Chapter Text
For the time being, Jay was Tim's personal chauffeur. Tim's car took a shit on itself and was currently in the shop ( god knows how much that's gonna cost) so for the next week if Tim had somewhere to be, Jay offered to drive him. That was what led to him parked outside of his workplace on his day off. Tim had a meeting with his director for the opportunity of independently composing the soundtrack for the studio's recent feature film.
Jay was ecstatic for Tim, knowing this could be the big break his roommate needed for his music career. ( He was also excited for the prospect of being able to see Tim throughout his workday, but that was besides the point.)
Jay was parked outside for roughly an hour before he saw Tim leave the building. The man shot his chauffeur a smile, looking incomprehensibly good in a dressier-than-usual button up.
"Hey! How'd it go?" Jay pried as Tim opened the door and plopped into the passenger seat.
"Well," Tim started with a lopsided smile. "Considering I just signed a contract agreeing to do it, I think it went pretty well."
Jay snorted, giving Tim a playful shove. "Don't be a smart-ass about it." Jay's expression shifted to one more skeptical, his eyebrow raised in questioning. "They didn't low-ball you or anything, right?"
Tim shrugged, getting buckled. "I mean I would take anything for my work at this point but I'd say this is enough to cover my car at least."
"Thank fuck." Jay sighed and relaxed into the cushion of his seat, taking a moment to close out the mental space he had dedicated to brainstorming how they'd cover the cost of Tim's car troubles. He focused on his own vehicle now, shifting into reverse and backing out of his parking space.
They began what should have been the short drive home. Key word–should. What was usually a ten minute drive quickly turned itself into a writhing, inching, congestion of last minute merges, excessive horn usage, and overall frustration. Rush hour.
The two had been living in the city long enough that they were used to the frustration, so instead of commenting on the diesel truck whose black-smoke exhaust was now turning his own car into a co2 gas chamber, Jay mused aloud that they should use the frozen chicken for dinner rather than the ground beef.
20 minutes later and they were only halfway to their destination. They were in the thick of the congestion, because as always, road construction seemed to be active at the worst time. The two had run out of things to talk about, so Jay was humming along to the quiet music, staring daggers into the bumper of the car in front of him, begging it to move forward even half an inch.
"So," Tim started suddenly.
Jay's eyes snapped to his direction and he forced the deranged 'I hate driving' expression off of his face.
"When were you gonna tell me we were engaged?"
Jay nearly rear ended the car in front of him with how hard he whipped his body to orient Tim. "What?!"
Tim laughed, something amused and short but its lightness cut with how tight he seemed to be pushing himself into the seat, as if he was ready to disappear into it at any moment. "Your co-workers asked when our wedding was," Tim informed him casually. "They seemed pretty certain of themselves we were dating."
Jay kept his eyes on the road purely for safety reasons, totally not because he was so embarrassed he couldn't bear to look Tim in the eye. Of course his friends had to go and say some goofy shit as soon as they got a chance to talk to Tim. "Sorry about that," he cringed. " I tried to make it clear that you weren't my boyfriend but they obviously took that in the complete wrong direction."
Tim gave a noncommittal hum of acknowledgement then went silent. By now, Jay had sweated through his shirt, nervous of what his roommate had to think about the hypothetical prospect of dating, and of course his ac was on the fritz again but he couldn’t try to keep up with the conversation, worry about his car, and keep his eyes on the- JESUS FUCK THE CAR IN FRONT OF HIM FINALLY MOVED. He let off the breaks, exhilarated to be in motion, when Tim had to open his pretty mouth again.
"I wouldn't mind."
The car behind Jay must have assumed it was the man's first day driving–hell his first day on earth with how hard he slammed on the brakes, both in response to the car in front of him and to Tim's statement. "Huh?" He warbled intelligently, tearing his gaze away from the road for a single second. And thank God he did.
Tim wasn't the most expressive character, even now, his face was blank, eyes still hooded in their usual disinterested gaze, but his poor face was flushed a bright pink. Tim began to hunch in his seat, the seatbelt shifting, leaving a slight red mark where his neck met his collarbones.
"I mean I wouldn't mind if we dated." He clarified, clearing his throat and daring to look Jay in the eye. "If you uh, wanted."
HONNKKKKKKKK
"Jesus! Fuck- wait-" Jay took his foot off the break and waved an apology to the car behind him. He would NOT ruin this moment by causing an accident. " Tim, this is like the worst time for this, I'm sorry."
Out of the corner of his eye he could see his partner deflate a little. "Shit I thought- I mean-well... Yeah," Tim admitted with a sigh. "I was just putting it out there." The man fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "You probably need time to think about it."
"Don't you dare back down on me, that is not what I'm saying. It's purely because we're in rush hour in the middle of Cincinnati and I don't have the multitasking skills to talk about how much I love you without getting us killed in an accident."
"Oh." Tim's mouth cracked open to reveal a grin, seeming to understand the gravity of the statement. "Oh."
Jay reached over and grabbed Tim's hand, intertwining their fingers. Where this boldness came from, he had absolutely no fucking clue, but he just knew seeing Tim uncertain didn't sit right with him. "Yeah yeah, cheese it up, buddy, we’ll talk after dinner."
Tim gave his hand a squeeze. "Eyes on the road, Jay."