Chapter Text
„ Ah, Aaron. just the cousin I was looking for! “
Nicky’s chipper voice as he stepped into the living room wasn’t a good sign. It was usually the preamble to something really stupid.
Aaron sighed heavily and paused the game he had been playing with Kevin, who protested, since he was “totally gonna win this time”.
Sure, dream on.
He spared one look at his cousin before mumbling an annoyed, “What do you want, Nicky?”, hoping his tone would deter Nicky from whatever he was about to ask of him.
It didn’t work, as usual.
“Do you remember when I backed up your lie that you were sick a while ago? So, you didn’t have to come to practice and instead go and bone your now-ex?”
Kevin snapped his head to Aaron, eyebrows raised in shock and betrayal. Aaron chose to simply ignore him for now.
“Katelyn has a name; you won’t bring a curse upon yourself by using it. And don’t say bone.”
Nicky waved his hand dismissively, “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, you remember that you told me you owed me?”
Oh, so that’s where this was going.
Aaron hated his past self. Already annoyed, he couldn’t help but give a snarky answer.
“No, Nicky. I don’t remember that thing that happened like two months ago.”
Now Nicky looked slightly irritated as well. He was a good sport usually, but if you got too petty with him, he could match that energy well. He crossed his arms and spoke in a more serious tone than normal.
“Aaron.”
“Ugh, okay. Yes, I owe you, Nicky. What do you want?”
A bright smile was instantly back on Nicky’s face. Again, that wasn’t a good sign. Whenever he got this excited, it had to be because of something that Aaron would hate.
“You know that big costume party this evening that we are all going to? See, the problem-“
“Oh god, no! I’m not doing a group costume with you!”
“Aaron, you owe me! And this is an emergency since both of my friends suddenly can’t make it.”
Group costumes with Nicky were an absolute no-go. His costumes were usually way too elaborate or just a stupid theme. But he did owe his cousin, and going to a costume party seemed like one of the less annoying things Nicky could make him do. He wanted to get drunk anyway.
Only after Aaron had made peace with the fact that he would have to do this did he fully register what Nicky had just said.
Both of the friends he was going with couldn’t make it.
“Wait, both of them?”
So, it was a three-person costume. Before Aaron had much time to wonder who else Nicky could have asked, his cousin looked over at Kevin with a wide grin.
“Kevin, my man-“
“No.”
Kevin didn’t even look up from his phone, which he had gotten out during the duration of the cousins’ conversation.
Seriously, this guy. If something didn’t interest him, he didn’t even pretend to pay attention out of politeness.
“Aw, come on, I know you were just going to do some minimal effort costume anyway.”
“No. I definitely don’t owe you anything, so find some other idiot to join your stupid group costume.”
Now, two people were glaring at Kevin with their arms crossed, Aaron also feeling irritated.
While he was in the process of going through his mental catalogue of insults he could throw at Kevin, Nicky spoke up again, in that fake, eerily calm tone he uses sometimes.
And Aaron knew him well enough to realise that that was not boding well for Kevin.
“If you say so. But just so you know, I’m probably going to get reeeally drunk today. And you know how I just loooove to talk about anything to anyone.”
Kevin gave a disinterested hum of affirmation, still not looking up.
“I’m sure you won’t mind if I tell some people about that one time I came back to the house in Columbia from my little walk. You know, the one where my phone died, so I sadly had to cut my call with Erik short?”
Aaron had absolutely no clue what Nicky was talking about. But Kevin evidently did.
He finally lifted his head, looking away from his phone, instead staring at Nicky with a look of pure horror.
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, but I would. One would think you’d be more careful when your room is literally just the living room, but I guess not. I’m sure everyone would love to hear what you were watching while you were-“
“Fuck! Okay, Nicky, I’ll do your stupid group costume! Just shut up!”
Kevin was flushing and nervously looking between Nicky and Aaron. Nicky’s mouth quirked up into a satisfied grin. Aaron was still out of the loop, but burning to know what Kevin had been watching.
Because what he had been doing was painfully obvious.
Maybe Nicky was feeling extra evil right now and would tell him if he asked.
“I feel like all members of the group should be entitled to that information.”
He grinned at Kevin while he said it, who in turn just went one shade redder and almost snapped his own neck with how fast he looked at Nicky, pleading with him.
Nicky just put his finger on his chin as if considering it, before shrugging.
“I’ll think about it, depends on how you two behave.”
