Work Text:
Paul had no idea how he even found himself in that situation.
He'd never had any problems with the existing social hierarchy. He was a masculine man who loved all the right things. He was into sports, he served in the army, he got along well with other men and, of course, he loved women. All these traits were an unthreatened part of his personality and connected him to the world as an adjusted member of society.
In other words, he was normal. Until Patryck came into the picture, he guessed.
Paul had no clue what about this guy made him lose his mind. His collected demeanor? His soft, but unbending personality? His critical thinking skills? The way he said things in that careful, well-thought tone of voice? His unapologetic weaknesses he never hid from the world? His openness and vulnerability about his emotions? His way with words, how gently he put his thoughts into speech? How he could ask for help and protection when he needed them?
It didn't matter that much, to be completely honest. The result was the same, Paul had a crush on a guy. On a guy. And that was bad.
He never had a problem with other people being gay, of course. It’s just that he couldn’t deal with that right now. How would he even bring that up? “Hey man, I might be gay for you”, or what? Would a simple “I love you” do? It wouldn’t matter if Patryck didn’t take that well, of course. What if he started hating Paul after this confession? What if their relationship got permanently messed up by it?
But there was an even scarier thought, what if Pat actually liked him back? How would they do it? Would Pat be disappointed in him? Was he even Patryck’s type?
Thank God, it was around that time when Tori came around. And oh boy, she was a force to reckon, and she had Paul wrapped around her finger in no time. Everything about her fascinated him. Her unending energy, her desire to do something great with her life, her concrete and well-thought-out goals, - it was catching. She immediately captivated him, and she knew it. She had the power, and Paul wasn't against it — to be honest, it made their relationship even better, more exciting. It was new, it was hot, and he wanted more of that suffocating, pure, violent energy.
So no wonder they ended up dating after a few weeks.
Unfortunately, that didn't really fix Paul. And, he guessed, Tori noticed.
They sat on the sofa, watching some TV. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder, deep in thought, while Paul was just spacing out.
"What's up with you two?" she asked him seemingly out of nowhere, but Paul immediately knew who she meant. He shushed and threw a glance in Pat’s direction, suddenly tense.
"He's right here!" he explained, frustrated and flustered for some reason.
"So? What's so bad about it?" Tori inquired, "You can just say you're friends, it's not that difficult."
She smiled, and Paul immediately knew he was in deep shit. He knew that grin. She smiled this way whenever she got some stupid fucking idea stuck in her head. Paul pursed his lips together and frowned. He was a player in her game now, and she won’t give it up.
"Well. I don't really like talking about people when they're right there."
"We can discuss how you feel about Patryck in my room if it makes you feel better," she offered in full voice, making Paul choke on air and grab her hands urgently, desperately trying to get her to stop.
“Fuck, stop! Shut! Up!” he whispered in an angry tone. She just smiled, and, well, fuck. This just showed her everything she needed to know.
"Are you two talking about me?" Pat asked, sounding a bit upset.
"Tori's being annoying again," Paul said, giving the giggling woman a warning glance. Before she could say anything, he continued, "Don't even worry about it."
Patryck stared at him for a good minute. Then shrugged and returned to whatever he was doing at the time.
Paul turned to face Tori, and she was still fucking giggling. He rolled his eyes.
"Stop watching your weird anime with boys kissing," he grumbled. "Men in real life don't do that."
"Who are you trying to convince of that? Me or yourself?" she inquired, leaning forward and looking into his eyes. He just shrugged and turned his face away from her, embarrassed. He won’t give her the satisfaction of victory.
Then the game happened.
Paul should've known something was up when Tori was the one to propose playing Truth or Dare. Patryck did say it was a bit childish, but Paul, just to annoy him, probably, agreed that it would be fun. In his defense, he was a bit tipsy. Everyone was. Maybe that's why Pat agreed so quickly.
They had some turns, where they exchanged some truths about themselves. The game was getting stale, so Tori, rightfully upset, said:
"Are you guys ever gonna pick Dare? C'mon, boys. It's boring when you only pick Truth. Don't be pussies."
Paul was wrapped around her finger nicely, as mentioned. So he laughed, thinking to himself there wasn't any harm to it.
"Sure. Give me a hard one."
Then Tori smiled that predatory, villainous smile.
Well, shit.
"I dare you to kiss Patryck. No takebacks! No buts! No oopsie-daisies! You asked me to give you a difficult one. I'm giving you a difficult one."
"What?!" Patryck asked, suddenly flustered. "Didn’t you forget to ask someone?"
"Yeah, what even is wrong with you?" Paul inquired, trying to ignore the blush creeping onto his face. Tori smiled innocently. "You're a fucking weirdo, you know that? Leave your stupid fantasy to yourself."
Tori shrugged.
"You can always chicken out, sure. But you know me, you'll never hear the end of it from me."
"Yeah, Paul, it's just a dare," Pat added, seemingly trying to calm him down, but it made Paul even more mad.
"Are you implying I can't do it?" he asked, mostly addressing Tori, but also Pat.
"You were the one who started yelling about my weird fantasy just to weasel your way out of this dare, but sure. I do think you're too weak to actually go through with it."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mhm," she said smugly, assessing his reaction.
"Fucking watch me. French kiss, with tongue and all that shit," he announced and then leaned in and kissed Patryck, too passionately and too eagerly for it to be a dare thing.
Pat didn't fight back, even as his mouth was invaded by Paul's tongue. Even as Paul desperately clutched the sides of his face, trying to get a better taste. What surprised Paul was the fact that Pat actually responded in the same manner. Suddenly, Pat's hands were on his chest, then on his shoulders, then wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer.
Their mouths clashed against each other's, as their hands wandered more and more. Paul listened out to Tori, and, of fucking course, she got so uncharacteristically silent.
Well, she got what she wanted. She always did.
Their lips parted, and they just stared at each other, completely enveloped in a tight embrace. Then Pat smiled softly, and Paul's heart fluttered. He leaned forward and kissed Pat again, this time in the corner of his mouth, and his heart almost stopped as he saw Pat flutter his eyelashes, melting into the soft touch.
They just sat there in the same position they were in before.
"What the fuck," Paul finally said, Pat still in his arms. Pat just nodded, for the first time unsure of what he should say.
"You guys can thank me later," Tori chimed in cheerfully, obviously satisfied with herself.
__
bonus:
sketch that inspired this fic:
