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It wasn't that he disliked Fein's new girlfriend. Not at all, that wouldn't be fair to her. She matched him in pretty much every regard, she was funny, smart, pretty, and just genuinely fun to be around. Which all just really made it worse, to not like her on a different level. They fit well together and it made Couri sick, because he wanted to be the one to fit well beside Fein's side, and yet here he was a few steps away again.
For now, somehow, he contended himself with best friend status. Which was good attention in itself, to be honest. Being confided in about lots of things still, asked for his opinions, calls and texts abound. It was good for his wanting, he had to say. But he was greedy still, he always wanted more.
He was only a quarter listening as his friends walked ahead discussing some absolutely ridiculous hypotheticals about losing different limbs and what would be the "best" to lose. They did this all the time, and he was no stranger to participating, but it was less mind-numbing and infuriating to listen because sometimes the points brought up were so ridiculous that he just didn't even know how to respond.
Couri was actively trying to think about this time ending, but he would miss them and all their dumb conversations when college ended. It was pretty set that their friendships wouldn't end if they could help it, but it wasn't going to be this simple to talk to all of them, and he did have to mourn that to some extent. That wasn't important right now, or he was trying not to make it important.
What was more imminent was the awards event coming up. He and several of his friends had been nominated for various academic and social achievements in their wide spectrum of courses and interests. Personally, he was just excited to be nominated for anything and might not have even attended by himself for being so sure that someone else would win. Seeing the competition he was up against, he felt like that was a valid feeling. His peers were extraordinary.
As it was, he and all his friends were going, and he had to find something to wear to suit the occasion. Technically speaking, Couri had found something already, but it was so outside what he usually wore that he wasn't sure if he should do it really. But... it was the end of his college years, so would it really hurt to try something new? He had a few days to debate it, and debate it he would.
"What has got you so in your head that you're not roasting the hell out of Poundy for his fuckery?" Fulham dropped back and asked.
Couri was grateful for the British transfer student. A good close friend to have, and Couri was glad to count him as one. Knowing when something was up, knowing him better than most anyone else.
"Nothing much," Couri shook his head. "The usual existential stuff. But tell me what dumb shit he said, let's put him back in his place."
Just like that, life returned to normal. No dreaded thoughts about his life, just the dumbassery of some college students heading around campus.
Awards Night came sooner than he would've liked it to, marking the passage of time in his head. Danny was getting ready in his own room, or more likely struggling against the whims of Minecraft again.
Couri stared at himself in the mirror, wondering if this was really a good idea for approximately the millionth time since he bought all the pieces. He didn't have the security to try it on before now, now wanting to know what he would look like. And it didn't allow him the chance to really back out, because what if it was fine?
Maybe... it was kind of fine too. Couri wasn't one to be too opinionated on his own appearance, thinking himself a fairly average kind of guy. However, staring in the mirror he thought he looked pretty good, if he had to say. It was strange to look at himself though, not used to wearing this sort of thing. It didn't really feel like it was for him.
"This sort of thing" in question being the triple threat of a corset, skirt, and high heeled boots. Just a little one, since he didn't really have the time or space to be practicing walking in them. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to lean on his friends too much while walking. Thankfully, he wouldn't be getting drunk, so that dangerous combination would be avoided easily.
A knock on his door. This was it, they had run out of time. He had no backup unless he wanted to walk out in a pair of sweatpants.
"Yeah!" Couri called in answer, noting he was a little breathless suddenly.
Danny opened the door, looked shocked as he stared at Couri, but quickly schooled his face into something resembling neutral.
"It's fine, I know it's not exactly my normal." Couri shrugged.
Danny took the opportunity thankfully, properly looking over the outfit in comparison to his own. Couri stood, feeling almost uncomfortably examined and shifting his weight as he waited for the judgement.
"Sure, not the normal, but you look awesome, dude!" Danny smiled reassuringly.
Couri tried to give his own smile in response, but mostly what he could muster was a shaken and relieved breath outwards at the positivity. First test passed, now he had just had to meet the rest of his friends.
They opted to take the elevator down for which he was very grateful, because he thought that flat ground might be one thing, but a whole flight of stairs might be a challenge he wasn't ready for yet.
One thing he learned very quickly was that he had to stand up very straight to stay well balanced. It was nice, because combined with the heel he was actually a little taller than he was used to being. Additionally, it forced him not to hide and curl in on himself. He had to stand like he was very confident in himself and his walking abilities.
A few of their friends met them outside the dormitory, mostly the ones that lived there already. Some chose to comment on Couri's new clothing choices and some didn't, taking it in stride. He was grateful for both responses, and the upright posture became a little more assured with each person they encountered on the way.
Of course, one of the last people they would collect along the way was the opinion he was most worried for. Feinberg stood outside the main atrium they had to enter, looking too enticing in his standard suit for Couri's health and wellbeing.
To his own credit, his breath wasn't immediately taken away, because he was too distracted in another inane debate about a topic that none of them were actually invested in. It wasn't until Fein's large figure appeared just out of the corner of his eye that he turned to pay attention.
Only to find that Fein was already looking at him, and quite intently at that. Couri blinked at the intensity of the gaze, but it didn't deter Fein from giving him a very obvious up-and-down and Couri stood there with only a single still functioning braincell stopping his jaw from dropping.
They appreciated it each other, of course, the whole group always did. Nothing ever quite like that though. Not with something approaching want and desire in their eyes.
Fein only got closer after apparently finishing with his inspection, and Couri felt himself involuntarily holding his breath in again.
"How are you holding up in those boots?" Fein asked.
Possibly the most normal question to be asking, but that's exactly why it disarmed Couri and allowed him to release that breath.
"I'm okay for now. I might have to hold on to some people on the way back."