He looked at Kevin when he said that, a clear warning for him to behave himself and keep the complaining to a minimum. Kevin grumbled something, and Aaron smirked at him full of malicious delight.
Chances were, Kevin would slip up and piss Nicky off, so Aaron had real hope he could find out Kevin’s little secret.
Nicky just nodded, satisfied with that.
“Now wait here for a sec.”
With that, he turned around and practically skipped to his room, leaving both of them on the couch. Kevin refused to look over at him, instead staring at his phone again, pretending he hadn’t just been blackmailed. Aaron just huffed, highly amused, and also picked up his phone.
They waited there about twenty minutes, because it was never ‘just a sec’ with Nicky.
When they heard footsteps approaching, they looked up to see Nicky in an almost fully black outfit. Black shoes, pants and a black see-through hood with a cape.
Over his black tank top, he wore chains arranged to look like a silver ribcage, and he was holding a giant scythe.
He clearly also did his makeup, which probably took up most of the time he spent getting ready.
He twirled in a circle, not entirely befitting of the vibe he was going for.
“And? What do you think? Any guesses?”
What he was supposed to be was simple, some form of the grim reaper or death or something like that, but how that was supposed to fit in a group costume was unclear.
A chill ran down Aaron’s spine when his mind immediately conjured up the worst possible option.
What if we have to be a killer and the murder victim?
No, Nicky wouldn’t do that to him.
Hopefully.
Sensing that they were lost, Nicky gave them a hint. “It’s a game you can play.”
You can do that with most games.
Aaron kept that as an inside thought. Nicky had only threatened Kevin with blackmail so far, but he had enough dirt on Aaron to get favours for a lifetime, so it would probably be best not to get smart with him.
It hadn’t even been half a minute of them thinking when Nicky spoke up again. He had never been a very patient person.
“Okay, another hint: I’m kill.”
Kevin looked more confused now, because of course he fucking did.
Aaron, on the other hand, finally got it. He groaned as loud as he could, trying to voice his displeasure, before grinding out, “It’s fuck, marry, kill. Isn’t it?”
“Dingdingding, we have a winner.”
Nicky clapped for him in celebration, and Aaron had worried for a second that they would have to explain to Kevin what that game was. But thankfully, he now looked just as mortified as Aaron, which was a clear giveaway that he already knew.
Nicky brought them to his room, where they were left standing while he rifled through his bags and closet.
“Shawn had to go meet his sister’s baby that was born yesterday, I mean, I’m happy for her or whatever, but couldn’t that baby have waited one more day? And Emily got food poisoning, because she was convinced that four-day-old spaghetti would still be fine to eat.”
He paused before turning towards them. ”Seriously, I don’t know how that girl is still alive. She never even put it in the fridge.”
They all made varying noises of disgust, and Nicky pulled out more clothes.
“Ugh, where did I put them? I was lucky to get their costumes at all, but I don’t know- ah! Here they are!”
He grabbed the two tote bags sitting on his desk chair. Aaron bit back a comment about how he just upended his closet for no reason.
After a quick check of the insides of the bags, Nicky marched back over to where they were standing.
“Now, put your costumes on. I don’t want to hear any complaining. And then I want to do your makeup.”
They both groaned but took their respective bag. Kevin looked inside before asking,
“Which one of us got which costume?”
Nicky grinned at him, “I think we all know who got which.”
*
Aaron couldn’t remember the last time he had been this embarrassed.
Kevin had left to go change in the bathroom because Nicky was wiggling his eyebrows at him too much.
Understandable.
But Aaron also severely hated standing in front of Nicky right now.
Why did this have to happen to him?
Who even does elaborate group costumes nowadays?
Nicky had only just managed to get him into the glittering white tank top and the many necklaces and rings that were in the bag. All of them adorned with hearts and diamonds, shining away. He had really tried not to make too big of a fuss about it, but had only succeeded for a little while.
He was reaching his limit fast.
“I’m not wearing this, Nicky!”
He was being difficult for no reason; he was aware of this.
It was a pink fluffy jacket and a pink sash that said Bride to be. Most people would not care about wearing this at all.
But for him, it was the height of humiliation.
Nicky frowned at him. “Dude, I already told you that you don’t have to wear her skirt, so what could possibly be the problem right now?”
Aaron frowned back, he himself didn’t really know.
How could he put it into words that he just felt silly wearing this? That someone else could easily pull it off, but he was too…Aaron to wear this.
He realised how ridiculous that sounded.
After staring at the ground for a prolonged amount of time, he slowly dragged his eyes up to his cousin’s.
“I don’t know. It’s just … people are going to laugh at me.”
So much for not sounding ridiculous.
Despite this, Nicky’s face softened. “Why would they laugh at you?”
He hated it when Nicky spoke to him like this, because it felt as if he still saw him as a child. And he liked when he spoke to him like this, because it felt like he truly cared about him.
And Aaron knew, if he told Nicky sincerely that he didn’t want to wear this, Nicky wouldn’t be mad at him. Maybe slightly disappointed, but he would understand and not pressure him.
And that was somehow worse. That Nicky would put Aaron’s comfort above anything in a heartbeat.
Nope, no way. He just needed to suck it up.
Confidence was everything, right?
“I don’t know… It's nothing. I’m just not used to dressing up like this.”
Nicky softly smiled at him.
“It’s a costume party, everyone is going to be dressed up.”
“Not Andrew.”
“Everyone will be dressed up, except for Andrew.”
Aaron weakly smiled back at his cousin.
He could do this.
For Nicky.
“I guess so. You're probably right. Just...give me that pink monstrosity."
He was just about to try the jacket on when the door opened, and Kevin walked back in.
He didn’t really look dressed up for a costume party.
Still in the black jeans he had already been wearing, the only change was the dark red button-down and the black tie he was wearing now.
The shirt was a tad too tight on Kevin, Shawn seemingly didn’t share his physique.
But then again, who did?
He tried not to stare too hard. But man, he did look good like that.
He had been having the odd thought about how unfairly gorgeous Kevin looked lately.
Which was completely fine.
After some serious reflection since he and Katelyn broke up, he could admit some guys just looked good, Kevin included.
Katelyn was the one who helped him realise this. They were still friends after all, and now that there were no romantic feelings between them, she made him reconsider everything he knew about himself.
He had had an inkling that he also liked guys basically since he was a teenager. But due to the way his family was, he made quick work to push all of that down and focus exclusively on the side of himself that liked girls.
The side that would get him married to a beautiful woman and live out his American dream.
Find someone who was not broken and fucked up like him, pretend to be the perfect happy little family. Become a doctor, have a few kids, maybe get a dog and see Andrew (and Neil) like twice a year.
That had been the plan for a long time.
But now, seeing how the people around him had relationships that made them happy regardless of the gender of their partner or any past and current problems they might have, he reconsidered his future.
Maybe he didn’t need perfect, maybe being happy was all he needed.
He had been so caught up in staring at Kevin, he barely registered the way Nicky rolled his eyes and walked over to him in a huff.
“Kevin, you are supposed to be the Fuck part of Fuck, marry, kill.”
Nicky put his hands on his hips while scolding Kevin, who, in turn, just blinked at him, confusion written all over his face.
“These are the clothes you gave me?”
Nicky sighed dramatically, reaching for the black tie and loosening it.
“Yeees, but you should look more…” He gestured vaguely towards Kevin, “…fucked.”
Kevin was not getting it at all. His brows furrowed in the way that they do when he gets annoyed because he’s out of the loop.
“Well, how does one look more fucked?”
He was about to cross his arms when Nicky batted them away. “Open the top buttons and maybe the bottom one too. Then you can stuff half in your pants, and the other half can hang over them. So, it gives you a more dishevelled look, you know.”
Kevin did as much, while Nicky went over to his makeup bag and got a red shimmering lipstick out. As he approached Kevin with it, the latter took a step back. “I’m not putting that on.”
Nicky gave him a bored look and popped it open. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to. It’s not your shade anyway.”
Aaron chuckled at that, and Kevin shot him a dirty look. Then he scanned over Aaron, who was still just in his top.
Although he wasn’t dressed up yet, he felt embarrassed to be stared at, crossing his arms self-consciously.
“Aaron’s costume barely fits the theme, why-“
“He’s not done yet, and neither are you. Hold still.”
With that, Nicky pulled out a stencil of a set of lips, slapping it on Kevin's collarbone and starting to colour it in with the lipstick. Kevin flinched when it first touched him, trying to tilt his head down to see what he was doing.
He was adding little lipstick kisses all over Kevin's neck and collar, and even one on his cheek, Kevin begrudgingly letting him. Aaron just stood by and watched them, impressed by how far Nicky had come.
Not one comment about adding the lipstick with his mouth. Just pure professionalism.
