudges Apollo's shoulder with his, "Don't apologize, it's fine." He brings the camera closer to his face, "Actually, maybe we can use makeup- I've seen girls entirely transform their faces before so a few little marks should be nothing."
"That's smart, actually." Apollo grins, "Less embarrassing than a scarf and that animal print shirt together."
Steve looks down at his shirt and snorts, "Can you imagine? Urgh, disgusting." He fake gags.
"A neon yellow scarf." Apollo adds on, "With tassels." Steve continues to fake gag as Apollo laughs.
Steve stops fake gagging when some spit flies out of his mouth and lands on his phone screen. He stares at it with a glare and wipes it clean on his shirt.
"We should probably find somewhere that sells makeup." Steve says as Apollo clutches his stomach to calm himself down from laughing.
"What kind of places do people get makeup from?" Apollo asks.
"Why the fuck would I know that." Steve mumbles, "Dude, probably a makeup store or something?"
"Lush?" Apollo asks.
Steve whips his head around so fast it gives him a cramp in his neck. "That's not a fucking makeup store. It's got bathbombs and shit."
"Oh. Ok." Apollo says, "Maybe you could ask someone?"
"Like who? I thought we were keeping this from people." Steve replies.
"Reception? We could ring and ask." Apollo suggests.
"Probably better than ringing Janet or something." Steve says, leaning over to the bedside table and grabbing the hotel phone.
"She'd never let you live it down." Apollo says, "She'd be all 'omg Steve remember that time you rang me and asked where to buy makeup and wouldn't tell me what it was for like that's soooo sus' and she'd do it on stream too so you'd be embarrassed."
"Dude she fucking would." Steve laughs, dialing the lobby and waits until he hears them pick up, "Hi! I have super weird request- where do I buy make up from? It's an emergency."
The conversation doesn't last very long and finally Steve hangs up with a sigh. "They told me where to buy some but they can't deliver it to the room so we'll have to go and get it ourselves."
"You actually asked them if they could deliver make up to our room?" Apollo laughs.
"Well, duh." He rolls his eyes, "Gotta think of the possibility we might be recognized while we're buying makeup."
"We could just say it's a gift for Hafu." Apollo grins.
"What, and be caught in a lie as Hafu shows people what we got and and very obviously have no makeup there?" He says, he knows damn well that would start wild theories on some social media platform somewhere. "What if we say we're going to do a private drag show in Hafu's living room for her?"
Apollo laughs so hard he doubles over, "Coming from you they wouldn't be able to tell if you're being serious or not!" He wheezes.
"Even better." Steve grins, "We leave them confused and wondering, they don't believe me but I am buying makeup after all, so they'd have to. Later when Hafu streams she gets asked about her private drag show. She doesn't know what they're talking about. They say 'but Steve told us that!' and there's no proof to go with it."
"She'll ask you about it and you'll be all like 'Hafu what the fuck are you talking about? Is this a hint? Are you wanting this? Anything for the birthday girl I guess' ." Apollo says.
"Janet will overhear and she'll be so excited and will then spend the next few hours trying to convince me about how good I would look in drag and how much the viewers would love it." Steve laughs, "And 5up would be so done with the conversation but he'd still be on Janet's side."
"Kimi would also side with Janet." Apollo adds.
"True. Hey," Steve says, checking the time on his phone, "We should find this shit before we have to go meet with everyone. Who knows how long it'll take to put it on, we don't know shit about makeup."
"You know if we don't get it right then everyone going to know about the makeup." Apollo points out, "There's a process to it. Some people spend ages in the bathroom doing makeup. We're new to this."
Steve groans loudly, "Fuck, you're right. If we attempt a good job at makeup we'll never make it to lunch."
An idea strikes Apollo, "What if we both just sucked it up and bought the turtlenecks but we just say you fell down the stairs and hit your jaw."
Steve lets out a disappointed huff. "Fuck it. But they'll make the connection between the turtlenecks and the bruise pretty quick."
"Oh shit, yeah I didn't think of that." Apollo mumbles, "Ok, turtlenecks but also makeup for your jaw. Maybe we can ask whoever is at the makeup store how to cover it or something."
"Going to have to at this rate." Steve says, "Let's get going, there's like an hour and a half until we meet with everyone."
