Chapter Text
Chip Tolentino was having a bad day.
This was hardly unusual, mind you. Especially nowadays. You see, it was the middle of his freshman year at Putnam University (which was a surprisingly big school), and while he was considered a “stud” in high school, college wasn’t working out the same way.
Yeah. So. Some time had obviously passed since the horrid Bee-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Ugh, he still hated remembering that damn bee. The only good thing that came out of that thing was that he made five good friends afterwards. Somehow, all six of them kept in touch after the Bee From Hell ended. Chip didn’t really have friends before then, so he had to admit, that was nice.
Even Barfée, that pain in the ass loser.
And somehow they all ended up going to the same college. So. Sweet. But then there was the PROBLEM. The fucking PROBLEM he was having now.
Tinder. Bumble. Hinge. OkCupid. Grindr. Fucking CHRISTIAN MINGLE. This year, he was striking out on all of them. This was unacceptable. He’d been making very, VERY good use of his “unfortunate erections” since that vile day at the Devil’s Bee. He was a total stud in high school. He’d single-handedly debunked the stereotype of Asian guys having small dicks. All the hot girls and hot gays LEAPT at the opportunity for a taste of this.
……
……
……
*Sigh.* Except for THAT hot gay guy.
A certain adorable, ditzy, red-haired hippie dude that called Chip his best friend. That was the one gay guy who never seemed interested in him. Even after finally getting out of homeschooling and going through high school with the group, Leaf never once even hinted at the idea of messing around with Chip for a second.
And DAMMIT. Chip had dropped SO. MANY. HINTS. To Leaf’s spacey self about wanting to give him a piece of this. Or a date. Or hey, let’s just try being whole-ass boyfriends for a little bit. Nope. Nada. That stupid little himbo never caught on for one second.
…Not that Chip was bitter or anything.
And no, Chip had not bothered confessing his feelings to Leaf. Let alone mention that he’d been crushing on Leaf since the guy happily approached Chip during Satan’s Orchestrated Bee, after they were both eliminated, and talked to him when Chip was feeling absolutely miserable.
Seriously. They were both, what… Twelve? Thirteen? Chip couldn’t remember. But Leaf had literally just skipped up to him after being eliminated, chirping away as if they’d been friends for years… and then when he saw how unhappy Chip was, Leaf offered to share his apple juice with him.
…That was the moment Chip knew this boy was special.
Y’know… it never occurred to Chip that maybe his promiscuity in high school was just him compensating for his massive crush on his best friend. Which, again, he never told him about. Even though Olive, Barfée, Marcy, and Schwarzy were all keenly aware of it.
Which Barf loved to tease him about. Jackass.
Oh, for Pete’s sakes. His mind was getting so sidetracked now. Even Leaf’s ADHD was rubbing off on Chip. How did Chip go from sitting here on this dang bench lamenting about not matching with anyone today, to thinking about Leaf?
“HI CHIP!!!”
Speak of the devil. There was the himbo.
Looking up from his phone, Chip immediately saw his favorite ginger boy skipping up to him with that smile that got Chip’s heart racing EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Stupid twink.
Oh yes, Leaf really grew up to be a twink, now that he was nineteen. His average-ish height, that slender frame which contrasted with Chip’s big muscular build, that smooth face and complete lack of body hair from the neck down (which Chip always happily noticed whenever they went to the beach), all that combined with his bubbly personality made for a twink that was extra popular with the other gays on campus.
Well. Today, Leaf’s infectious smile was looking extra sweet in the sunlight, and even halfway through the spring semester, Chip was still baffled to see those silver Delta Nu letters stitched on Leaf’s black T-shirt. The group always assumed Chip would be the one to become a frat boy, and yet Leaf of all people was the one to do it.
Granted, Delta Nu was considered the “woke hippie liberal” frat, so that checked out.
And of course, Leaf was wearing one of his stupid capes. Yes, he still wore those.
And… oh no. Leaf was wearing THOSE shorts. Those damned gray shorts, made from that soft fabric that (Leaf never realized) showed off the outline of his package. You could literally see it bouncing around in his shorts as the ginger twink skipped up to his thirsty friend.
Of course, Chip was nothing if not perfectly calm 24/7. Obviously. So he (in his mind) played it cool.
“Sup bro? How’s it going?” He definitely didn’t stutter that greeting. Nope.
Leaf leaned over, with that angelic smile and those cute freckles (oh gosh how Chip ADORED those freckles). His hands were folded behind his back and his green eyes had that twinkle they always had when he was exceptionally happy.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited! Chip, you remember that cape I was working on for Intro to Stitching?” Oh that’s right, Leaf was a Fashion Design major. He’d been making his own clothes all his life. “My professor gave me a 95 on it! She loved it!”
Chip remembered that project. Leaf was working extra hard on that cape, because of course it was a CAPE that he designed for his class.
Bringing his hands out from behind his back, Leaf revealed the final product of his assignment.
It was a deep blue cape with turquoise stitches, presumably to look like ripples of water, and in the middle was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Leaf loved The Little Mermaid.
Not only that, but it was both versions of Ariel - the white one from the cartoon, and the black one from the live action movie - swimming happily together. And they both looked really, really good. Oh brother… Just seeing Leaf’s art, and how happy he was to see his hard work pay off, was enough to improve Chip’s mood.
And the former “stud” couldn’t help but smile. “Aw, that’s awesome, buddy. Not a surprise though.”
This made Leaf’s smile even wider, and… was that a hint of blush on his face, or was Chip imagining it? “You are literally SO sweet to me, Chip! Thank you! I can’t wait to show this to everyone! Oh, maybe I can make smaller versions of this for my cats, I LOVE making cat capes! Or maybe-”
And there it was, one of Leaf’s excited rambles that always ended up going off topic, usually until he forgot what he was talking about in the first place. Chip found this both really annoying, and kinda cute at the same time. Part of Leaf’s charm. But before too long, he cut himself off and let out a big gasp.
“Oh my gosh, what’s wrong with me? I haven’t even asked how you’re doing! I’m sorry bro! C’mon, what’s going on with you today?”
Now, this made Chip burst out laughing. Poor Leaf, thinking he’d committed some grave offense. “Dude, you are so fucking cute.”
…Um. Yeah. That thought was supposed to stay in his head. But no. He said it out loud. And he wanted to jump off a cliff when he realized what he’s just done. HE WAS NOT PLANNING ON TELLING LEAF THIS FOR QUITE SOME TIME!!!
*Sigh.*
But Leaf was so sweet and so casual. He just giggled as if Chip had told him a joke.
“Oh, stop it! You’re gonna make me feel all mushy!”
…
…
…
…
…You know what? That was all the encouragement Chip needed. Maybe it was the sweet response, or the blush, but Chip felt bold now. If he didn’t ask Leaf out now, he wasn’t sure when he would feel this ballsy around him again. Best to go in for the kill now, and if Leaf said no, Chip was confident in their friendship that it wouldn’t be too messed up. So, he stood right up, his stature a head taller than his longtime crush, and firmly clasped his hand on Leaf’s shoulder.
“...Coneybear, can I take you out sometime? On a date? Soon?”
Leaf’s giggling died down pretty quickly. He gazed back up at Chip, his mouth slightly agape and his green eyes twinkling in that oh-so-distinctive way. That twinkle was proof enough for Chip that this was not a negative reaction from Leaf. Yet, further proof came in the form of a bright red blush on those lovely, freckled cheeks.
He looked so surprised at this moment, yet so vulnerable and full of hope…
This moment, however, was brief. After a beat, Leaf's mouth curled right back up into that big, wide smile as he bounced up and down in glee.
“Yeah! That would be awesome! What do you want to do? I don’t have class on Friday!”
“I… haven’t gotten that far,” said Chip sheepishly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d say yes or not.”
Leaf burst out giggling again, burying his head into Chips’s shoulder.
“You’re such a goober, Chip!” The irony of Leaf Coneybear, of all people, calling someone else a goober. “Okay, let’s see… We could be basic and just grab dinner, or we could go to the Aquarium, or the park… Oh! They just opened that new Disney park in town, maybe we could go there, just the two of us?”
…Chip didn’t hate that Disney idea. Tilting Leaf’s head up to face him, he stroked the ginger’s cheek and looked into his eyes again with a smirk. “Only if I get to kiss you in front of the Sleeping Beauty castle.”
Leaf’s face lit up even more at the idea. “Deal! Aw Chip, I’m so excited!”
Chip could not help but chuckle at this guy’s energy. It always put him in a good mood.
“Same here. How about I pick you up Friday morning?”
“Okay!” Then, Leaf suddenly remembered something, and looked at the time on his phone. “Ah crap, I’m running late for my next class. Okay Chippy, I’ll see you Friday, okay? I seriously can’t wait!”
Chip’s own smile widened. He just couldn’t help it.
“You have no idea, Leaf. You hurry off to class now. I’ll see you then.”
Leaf blushed, yet his smile remained plastered on his face as he clutched his cape a little bit tighter. Before running off, he allowed himself to get up on his tiptoes, and give Chip a quick little kiss on the cheek. “Bye!”
As Leaf took off, Chip was left stunned. Did that… actually just happen? His sudden boldness, growing the balls to ask Leaf out, Leaf actually saying yes, and… and… that kiss! Chip thought his cheek had just discovered Nirvana with that little kiss. He thought he’d never want to wash his cheek again.
Forgetting everything he was whining about before, Chip sunk back into his seat, caressing his own cheek as he sighed dreamily into the void, his mind blissfully wandering off into La-La Land as he forgot all about the dating apps. All he could think about was Leaf, and how eager he was for Friday to get here.
Did we mention that Chip Tolentino was having a really great day?