It made sense, Nicky was the type of person to take costumes very seriously.
After he was satisfied with the number of kisses, he took Kevin's hand and put some of the lipstick on his thumb, telling him to just smudge it from the corner of his mouth away from his lips. “So it looks like you just got done kissing.”
Then Nicky looked him over critically before nodding.
“Okay, perfect. Now you can do your eyeliner if you like. You can also use my blush and everything else you might need, I don't mind."
Kevin hummed and sat down at the table, pulling the little mirror on it closer to him. He had let Nicky do his eyeliner exactly once before deciding to learn how to do it himself.
Because he was a perfectionist who had to know how to do anything.
“Sharing makeup is not really hygienic.”
Aaron had said it before he even thought about it.
Right after he spoke, Nicky turned towards him and grinned. He could kick himself. Why couldn’t he have just stayed quiet?
Nicky came over with another bag in hand. “Don’t worry, Aaron. Since you are so much paler than us, you don’t have to share. I even have the perfect blush shade for you that I never wear since it’s not that flattering on me. And one spare eyeliner too.”
Curse Nicky and his shopping addiction.
But Aaron had decided to put on a brave face today and make Nicky happy, so he held still while Nicky was stabbing around his eyes, and way too much pink blush was put on his cheeks.
He did draw the line at lip gloss, and Nicky relented surprisingly fast, maybe because Aaron was already so far out of his comfort zone he couldn’t even see it any more.
He put on the giant fluffy pink jacket, which, upon further inspection, was already covered in heaps of glitter from the last time it was used. So now Aaron himself was glittering like a disco ball.
Great, this would be impossible to get rid of.
He only zipped up the jacket halfway and put on the sash over it. As he was already dreading looking in the mirror, Nicky pulled out one last thing from the bag.
Aaron cringed and was seriously considering throwing himself out the window while Nicky approached him again with a giant smile on his face.
“No bride does anything without her veil.”
And before Aaron could protest, the little glittery headband with a veil that extended past his shoulders was placed on his head.
Aaron just let it happen to him, slowly getting the feeling that all the blush had been unnecessary, since his face had felt hot this entire time, and was showing no signs of stopping.
At least Nicky hadn’t commented on that.
He was fiddling around with the veil now, fixing Aaron’s hair and putting both parts of the veil to the back so they weren’t in his face. Maybe he should change career path to wedding stylist; he seemed to be having way too much fun.
After a second of deliberation, Nicky changed his mind and flipped the front part of the veil over Aaron’s face, who closed his eyes at the sudden fabric on his lashes. Nicky stepped behind him, grabbed him by his shoulders, and pushed him forward while yelling, “Hey Kevin, look here.”
Aaron wanted to die. How could his own flesh and blood do this to him?
The material of the veil was cheaply made, so he couldn’t see through it very well, but the grumbling he heard told him that Kevin was annoyed at being interrupted mid-eyeliner.
Nicky was humming the melody to Here comes the bride and dramatically flipped Aaron’s veil back. He was probably not wearing the expression you would want from a bride on her wedding day, stuck between embarrassment and annoyance, glaring at Kevin in front of him.
Kevin's eyes widened as he made eye contact with Aaron.
To be fair, Aaron looked so different from usual, it probably gave him whiplash. His mouth parted as if he was about to say something, but no noise made it through.
Aaron could feel his blush deepening.
“Doesn’t he look pretty?”
Nicky said that more to himself than to Kevin, already in the process of smoothing out the veil in the back.
So, it came as a surprise when Kevin answered him.
“Really pretty.”
All three of them stilled, Kevin looking just as shocked that he had just said that as Aaron and Nicky. Then shock changed to mortification, and he jumped up, stammering helplessly.
“I- I meant… Sorry, I know you hate being called cute…uh, pretty. You- you look handsome.”
He was making it worse, and Aaron felt like his face was actually on fire, burning hot.
What the fuck.
A slam rang out as Kevin's hip hit the corner of the table while he took a step back. He stumbled before quickly collecting the eyeliner, almost dropping it due to his frantic movements.
It was almost like Kevin was making up for their lack of reaction by overreacting.
Aaron had not moved an inch this entire time, and from the lack of movement behind him, he guessed that Nicky had gone as still as he.
“I think I’ll go do the rest in the bathroom! Better lighting, you know?” Kevin spun around and practically ran out of the room, leaving both of them to stand there and let whatever had just happened settle.
Nicky was the first to find his voice.