Apollo slips off the bed and stretches with a groan, joints popping. Steve holds out a hand to be pulled up off the bed and Apollo does so with an eyeroll. "Is this shopping trip going to count as a first date or something?" He asks Steve.
"Nope. Not in the slightest." Steve says with a grin, "If we're going on a date it's going to be more fun than panic buying makeup and turtlenecks to hide some hickeys."
"Fair enough." Apollo says, grabbing their wallets off the nightstand. "Ready?"
"Pretty much." Steve shrugs, "Honestly, if you had told me yesterday that today I would be buying makeup to hide the fact we had sex and are now planning a date I would have thought you smoked crack, and didn't even let me have some."
"Yeah, it's a lot to take in, my mind is kind of all over the place right now." Apollo says, pulling the hotel door open. "Are you even sure you want to try? It's not going to take a date to know if you like me or not, you know."
With a huff Steve pulls Apollo back into the room and slams the door shut, turning to level Apollo with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face. "Apollo."
Apollo opens his mouth to reply but Steve cuts him off before he can start speaking. "Listen, ok, sure! It might not take a date! It might take multiple before I come to a decision, but dude, you gotta trust the process a little more. I'm not a stranger, ok? This isn't to test if we click or not as people- we already know we do. Even if we don't work out, we're still friends anyway."
Apollo is quiet for a few seconds, "You're too good for me." He says softly.
Steve doesn't reply, just gives Apollo a gentle shoulder pat and opens the door back up. They make their way down the hallway of the hotel to the elevator and if Steve let his hand sneakily slip into Apollo's then it was no ones business but his own, but damn he thinks, he sure had to hold back a laugh as he sees Apollo go absolutely bright red out of the corner of his eye.
As they stand and wait for the elevator, Apollo says, "You know, there's a chance we'll run into 5up."
"Doubt it, he's probably going to sleep in to the last minute as per usual." Steve grins, "He's just a sleepy little boy."
Apollo laughs lightly, "I suppose so." He squeezes Steve's hand gently.
They hear the ding of the elevator as it arrives on their floor from one of the floors above them. They step back in case anyone's going to come out and as the door slides open they're face to face with 5up.
"Oh, hey you two." 5up smiles and then they all freeze when his eyes slide straight down to their joined hands, back up and over to Steve's blatantly hickey'd jaw. "Huh."
They all stand there awkwardly just long enough that the doors to elevator start sliding shut again, Steve and Apollo absolutely willing to let it close on 5up. 5up, however, was not about to let that happen. He shoves a hand out the door and holds it open, "Get in, come on." 5up says.
Apollo looks like he's about to die on the spot and Steve wasn't going to back down and let go of Apollo's hand, so he drags him into the elevator with 5up. They stand in silence for a bit, 5up staring at them both with Apollo looking straight at the wall and deciding to just ignore the entire situation.
"So." 5up says, clapping his hands together like a school counsellor, the clapping sound making Apollo nearly jump out of his skin. "How long? If you don't mind me asking."
Steve wants to reply but he's not sure how Apollo would feel about it, but he knows Apollo probably isn't going to answer. "Recent, I guess." He says and hopes that's enough for 5up.
"How many people know?" 5up asks, "I assume not many?"
"Just you." Steve says, "And Apollo, but I think that's obvious."
5up spares a glance over to Apollo, rigid and still, his grip on Steve's hand was tight. "Apollo."
"Yeah?" He mumbles.
"I won't tell anyone." 5up says softly, "I'm not an asshole."
Apollo relaxes slightly at that and finally turns to look at 5up, "No one can know right now. We're still figuring things out."
"I understand, really, I do." 5up says, "Um, I hope you don't mind me saying but if you're trying to stay under the radar what are you going to do about the, uh-"
"The hickeys?" Steve cuts in, "That's what we're on our way to do now. Turtleneck gang, but we have to buy them first."
"That's going to look suspicious. I'll wear a turtleneck too to throw suspicion off of you guys." 5up says, "I think I have one? But Steve, your jaw is going to need some makeup."
"5up you are a literal blessing." Steve says, "Yeah, we're going to buy makeup too while we get clothes. Gonna ask the cashier how to hide this." He gestures to the hickey on his jaw.
