Work Text:
This was frustrating. Annoying. Aggravating. Bothersome. A pain in the ass.
That’s what Connor was telling himself as he sat at the kitchen table, watching the six-year-old put spaghetti everywhere but in his mouth.
Since the first day, he tried everything to make the old man interested. It was subtle initially: a glance there, a wink here, a light touch on his shoulder. At first, it didn’t seem to work at all. Hank would never look twice his way, and rarely offered more words than necessary when he came back to relieve him of his babysitter job. He almost had given up, thinking that maybe he wasn’t interested in younger people (or that he just didn’t like men), until he caught him red-handed, checking out his ass.
That was all it took for Connor to come back strong and attack again. This time, he put in all the methods he knew would drive men insane. He purposefully bent down wearing those tight jeans that hugged his buttcheeks perfectly. He let his fingers linger when the lieutenant would pay him, flashing him with a charming and flirty smile. He would look up at him with puppy-dog eyes. He even asked him out for dinner once. But nothing was going through that thick and pretty head of his. Either he was too oblivious and didn’t even notice, or he did, and ignored him. He didn’t know which one was worse.
Letting out a shaky breath, he took a damp towel and cleaned the young boy’s cheek, his cloth returning red in his hands. Cole offered a bright smile, and he couldn’t help but give one in return. Even if his dad was frustrating as hell, at least the son was a delight to be around. Connor truly adored the little monster, and even if he wasn’t paid to watch over him, he would still come back and do it for free.
He suddenly froze at his thoughts. His brain spinned like a hamster on a running wheel. That was it! Maybe he could show he was more than just a babysitter if he offered to come back for free!
Inspired, he planned ahead how he could offer it to the lieutenant. He mustn’t sound desperate, that would be way too pathetic. Of course he had to say it in a flirtatious manner, maybe throw in a wink as well. Yeah, that should work.
“Connor, your smile’s creepy…”
His eyes, previously unfocused, returned to the little blond and he saw a disturbed look on his features. His lips immediately straightened.
Later that evening, after putting Cole to sleep, Connor paced around impatiently in the living room. It was only 10PM, and he knew Hank could come back way later than this. There was never a precise time, since his job wasn’t exactly regular in its schedule. Sometimes he was back by 9PM. Sometimes, he came when the sun was rising and birds were singing. He wished it wasn’t the case today.
To try and calm himself, he crouched down next to Sumo’s bed and started scratching his belly, which the dog certainly didn’t complain about. The young Saint Bernard was a sucker for pets, and Connor loved dogs anyway.
“Say Sumo, you haven’t heard your master talk about me by any chance, have you?”, he said to the fluffy ball, ruffling his ears with each hand.
As if to answer, the dog softly barked and licked his wrist, and Connor let out a tiny chuckle.
“Is that so? How scandalous! You wanna know a secret of my own?”
Sumo tilted his head to the side as if wondering. The brunet winked down at him.
“I do find him pretty hot myself..”
“Who’s hot?”
Jumping up at the sudden voice, Connor half-fell into the dog’s bed, crushing the poor Sumo’s paws in the process. The dog let out a pained whine and the college student instantly backed away, apologising.
Slowly looking up, he recognised the old man towering over him, almost proud of himself for startling him. He wanted to make that smirk, who did inappropriate things to him, disappear, and he knew exactly how.
“You are,” he replied, looking like a smug little bastard.
Taken aback, Hank wore a blank face for a few seconds before he rolled his eyes and offered his hand to get him back on his feet.
“Very funny kid, now stop trying to mop my floor with your clothes and get up.”
Putting his palm in his, he noted how incredibly warm it was against his skin. He effortlessly pulled him on his feet, and Connor couldn’t help but wonder how those strong hands would feel on his body.
The contact lasting more than necessary, Hank finally retracted his hand and caught to cut the tension.
“Thanks as always, let me go grab my wallet to pay you.”
But just as he was about to turn around and look for it, Connor stopped him by putting his fingers on his bicep, tightening his hold so he wouldn’t go. Hank froze as soon as he felt his touch.
“Wait, I don’t need to get paid anymore!”
Puzzled, the grey-haired man turned around, his eyes glancing down at their joined skin for just a split second.
“What, why? You babysat my son, and now I have to pay you.”
The twenty-four-year-old shook his head.
“It’s barely babysitting anymore, since I know Cole like the back of my hand and it’s hardly a chore to look after him.”
Seeing as his tactic wasn’t working, he let his fingers trace the contour of his muscles up his arm, all the way to his shoulder. Without even meaning to, his teeth bit down on his lower lip. Oh how he wished those muscles would unravel him…
“Maybe see it as an exchange instead? Between friends?”, he reasoned, his eyes looking up into his blue orbs. For a second, his breath got stuck in his throat. They were like the ocean, and he wanted them to suffocate him, to consume him, to get lost in its water forever.
“Exchange, huh?”, Hank scoffed, mocking. “And what is it you want in return, besides money?”
You , Connor wanted to blur out. Though, the fear of his reaction stopped him in his tracks.
“I don’t know, your time?”
Hank cocked an eyebrow, a tiny grin appearing on his lips. Connor felt his cheeks tint bright pink. Gosh, this sounded so cliché! Too late, he was already halfway there, why not just take a deep breath and jump in!
“Yeah, I mean, I could come not just when you need me to look after your son, but we could do something together! O-of course, Cole could join us, I mean otherwise you wouldn’t have anyone else to babysit him…”
He knew he was rumbling, and embarrassment was creeping up his spine, giving him goosebumps. He didn’t dare meet his eyes, afraid he would see disgust or rejection in them. This wasn’t just a simple attraction or a way to get him in his bed. Of course, he wouldn’t say no if Hank suggested they fuck right then and there, but he wanted more. Way more. And it kind of scared him a bit.
“Alright,” Hank simply answered.
No explanation why, no buts, just a simple affirmation. Connor finally looked up and saw tenderness in his eyes. He felt his knees give out under him and he had to support himself by holding on his shoulder, which he was still gripping. A boyish smile genuinely illuminating his lips, he leaned forward and without a second thought, kissed his cheek. Happy as if he just won the lottery, he wished him good night and practically ran out the door, pinching himself on the way out to make sure it wasn’t a dream. He didn’t notice he left a blushing and bothered Hank behind him, too enthralled in his own little happy world.