“That was... weird.”
“Yeah...”
Nicky leaned slightly forward to look Aaron in his eyes.
“You ok?”
Aaron rubbed a hand over his face, careful not to smudge any of his makeup.
“Just… let’s not talk about this ever again.”
Nicky smiled at him, something like pity on his face.
“Yeah, no problem.”
He knew Nicky would love to talk more about this and what it could mean.
He’d probably love to tease Kevin with it, but the way Aaron had asked had made it clear he didn’t want any of that. Nicky couldn’t know that Aaron had recently entered a sexuality crisis and was already overanalysing that whole interaction.
He's just a really awkward person, he didn’t mean anything by that.
Kevin came back later, while Aaron was busy pretending to be on his phone. Nicky immediately went over to inspect the striker’s makeup.
“Ohh, nice eyeliner skills, Day.”
He leaned up and ruffled through Kevin’s hair very methodically, making his hair look purposefully dishevelled.
“Okay, I’d say we are ready to go!”
Nicky filled the shot glasses he had gotten earlier and handed one to Kevin, who downed it immediately before holding the empty glass out for a refill.
Aaron joined them and tried to ignore the way his heart jumped when he glanced at Kevin who truly did look fucked, in the literal sense of the word. Hair dishevelled, his too-tight clothes in disarray and lipstick marks everywhere.
It was unfair how he was allowed to be all sexy and good-looking while Aaron was stuck being cutesy.
…and pretty, and… handsome, apparently.
Nicky handed Aaron a shot, and they all took one together. He downed some more with Kevin, while Nicky checked himself out in the mirror one last time.
Why did his cousin have to be death?
Why was Aaron the one dressed in glittery pink, with a veil, sash and too much jewellery to count?
He was about to reach for the bottle again when Nicky clapped in his hands.
It was time for the worst part of all this.
Nicky had insisted on revealing the costumes to everyone when they arrived at the party. That meant no one knew what they were doing.
Not even Andrew and Neil.
And that almost was somehow worse than if people already knew what to expect.
Nicky exited the room first, and the moment he reached the common room area, his excited voice could be heard through the entire dorm.
“Nice wolf costume, Neil! Andrew, would it kill you to dress up for once?”
Aaron froze in place, unwilling to move and leave this room. He was going to embarrass himself; he just knew it. Even if no one else cared, Neil would. Actually, everyone else from the team would too.
And it was all his own fault.
They were all going to find his outfit hilarious because it was so out of character for him. Because big, manly Aaron would normally not be caught dead wearing anything girly.
Kevin had stopped next to him and just watched him without saying a word. The conversation in the background went on undisturbed by Aaron’s internal crisis.
Andrew’s voice could be heard, sounding bored as usual.
“I am dressed up. Little Red Riding Hood, does that ring a bell?”
“I don’t think she was wearing an actual red hoodie. Well, I guess it's better than nothing. You do know the invite said you are only let in with a costume?”
Andrew still sounded unimpressed.
“I want to see them try and stop me.”
“And what are you supposed to be? A skeleton?”
Neil had spoken up now, making it all too real for Aaron that he was right outside, with his twin.
This was going to suck so bad. Ugh, why was it so hard to be a good cousin?
Only now did Nicky seem to notice that neither of his group costume companions was with him.
“Guys, come on! You heard Neil, my costume is just a boring skeleton without you!”
Kevin nudged Aaron softly, and when he looked up, he was being offered another shot. He smiled weakly at Kevin before taking it, slamming the empty glass on the table and wiping his mouth with his sleeve before remembering that he probably had glitter all over his face now.
Well, here goes nothing.
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t rush us, Nicky!”
Kevin rolled his eyes as he walked out, Aaron next to him. He tried his best to look more annoyed than embarrassed, flipping Neil off when he looked over to see him wearing the widest grin possible.
He then stuffed his hands in the jacket pockets and tried to send death glares towards the red head, glancing over at his twin for only a split second. Despite his otherwise deadpan expression, Andrew had his eyebrows slightly raised, probably curious how Nicky convinced him to participate in this.
“And? Any guesses?”
He could tell that Nicky would be playing that game the entire evening.
Neil still wore his shit eating grin when he answered.
“Is it: worst situations to be in? Meeting the grim reaper, doing the walk of shame and having Aaron Minyard as your bride?”
He was going to attack Neil right here and now.
“Fuck you, Neil-.”
“Fuck, marry, kill."