"Oh that's a good idea." 5up says, "Good luck with all that." The elevator grinds to a halt at the ground level and they all leave.
They wave goodbye to 5up as he goes off to do his own thing. Steve drags Apollo down the street as they follow the directions the receptionist gave them. Thankfully the shop they were looking for wasn't too far from the hotel. As they get to the door Steve lets go of Apollo's hand and goes up to the counter. Thankfully it's not very busy.
"We need your help desperately." He says, and the girl looks up from her phone and stares at him.
"Gift for a girlfriend?" She says in a bored voice.
"Nope, but I imagine you get that a lot in here." Steve grins.
"You can't even begin to imagine how many guys come in here thinking they can just get their girlfriend a gift of makeup." She rolls her eyes and slips her phone into her pocket. "So what did you want help with?"
"Gotta hide this huge fucking hickey." Steve points to his jaw. "I have no idea how to do that or even what I'm supposed to use to do that."
She looks him up and down, then looks behind him at an embarrassed looking Apollo who catches her stare and swiftly looks away. "I see. I'm guessing family event and you're not out? Need the makeup urgently?"
Steve snorts, "I guess you could say that. As quick as possible would be amazing."
The girl grins and and comes out from behind the counter, "Been there done that. Wait a moment." She goes to a door leading to the back of the store and yells into the back, "Hey! Gay Family Emergency out here, bring your kit."
A panicked look crosses Apollo's face and Steve raises his eyebrows in surprise. "What." He says dumbly.
The girl turns back around, "I'm going to get my friend to cover your hickey for free. No real reason to spend like $50 for something you're not going to use much of."
"It was going to cost $50?" Steve blanches, what the fuck, he thinks, and he now pities everyone who uses makeup on a daily basis. "That's expensive as shit. Thank you though."
"No problem, it doesn't usually cost us anything to do this because we use the products that are damaged and cant be sold, but we don't like chucking them out because it's a waste of perfectly fine product." She explains.
Steve nods, "No point in being wasteful."
A moment later a lady comes out from the backroom with a handful of small bottles and brushes. She spots Steve and Apollo immediately and walks over to them with a smile on her face. "So are we covering all the hickeys or just that big bugger on perm guys jaw?"
Apollo snorts at Steve being called perm guy. "Just the jaw, thanks." Steve replies, ignoring the jab at his hair.
"Cool! I assume you won't need to hide the hickey after the family event, so you probably won't be purchasing anything?" She says.
Steve pauses. "I didn't think about that. I forgot how long it takes for these little bastards to actually disappear."
Apollo freezes, "How long does it take, Steve?"
Steve turns to stare at Apollo. "You've never had a hickey before?" He asks, and when Apollo shakes his head Steve continues, "They can last for like at most two weeks if they're bruised enough."
"Two weeks!?" Apollo squeaks, "I have to wear a turtleneck for two weeks?"
Steve laughs, "It's fine man, not like you use a facecam."
Apollo pauses, "Oh yeah."
Steve smirks and reaches over to ruffle Apollo's hair before turning his attention back to the girl in front of him. "Thank you for this, honestly."
The girl smiles and motions for him to come with her. Steve follows her into the back room, Apollo following closely behind. "So how long have you two been together?" She asks as leads Steve over to a tall stool shoved to the corner of the room.
Apollo answers this time, "Not long. But we've known each other a while." Steve feels pride flare up at Apollo for taking initiative and answering. Apollo sends a glance towards him so Steve gives him a grin.
"Ok, try and hold still while I apply the makeup." The girls says, tilting Steve's head for better access. "Also, a tip for next time, if you've got pesky visible hickeys you need to hide, try Band-Aids, maybe the larger surface area ones. A lot cheaper than makeup."
"Band-Aids!" Steve shouts, startling everyone in the room, "God we're fucking idiots."
Apollo laughs, "That would have been a simpler solution."
"Too late now." Steve says, "It's fine though, we can just use the Band-Aids tomorrow."
The lady doing Steve's makeup backs up to get a better look at her work, smiles and says, "I think you're done."
Steve slips off the stool. "Thank you so much. Really."
Apollo walks over, "Hey, you did a good job. Can't see anything." He says.
The lady grins and replies, "Well, you know, it's kind of my job."
