Work Text:
Tybalt pushed Romeo backwards, which was a familiar motion but in an unfamiliar context, until Romeo's back was to the wall and Tybalt's nose was almost touching his.
"Woah," Romeo gasped.
Tybalt examined his expression, but it was dark enough that he couldn't quite decipher it. "Is this ok?"
"So ok."
The music from upstairs was much quieter there in the basement, but it was just loud enough to keep reminding Tybalt of their dilemma.
"Our parents-"
"Can give Satan our regards for all I care."
Nine words in Romeo's beautiful voice, and Tybalt already felt much better. He snorted and drifted a little closer. He could feel Romeo's breath and smell his strawberry shampoo, and it was intoxicating. Romeo was intoxicating.
"Can I kiss you?"
Romeo hummed. "Please."
So Tybalt did. His fingers tightened around Romeo's waist as he pressed him against the wall. Romeo moaned softly and Tybalt smiled against his lips.
Romeo tasted like strawberries.
Tybalt had to pull away a little to ask, "What is it with you and strawberries?"
Romeo blinked a few times. Tybalt could barely see the motion in the dim light. "Wh- what?"
"Strawberry shampoo, strawberry lips- why do you like strawberries so much?"
Romeo laughed, and Tybalt felt his heart lifting. He made Romeo laugh. Romeo was laughing because of him.
He couldn't stop himself from kissing Romeo again. Romeo suppressed his giggles enough to kiss him back.
A few minutes later, Tybalt laced his fingers through Romeo's and started pulling him away from the corner they'd hidden out in. Romeo groaned.
"Are we going back to the party? I don't wanna go back to the party."
"Not the party. I'm going to show you a place. …One of my favorite places." One of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. The thought made Tybalt smile.
Tybalt led Romeo up a staircase and out the back door. He knew every inch of his cousin's house, so he knew how to get out of the house without anyone seeing him. He and Juliet used to take this route whenever their nanny lost track of them, so they could have some time to play without the hawk-esque eyes of their nanny.
That was back when he could play. When he could do things just for the sake of doing them, without thinking about the pressure that his family put on him. Be this. Do that. Hate them.
Maybe that was why Tybalt loved Romeo so much. Romeo reminded him what it was like to have fun.
"Here." Tybalt slowed to a stop, Romeo's fingers still intertwined with his, in front of a group of trees that could generously be called a 'forest.'
"It's… pretty," Romeo said.
Tybalt shook his head. "That's not the point. Come on." He kept dragging Romeo along, into the protection of the trees.
Romeo laughed. "Wow, a tall, dark, handsome man leading me into the woods? I'm either gonna get murdered or laid." Yet he offered no resistance.
Tybalt stopped in a small clearing, and sat down on a rock that was just large enough for Romeo to sit beside him, their shoulders touching.
"This is one of your favorite places?" Romeo asked. He hadn't let go of Tybalt's hand yet.
"Yeah. I would go here to… get away from everything. When we were kids, Juliet and I would hide here for hours. And even when I got older, I would come here when I felt overwhelmed. I still do."
"Do you… feel overwhelmed often?" Romeo's voice was soft, as always, and it made Tybalt's heart melt, as always.
"Yeah. But less. Since I met you." He squinted at Romeo. He wished he could see his reaction. Romeo had such expressive eyes.
But there were other ways to sense Romeo's emotions. Such as the quick exhale, and the way he shifted closer to Tybalt. Everything Romeo did was always filled with emotion. It was a special kind of torture for Tybalt, because when Romeo was happy, it made everything better, but when Romeo was sad… it was like a blanket of fog had settled over Tybalt's life, making everything hazy and meaningless.
But right now Romeo was happy. And Tybalt was thrilled to have caused that, at least in some small part.
"Next time I should show you my favorite place," Romeo said, as he dropped his head onto Tybalt's shoulder.
"Oh? What's your favorite place?"
"Shh, it's a surprise."
"...You don't know, do you."
"SHH!"
Tybalt laughed, listened to Romeo's amused huffs, and squeezed Romeo's hand, confirming that he was actually here, with Tybalt, alone. With everything going on with the Montagues and Capulets, it felt too good to be true.
But here they were.
Romeo relaxed and rearranged himself so his legs were over Tybalt's and he was practically in Tybalt's lap. "Tell me a secret."
Tybalt hummed. "Well… you know what I realized recently? You're not a good actor."
Romeo jerked away from him, his comforting warmth leaving for just a moment as he attempted to see Tybalt's face. "Excuse me?! What kind of secret is that?"
"You didn't let me finish." Tybalt waited a second, but when Romeo didn't get comfortable in Tybalt's arms again, he accepted it and continued.
"In freshman year, I accidentally stumbled into one of your rehearsals. Do you remember that? You might not have seen me. You and Rosaline were reciting lines for some play that I'd never heard of before- Wicked. I'll remember it forever, now. I remember you played Fiyero, but in that rehearsal, you were showing Rosaline how to say her lines as Galinda. And you… Rosaline was good, don't get me wrong. But you stole the show, Romeo. You said everything with so much flourish and passion. For the rest of the year, I kept 'accidentally' finding myself in the auditorium to watch you rehearse. Just for you."
Romeo tentatively leaned back into Tybalt and put his arm back around Tybalt's waist, but he didn't put his head on Tybalt's shoulder again. That was ok. Tybalt couldn't focus on any of that, though- he had a story to tell.
"And the next year was the same. You as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen? You made me cry more than I like to admit."
Romeo laughed.
"Junior year, when Mercutio introduced us, I didn't tell you that I loved your performances but I thought it. Every time we talked, for months, I always thought about how amazing you were at acting."
"I thought you said I'm not a good actor."
"I'm getting to that bit. We started dating, what, a week ago?" Not really a question. Tybalt knew the exact number of hours since their awkward exchange of confessions. "And a couple days after that, I finally realized… you're not a good actor at all."
Tybalt paused. His thumb traced circles on the back of Romeo's hand. Romeo was silent.
"You know why? Because you don't act. You feel every emotion that your character does. You don't materialize the words out of nowhere, you harness your emotions and bring them onto the stage with you. And that is infinitely more beautiful than any actor."
Romeo let his head fall onto Tybalt's shoulder again, and Tybalt smiled.
"Ok," Romeo said grudgingly, "I guess that makes it better."
Tybalt kissed Romeo's forehead and pulled him even closer. "I thought so. That was fricking adorable."
Romeo snorted. Tybalt put a hand on his cheek and tilted Romeo's face upwards so he could kiss him on the lips again. Romeo's lips were as soft as everything else about him. Soft eyes, soft voice, soft smile, soft lips. Tybalt could swear that Romeo's pureness was starting to make Tyablt melt. Every second with Romeo made Tybalt a little softer, too.
When Tybalt pulled away, he whispered, "Strawberries."
And he couldn't see Romeo's smile, but he knew it was there.