Andrew said it as if he had known the entire time, and was just getting annoyed by how long this guessing game was dragging on.
But Aaron had noticed the intense stare his brother had had the entire time Neil was being an asshole. Andrew had been thinking about this really hard.
He now crossed his arms, looking satisfied while Nicky congratulated him. Neil was frowning at them, less than impressed. At least he also knew the game, so it didn’t have to be explained to him.
Before Neil could finish his comment on how they clearly picked the wrong person to kill, Nicky interrupted him.
“Let’s take a picture together before we go! While the makeup still looks good.”
The good thing was that Neil couldn’t finish his comment; the bad thing was that he immediately whipped his phone out with a bright smile, ready to immortalise Aaron’s suffering. As if he wasn’t usually the one who refused to use his phone for anything, now he was suddenly ready to go.
“Hell yeah, great idea!”
And just like it was never just a second, it was never just a picture.
They had to take what felt like a billion.
Different angles, different poses and of course, some of all five of them together. Aaron was trying his best to smile, but he was pretty sure it was incredibly obvious that he was tense and uncomfortable.
It didn’t help that Neil Josten was right behind the camera, getting way too into being a photographer.
They pregamed some more, and Aaron tried his best to take the edge off. He would need it for tonight.
Once they were at the party, it went about as expected.
Each time they met people they knew, Nicky would play his guessing game. Everyone had a great time with it, except for Aaron. It was embarrassing to him just how much he was being cooed over, being called cute and adorable.
Every time someone took a picture with them, there was inevitably a version of the “We gotta show this to your future girlfriend so she knows to put you in the dress on the wedding day.” -comment.
And it didn’t help that he was flushing each time someone said that.
Then again, Kevin had to listen to people ask him, “Who’s the lucky lady?”, each time they saw him, or some other joke about him having recently fucked.
The first time someone had asked him, Kevin had blinked at them and flushed, before trying to explain that it was just a costume; he hadn’t actually just had sex.
And everyone who was part of that interaction immediately broke out in laughter at Kevin’s misguided earnestness. Kevin himself had looked even more lost, prompting Aaron to swoop in and tell him that they were just joking and teasing.
After clearing up that people were not serious about what they were saying to him, Kevin laughed politely whenever a similar comment came.
But that was just it, it was his fake and polite laugh, ready for the press. It had a tenseness to it, and Aaron could only assume that Kevin might just be slightly uncomfortable, too.
At some point, it got to be a bit too much, and Aaron stumbled into the bathroom to take a breather. This was also the moment he realised just how tipsy he already was. The room was spinning without him moving at all, and the lights were just a tad too bright.
He originally had planned to splash some water on his face, but remembered the makeup he was wearing, so instead he opted to slide down the wall and sit on the cool tiles.
Not very hygienic of him, but he couldn’t care less right now. He took the headband with the veil off and stared at it as if he could make it erupt in flames if he just glared long enough.
There were about two seconds for him to relax and breathe before the door cracked open, the sounds of the party outside immediately flooding the bathroom for a few seconds. And then it was closed again, leaving someone standing near Aaron.
“Hey, you okay?”
Of course, Kevin had to follow him to the bathroom, looking horribly good with his slightly flushed cheeks. He was most likely also pretty drunk by now.
“Yeah, Kev. I’m just kind of done with being called cute and whatnot.”
He didn’t mean to be so honest, but he had truly had his fill of those comments for the remainder of the evening. Kevin sank down next to him, taking a second to think over his answer.
“Is it really that bad?”
“What?”
“Being called cute, I mean. I think I would like it.”
Aaron simply stared at him, at a loss for words.
Had he lost his mind? How was he supposed to answer that?
He cleared his throat before trying to explain himself, since he had no clue what to say to Kevin's admission.
“Well, I guess it's not all bad, but it can be a bit much sometimes. I know most people do mean it, but it just always feels like I'm being talked down to. Especially in this outfit, it makes me really lean into the cuteness, and I think I'm just not self-confident enough for that…”
While talking, he kept getting more and more frustrated with himself.
It really was his own fault, wasn’t it?
If he could just be more confident, more secure in his masculinity, none of this would be a problem.
He could feel Kevin's stare on him, and another wave of embarrassment and self-doubt washed over him. Kevin had probably just wanted to be nice and ask out of obligation.
And Aaron had gone all self-conscious and dumped his self-esteem issues out for Kevin to see and judge.