They chat with her for few minutes before Apollo points out that they still need to buy turtlenecks and that they don't have much time before they have to leave to meet with Hafu and the others. Steve thanks the lady one more time and they leave the store. There was a clothes store nearby that looked like it might sell what they were looking for so Steve pulls Apollo into it.
He was right, at the back of the store there was a small rack of differently patterned turtlenecks. They both walk over and Steve picks up a bright orange one.
"What if I get this." He grins.
Apollo pulls a face, "Please don't." He picks up a deep maroon turtleneck and hands it to Steve. "Try this, but maybe we could get a black casual waistcoat to make it look less horrible?"
"A waistcoat? I'm not that fancy, man." Steve laughs. "Oh, actually that might work out. It is a birthday lunch we're going to." He grabs the maroon turtleneck and slings it over his arm.
"What should I get, then?" Apollo asks.
"You could try a plain black one." Steve suggests and he grabs one off the rack. "Try it on while I try this on."
"How'd you guess my size?" Apollo asks.
"We're not that different in size, wasn't hard to guess." Steve shrugs, heading over to one of the changing stalls.
Apollo goes to the changing stall next to Steve's. Taking his jacket off, he slips the turtleneck over his shirt and stares at himself in the mirror. It's not as bad as he thought it was going to look. There's a knock on his stall door.
"Hey, come out here so I can see. We'll compare because if these don't suit us we don't have much time to try again." Steve says through the closed door.
Steve watches as Apollo slowly comes out of the stall and he has to do a doubletake. "Holy fuck dude, that looks good on you."
"Yeah?" Apollo says, nervously picking at the sleeves.
"Yeah." Steve says, and wow does Apollo look good in a sleek black form fitting turtleneck, he thinks. "Uh, how do I look?"
"Like we need that waistcoat immediately." Apollo says, "You're fine, actually. It's nice. But we'll get the coat anyway because it'll suit the colour."
"Should I get slacks to go with it or are my jeans fine?" Steve asks, looking down at his faded jeans.
Apollo considers it for a moment before saying, "Actually, it balances it out alright. Just casual enough but not too out of place at the same time."
"That sounds stupid." Steve says, "Crisp fresh new clothes and then tacky ass jeans? I think you're a little biased and suffering from simp brain right now."
"Simp brain? Shut the fuck up." Apollo grins, "I'm telling you it's fine."
"Whatever, I'll wear them. We don't have time to be too picky anyway." Steve says with a sigh.
They decide to just go to the counter and pay for the shirts while they're still wearing them to save having to change at the hotel. Apollo grabbing one of the black waistcoat for Steve on the way, the one with a black velvet pattern you can only see if you're standing near it. They pay at the counter and lady is kind enough to give them a plastic bag for their other clothes.
Once they're back at the hotel, Steve dumps their old clothes on the dresser and turns to Apollo. "We should start heading out in a minute or we'll be late."
Apollo's eyes drift up to Steve's messed up hair and he says, "Brush your hair first, it's an absolute mess."
Steve reaches up and runs a hand through his hair with a grimace, "Not much I can do about that, forgot to bring a comb."
"I have one." Apollo says and goes over to his travel bag, rummaging through it.
Steve walks over to stand beside Apollo, watching as he shuffles through his bag. Apollo finds the comb and stands back up, hand out for Steve to take the brush. He reaches for it but hesitates, Apollo notices and gives a little frown.
"What's wrong?" Apollo asks, pulling his hand back.
"Comb it for me." He says, tilting his head down. He's not sure what his own play is here but he feels it could be a step in the right direction to figuring out if he might like Apollo or not. I mean if you don't like them touching your hair, that's not a good sign, right? He thinks so.
"Are you sure it's Ok-" Apollo starts, but Steve cuts him off.
"We had sex remember, just comb my fucking hair." Steve laughs, "It's not that huge of a thing."
Apollo swallows nervously and reaches forward to comb through Steve's hair. He's tense and rigid. Steve rolls his eyes and says, "Man, be at least a little more intimate about, jeez."
"I didn't want to scare you off." Apollo mumbles. "I wasn't sure if you were Ok with this sort of thing since you're not sure if you like me the same way or not. Remember?"
