Work Text:
Todd Anderson sat cross-legged on his bed, flipping through the worn pages of his notebook. Moonlight filtered through the window, casting a soft glow over the room. He glanced up at Neil’s empty desk across the room, where his textbooks and notebooks lay in disarray, cluttering his desk. Opposite Neil’s desk, stood Todd’s, covered in crumpled up balls of paper he ripped out of his notebook.
The soft sounds of his classmates talking in the hallway outside his door interrupted his thoughts. He heard faint mumbles of goodnights, followed by the door opening softly.
“Hey,” Todd said softly, his voice quiet.
“Hey yourself. Are you still working on that poem or Keating??” Neil smiled at the sight of Todd, taking off his coat and laying it on the back of his desk chair.
“I don’t even want to talk about it,” Todd sighs, closing his notebook for good that night, setting it off to the side. “How was rehearsal?” Todd looks up at Neil, smiling, shifting to sit on the edge of his bed.
“It was alright,” Neil trailed off walking making his way towards Todd, who was giving him a skeptical look. “Alright fine it was wonderful, god I love it. I feel so free, I feel like me!” He says giggling, moving to stand in front of Todd, who was still sitting on his bed.
Todd looked up at him, grinning. “You’re adorable,” Neil shifted to stand in between Todd’s legs, his arms lying lazily on his shoulder. “I can’t wait to see it, I will be cheering for you the loudest.”
“You should… come to rehearsal with me,” Neil grabs Todd’s hands and pulls him to his feet.
“You’re crazy,” Todd laughs, wrapping his arms around Neil’s waist, pulling him closer. “I wish I could, but you know I can’t. Plus I’d rather save it until I can see it in all its glory.”
“Okay okay,” Neil rolls his eyes playfully, bumping his nose against Todd’s. “How was your night?”
“Well lets see, first I sat at my desk and tried to work on my poem, which didn’t work so I went for a short walk with Knox to clear my head, then I sat down on my bed to work on this stupid poem some more, which also did not work…” Todd sighed. “But now I’m standing here with a pretty boy in my arms, so my night is getting better.”
“So is mine,” Neil leaned in, capturing Todd’s lips in a soft, lingering kiss. The soft kiss spoke volumes of how the two felt about each other. As they pulled away, Neil took the opportunity to take a step back and pull Todd down onto the bed behind him. Todd let out a soft yelp as he stumbled, falling on top of Neil.
Todd giggled, using his hands to prop himself up, hovering over Neil. “That was just extremely unnecessary,” he mumbled, pressing a quick kiss to Neil’s lips.
Neil wrapped his arms around Todd, pulling him further down so that they were laying facing each other. “I couldn’t help myself.” Neil nuzzled himself into Todd’s chest, sighing happily.
“Neil, I have to finish my homework-”
Neil cuts Todd off, absentmindedly mumbling a Whitman poem to Todd quietly, “Whoever you are, now I place my hand upon you, that you be my poem.”
“Neil,” Todd says again, attempting to shift Neil off him. Neil sleepily tightens his grip on Todd.
“I whisper with my lips close to your ear…” Neil trails off, allowing sleep to take over his mind. Hearing Neil’s breath slowing down, Todd gave into Neil’s grasp, deciding it was not worth it to fight with his tired boyfriend.
“I have loved many women and men, but I love none better than you,” Todd whispers quietly, finishing the poem his boyfriend started. Pressing a kiss to Neil’s forehead, he closed his eyes allowing sleep to take over him.
—
Neil stirred as the sunlight filtered through his window. Shaking the fog out of his head, he notices the absence of Todd next to him. Neil forces himself to sit up, scanning the room for his boyfriend, who was nowhere to be seen. Rubbing his eyes, he spots a note sitting on his desk in Todd’s handwriting.
Neil,
you’re the first person
who makes me feel like i’m enough
and the first one to show me
what i love you actually means
yours,
Todd
Ps. I told charlie I would help him with something early this morning, I didn’t want to wake you. Come find us when you’re up, or don’t, I’ll see you in class xx