He didn’t fully turn, instead peering at Kevin out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge a reaction. He flinched slightly when Kevin suddenly answered.
“I get it, kind of. Being called hot and fuckable is nice and all, but it feels like people are just saying that to kind of talk down to me sometimes. You know, dumb jock or whatever. It pisses me off sometimes. I'm more than that. I know I should count myself lucky, but- anyway, sometimes I wonder what I have to do for people to call me cute rather than sexy.”
Aaron was surprised by this answer. He hadn’t expected this from Kevin.
This desire to be seen differently.
Before he could stop himself, his mouth moved.
“I don’t think you’re a dumb jock. You are a jock, yes, but also really smart.”
The long stare he got from Kevin felt like he was trying to figure out if Aaron was making fun of him or not. Then he looked away, staring at the wall opposite him.
“Um…thanks.” Aaron flushed at the small smile on Kevin's face. “And, you know, if you really don’t want to wear this, you can just leave. I’ll tell Nicky you’re not feeling well.”
How considerate of him. But that wouldn’t be fair. Aaron huffed before playfully nudging Kevin.
“What? So I owe you something next? No, thank you.”
Kevin looked like he wanted to say something, but once he saw the smile on Aaron’s face, he relaxed and huffed amused. Aaron added on.
“No, seriously, thanks for the offer. But I really want to do this for Nicky. He already sacrificed so much for us, the least I could do is be part of his stupid costume.”
He sighed, resigned to his fate and went to get up. By the time he was standing, he spotted the struggle on Kevin's face as he opened and closed his mouth a few times.
When Kevin finally spoke, his voice was very quiet. “Maybe…we could-” the sentence was never fully finished; instead, Kevin shook his head like he wasn’t sure how to proceed.
Aaron offered him a hand and helped him up, patiently waiting for him to continue.
Kevin couldn’t look him in the eyes, instead staring at his feet. A weird flip happened in Aaron's stomach at the sight of Kevin being all bashful like that.
Finally, Kevin cleared his throat and continued, albeit very shaky.
“There is one way you won’t have to wear that, and we could still be part of the group costume.”
It took a second for Aaron to figure out what Kevin meant. Once he got it, something clicked in him. Kevin's comment about wanting to be called cute suddenly made even more sense.
“Kevin.”
“Mhm?”
Kevin looked at him with an expression he could only describe as pure embarrassment, his face completely red at this point.
“Have you wanted to wear my costume this entire time?”
An oddly squeaky noise was punched out of Kevin, and he just stared red-faced for a second. Then he averted eye contact and started stammering out an answer.
“No! Well … yes, kinda? I-I didn’t care about the costume at first… but once I saw how cute you looked in it, I just thought: Wow, I wonder if I would look like that if I wore it? And….you know…”
Aaron was matching Kevin's shade of redness by now. Was this idiot even registering what he was saying? Calling Aaron cute, again.
“Why didn’t you say that earlier, while we were still in the dorm?”
Kevin was still not looking at him. “I don’t know, I didn’t want to make demands, and also it suited you, so...”
Aaron’s face was overheating.
Fuck this guy, he wanted to wear the glittery outfit all along and didn’t say anything because he thought Aaron looked nice in it?
“Also, I thought you would be mad if I suggested you wear the 'I just had sex' outfit.”
Okay, he had to admit that Kevin had a point there. He chuckled before he could stop himself, finally getting Kevin to look at him.
“You might be right about that. I’m not super excited about that costume either, but I think I would like it more than mine at least.”
Kevin blinked at him for a second, and Aaron moved with a burst of confidence. He stood on his tiptoes, extending his arms, trying to place the headband he had been holding on Kevin's head.
With a bit of help in the form of Kevin leaning down, he finally managed to reach.
After the veil was placed, he pulled back and grinned at Kevin.
“Well? Let’s switch then.”
Kevin smiled back at him before taking off his tie and immediately starting to unbutton his shirt. No shame whatsoever in this man. Aaron quickly averted his eyes and started taking off the sash.
Since they only had to switch what they were wearing up top, the change was fast.
Aaron was still buttoning up the shirt when he looked up at Kevin, who was trying to close the jacket.
And oh god, he looked so fucking good in it.
The white tank top was quite short on him, as expected, and left some of his midriff showing. And by the looks of it, he couldn’t really zip up the jacket; his shoulders were just a smidge too wide, leaving it hanging open.
It was so different from what Kevin would usually wear, and Aaron had the thought that Kevin looked so good in white and pink, they needed to get more clothes in that colour for him.
He ripped his gaze away and finished buttoning up just in time to see Kevin fixing his hair and putting the veil back on. It was a bit all over the place, so Aaron signalled for him to lean down so he could smooth it out. While he did that, he tried his very best not to make eye contact, instead focusing all his attention on Kevin's stupidly soft hair.
After that was done, he gave Kevin a once-over and swallowed thickly.
He couldn’t tell if the outfit simply made everyone look incredibly cute or if Kevin had always looked this adorable.
Most likely a mix of both.
For the fact that he had wanted to wear it, Kevin was eyeing himself rather sceptically in the mirror. His hands were fidgeting with the hem of the jacket, and he finally turned, fixing Aaron with almost concerned eyes.
”Does it look stupid?”
To hear something like that out of Kevin Day’s mouth was unbelievable. The man would look gorgeous in a potato sack, and here he was in the cutest outfit ever designed, unsure if he looked good.
Aaron shook his head, licking his dry lips.
“No, you actually look …really cute, to be honest.” The alcohol had made it easier to get the words out, but the embarrassment he felt was still almost unbearable.
Kevin’s eyes lit up, and his cheeks turned a bit darker. “Um, thanks.”
He was now wearing that dorky smile he sometimes had, and something in Aaron made him feel warm all over.
Oh god, this could not be happening.
“W- well, let’s get going”
Hating himself for falling over his words, he tried to march past Kevin but was stopped mid-step when a scarred hand wrapped itself around his arm.
“Wait.”
Cringing inwardly, Aaron froze.
He really, really didn’t want Kevin to tell him how hot he looked out of obligation; his heart could not take that.
Instead of those dreaded words, Kevin pulled him closer again, mumbling absentmindedly.
“You’re not done yet.”
While Aaron was still registering those words, Kevin pulled out the lipstick from his back pocket. Which led to any semblance of relief Aaron might have been feeling to be replaced by another wave of embarrassment.
Oh.
They stood motionless for a second, and when Kevin cleared his throat and stepped closer, Aaron couldn’t help but go tense.
“Um, I kinda don’t have the stencil anymore, but I can draw it, I think. How hard could it be?”
It was quite awkward with how close Kevin had to be to him. Aaron turned his head away from him at an angle while Kevin put lipstick on his collarbone. He inevitably ended up looking in the mirror and just staring at Kevin there.
His face looked so cute, all scrunched up in concentration.
Stop thinking that.
Once he was finished, Kevin took a step back and gestured to the mirror.
“Okay, first one done, it's passable, right?”
Aaron took a second to view his now-painted collarbone.
After a few beats of silence, he spoke without looking away from it.
“I think we finally found something you are dogshit at, Day.”
It really did look awful, more like a giant red oval than a mouth. Aaron sighed, snatching the lipstick away from Kevin.
“Gimme that, I’ll do it myself.”
How hard could it be?
…
Turns out this was harder than he thought.
Now he had an additional red splatter on him, looking kind of like he got hit in the neck by a paintball.
He sighed and grabbed some paper towels, starting to wipe their sad attempts at art away.
“I guess I’ll just have to go without them. No offence to your drawing skills, but I don’t think we’ll be able to do this.”
He had been looking at where he was wiping in the mirror, and glanced up to see Kevin’s reflection staring at him. His jaw was moving as if he were deciding on how to say something.
“What?”
He said it quieter and softer than he had wanted.
A very stupid idea had sprung up in his mind.
He would never suggest it, but Kevin’s face had made something like hope start to bloom inside him.
Maybe, just maybe, Kevin was thinking the same thing.
Slowly, Kevin began speaking. It was obvious that he was choosing his words carefully.
“But then Nicky would be disappointed, and the costume wouldn’t work as well.”
Kevin's voice wavered slightly as he stepped closer, still holding eye contact in the mirror. Aaron swallowed thickly, trying to keep his composure.
“I know, it sucks. I wish we were better at drawing.”
They were building themselves up to it, weren’t they?
Under the pretence of caring about having the best costume for Nicky. Kevin took another deep breath and spoke very quietly.
“I think… There might be one way we could avoid having to draw.”
Kevin stopped next to Aaron, now looking away from the mirror and directly at Aaron.
The lump in Aaron's throat almost made it impossible to answer. He was still looking at the mirror when he managed to somehow squeeze out a sentence.
“Yeah? Maybe we should try that, since there seems to be no other option.”