"Of course I remember, that's why you can do it. Apollo, remember you're also one of my closest friends. I need to remind you that we're not in any way, shape, or form: strangers." Steve says, "Because if you were a stranger and we were in the exact same scenario, yeah, no fucking shit I wouldn't like it. But that is not the case at all."
"I'll try better." Apollo says, and pulls a face.
"Apollo- no." Steve sighs and pulls him in for a tight hug. "You don't need to try better, dude, you just need to remember that you're not going to scare me off no matter what you do. So try not to worry about little things like this, Ok?"
Apollo nods his head in reply and mumbles, "Ok."
Steve laughs quietly and says, "You're really out here acting like I'm the one who confessed and you're unsure."
"Sorry." Apollo chuckles, "This is just such a wild experience for me to take in. We literally slept together just hours ago."
"It's a little surreal." Steve says, slowly pulling out of the hug. "Now comb my hair so we can go already! And be intimate about damn it."
Apollo laughs and brings a hand up and starts gently combing Steve's hair, "Steve your hair is frizzing."
"Yeah, not supposed to actually comb a perm." Steve grins at Apollo's bewildered expression.
"Then why make me do it?" He asks.
"Well, at first I wasn't going to. You know, since you said I needed to comb my hair and all, I figured you didn't realize but then I though it'd be a little fun." Steve says, "Besides, I'm due to redo it soon anyway."
"It looks ridiculous." Apollo laughs, "Not that we can get anymore ridiculous at this point. Turtleneck gang."
"Speaking of, we should probably get going." Steve says, and he grabs Apollo's hand and drags him to the door.
Apollo grins and tightens his grip on Steve's hand.
Meeting with the crew went well and 5up, as promised, also showed up with a turtleneck on. Everyone was distracted as he thought they would be and no one suspected anything, deciding it was all just a funny thing they decided to do for no reason. Steve's hair frizzing up was an obvious attraction to be gawked at and everyone had a bit of fun dissing him. Hafu had been the most distracted constantly turning back to stare and laugh.
The day slowly turned to night and Hafu asks everyone if they want to gamble that night or wait for the next day. Thankfully everyone agrees that they're tired from the days activities and are looking to have a chill night. David suggests a movie night at Hafu's for anyone who feels up to it. Janet readily agrees, as does Kimi and 5up. While Steve didn't feel particularly tired, he glances over to Apollo and sees him looking a little tired and over-socialized.
He tells Hafu that him and Apollo might head back for the night as they wanted to get some more sleep than they did last night because of how drunk they'd both gotten. She agrees easily, she was the one that sent them back to the hotel the night before after all. They all say their goodbyes and part ways. They both get an Uber back to hotel.
They're sitting in the back of the Uber, Steve showing stupid images to Apollo, laughing at each one when suddenly he gets a message from Hafu that reads 'So why're you wearing makeup? I didn't want to bring it up at lunch because you didn't.' and he freezes. Apollo reads the message too and frowns.
"How does she even know?" Apollo asks.
"I literally have no idea." Steve says, damn that smart woman, he thinks. He replies with a 'lol fell down the stairs I'm good though' and it earns another laugh from Apollo.
"That'll go with the Band-Aid tomorrow." Apollo points out.
Steve grins, "True, it'll be a little more convincing." He goes back to showing Apollo stupid pictures and notes that he's content and calm, Apollo pressed against his side in the car as they both giggle at the images.
The close proximity was nice, it was warm, and Steve thinks that maybe there's something to that to be thought of and he decides not to read too much into. Instead he lets himself melt more into Apollo's side and if the other man notices he doesn't say anything. Apollo does however shift slightly and his arm loops around Steve's shoulders and rests there, the action soft like he's worried Steve will reject the movement.
The Uber pulls up outside their hotel and they both detach from each other to climb from the vehicle.
Steve takes a deep breath in, inhaling the crisp night air. With a grin he turns to Apollo and says, "It's a nice night for a date, don't you think?"
Apollo smiles, "Yeah, you could say that."
"I was thinking something fun. Dinner is probably not a great idea right now, Hafu's lunch is still stuffing my insides. How do you feel about an Arcade?" Steve suggests. "Maybe some Starbies, my shout."
"Starbucks and Arcade games?" Apollo smiles, "I'd say what are we, 12? but it honestly sounds great."
Steve looks up where an Arcade is on google maps and notices there's one not far from the hotel. Sadly there wasn't a Starbucks in walking range so they decide to forgo the drinks and just head straight to the Arcade. When they arrive, Steve goes straight over to a street fighter machine with Apollo trailing behind him.
"Let's play." Steve says excitedly and Apollo grins and agrees.
They play a few games and decided they pretty evenly matched. "I'm going to win you something from the claw machine, like a good date would do." Steve and leads them over to a claw machine.
They stare at the plush toy prizes to be won and Steve sighs, "That'd be fucking right. Among Us."
"It is ironic." Apollo smirks, "Should we try and win our colours?"
"Might as well." Steve says and shoves some money into the machine.
He tries and fails four times in a row, "This is a bullshit game. Fucking scam." He hisses and Apollo grins.
He goes again. Again. Again. "It's coming soon, I can feel it. I swear to God I'll get it." Steve mutters darkly, his movements jagged and rough with the machine. Staff are watching him from the prize claim area.
He gives it another 5 tries before he kicks the machine hard. "Piece of fucking shit machine, fucking scamming asshole." He growls and Apollo was going to laugh but he watches as a displeased looking employee makes his way over to them.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The man says.
"Fine." Steve shrugs, "Place is a fucking scam anyway."
Steve starts to turn to leave so Apollo quickly slips his hand into his and goes with him. They're both quiet as they leave, Steve turning a random direction and leading them both down the path. Steve's grip on Apollo's hand is like iron. They keep walking until they find themselves in a more quiet area, a few trees in planters and a bench nearby.
"Sorry." Steve says, "I got us kicked out."
Apollo shrugs, "No big deal, right?"
"I guess." Steve turns to face him, "I feel like an asshole though."
"It's fine, Steve." Apollo says, "Think about the fact we got kicked out over Among Us toys and it'll be funny."
Steve pauses and pulls a face, "Never tell anyone about this. I will never live it down."
Apollo grins and says, "I'll always remember it though."
"Well forget it. Immediately. I have. What are we talking? I don't know, it's gone!" Steve says.
"Sure, whatever you say." Apollo rolls his eyes, "Lets get back to our room, we might as well watch a film honestly." Steve agrees and they head back to their room.
Once they're back in the room, they shower and get changed into their sleepwear. Apollo grabs the hotel TV remote and throws himself onto Steve's bed. Steve sits down and leans against him.
"Anything interesting on?" He asks Apollo who's flicking through channels.
"Not really." Apollo says, settling on a nature documentary.
It's peaceful in the room, and as the documentary continues on both Steve and Apollo get more comfortable, lying down and tiredly trying to keep their eyes open so as not fall asleep and ruin the calm feeling. It gives Steve the time to think, and he thinks hard. He thinks hard as watches Apollo slowly falling asleep next to him. He thinks hard about the feeling of Apollo's hand in his.
He thinks hard about the very vague, blurry, memory he has of last night, with Apollo sitting on a bed and telling Steve how pretty he is, and Steve leaning in to kiss him. He thinks hard about it. He thinks hard and he knows. He thinks maybe he subconsciously must have known at some point for him to have been the one to lean in first. He wonders if Apollo remembers anything, if they have different memories of the night. Any memories.
Steve rolls over so he's face to face with Apollo. He stares, taking in every little detail, blemish and movement on his features. He watches the flutter of Apollo's eyelashes as he continues fighting to stay awake, unaware of being watched. He watches, and he's thankful they got kicked from the Arcade because now he can be right here in this moment.
With Apollo.
He's sure now.
'Apollo." He whispers, getting a tired groan in return.
He shuffles closer to Apollo, the movement waking him up a little more. Apollo blinks blearily as he looks up at Steve leaning over him. "Steve?" He mumbles.
With one hand he reaches over and cups Apollo's jaw, leaning in to kiss him softly. Apollo stills for a moment before kissing back, hands slowly reaching up to tangle in Steve's hair.
Apollo leans back and whispers, "Is this your decision or is this spur of the moment? Because that's quick."
"I choose you." Steve replies.
"I'm not a Pokémon." Apollo grins.
"Shut up, boyfriend." Steve says, leaning in and kissing him again.