It was true. He was aware of his feet in a way that he absolutely was not on a regular day, and he could easily see how his feet would be hurting after a few hours of wearing them.
Fein just nodded, and then someone must have said something that he couldn't hear or walked in because suddenly the whole group was filtering in. It was only when Fein took the seat right next to him, and Silver on his other side, that he realized Fein's girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, where's -" He leaned over to speak directly in Fein's ear, the environment too loud for him to move much farther.
"Ah, yeah." Fein sighed. "We broke up last night. More like she broke up with me than anything."
That was the strange thing. Fein seemed to be good at the beginning stages of relationship, despite being a huge nerd that didn't go outside much like the rest of them, but after some time it just always stopped working. He never disclosed the reasons why, not to Couri at least, but after a couple of months his relationships didn't tend to last.
"Damn, that really sucks, I'm so sorry. Lemme know if you need anything, okay? None of us will hold it against you if you have to leave early." Couri patted his friends back a little awkwardly.
The slightly evil, traitorous part of his brain was screaming. Are you going to see me now? Are you going to notice that I've been right here the whole time? Choose me, and I'll never let you go. Please let me in.
Fein just sighed again and nodded.
They didn't have to wait too much longer before most everyone had arrived and the event could begin properly. As each category was called out they waited to see if one of their names would be called, and of course erupted in riotous applause and shouting when they were, and silent comforting and reassurance when they didn't.
Finally, Couri's own category was called and he was already happy to hear his name listed again as a nominee and see his designs posted up as examples to admire. But then his name was called again, and his brain froze. His name was called again, and he knew that was meant to happen for the winner. Did he win?
His friends pulled him up, shoving him towards the stage. All this time, he was more than happy to graduate with a degree but to be nominated and win? Sure, it was just a college award, but the recognition for all the work he had put in felt better than he could say.
It really properly sank in as he walked the steps to the stage and he had to focus so as not to completely fumble and fall down. Actually, doing it was a little easier than he expected, no stumbles or falls to be had tonight. As he shook the hand of his department head and turned to present himself and his art to the crowd and cameras, he realized just how widely he was smiling.
He looked at his friends who cheered again and waved when they saw him looking their way. It made him laugh in appreciation, so grateful that he had all of them by his side this whole time. As much as he resisted, his eyes lingered on Fein specifically for just a little longer than the rest of them.
It was only another few seconds before the pictures were over and he had to descend the stairs, a slightly more difficult task, and head back to his seat. His friends gathered around him, whisper shouting their congratulations and happiness for him. It felt a little like he was glowing with it, the pride they had in him.
They had to sit down before the next winner was called, and Couri took care with his shoes to not simply fall over into it. As they sat, Fein leaned over in his ear and whispered again.
"Seriously, congrats man. You deserved that 100%, I'm glad you won it."
Couri smiled sheepishly, ducking his head as a sudden blush took over his features. He kept it cool and under control though, probably, and whispered his thanks back. On his other side, Poundy nudged his arm and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively when Couri looked over. Couri smacked his head and shook his head, silently trying to tell his friend to knock it off. Poundy just kept looking and persistently wiggling his eyebrows, to the point where Couri just had to shake his head and look away, not wanting to entertain his friend's fantasies any longer than he had to.
The night didn't go on too much longer after that, but they had to take advantage of a table of snacks set out for the attendees. As the young adult college students they still fundamentally were, they absolutely devoured quite a lot of the table, but as they stepped out the door to the cool night air it was clear none of them cared.
There was really nowhere for all of them to sit, other than the ground, so mostly they stood around in one area but divided to have their own individual conversations. With other people increasingly leaving the building behind them they had to move over to the softer ground, and the change in ground made Couri stumble a little, but a large hand landed on his shoulder to steady him.
Embarrassingly, just by the feel alone he could tell it was Fein's hand on him. It made him terribly reluctant to move away for the smallest moment, but he had to, taking a step to right himself. But Fein's hand didn't leave his shoulder right away, and it was only when Couri drew back up to his full height and looked up at Fein that his hand dropped.
After that, he could feel the warmth radiating off of Fein's body as they stood next to each other. At one point they turned to look at something, and Couri felt the full warmth of their arms pressing against each other. But Fein didn't move, didn't seem to notice, so he certainly wasn't going to be the one to do it. It was just a few seconds, but it seemed to linger in his mind long after.
Eventually, the sun began to set proper and the temperature really dropped. Their food had been long finished and the paper plates disposed of, then it became time for people to leave. Mostly the people that had a longer ways to go. The people in dorms or with cars were free to linger longer, and linger they did, even as their numbers shrunk.
It was subtle at first, but then he noticed it more and more as time went on. One of their friends looking over at them, specifically looking at Fein first, then looking at them and seemingly communicating with their facial expressions. He unfortunately wasn't in a position to see how Fein was responding, but it didn't seem to be going well, because most of them turned around looking frustrated.
Really, Fein stayed with them longer than he should have considering he was one of the people that lived farther away, but not once did he indicate stepping away from Couri's side for the night.
It got late enough for them too that they began walking back to the dorms for the night. Thankfully, this time Couri was prepared and stepped very gracefully back onto the hard path. Enough time had passed that his untrained feet had begun to hurt from the heels, and it got much more uncomfortable as they began walking.
"Do you wanna hold onto my arm so it doesn't hurt as much to walk?" Fein suddenly asked.
Couri stopped and turned towards him, and Fein already had one arm extended slightly, as if asking for him to just say yes. It wasn't really that bad, he wanted to say. The part of him that yearned for the contact begged him to take it. That yearning part also pointed out that Fein must have been watching him pretty closely to see that he was having a problem in the first place. The group continued in front of them, and in a split second he nodded and took Fein's arm.
It really did help, he had to admit. At the same time it slowed their pace a bit, having to match their paces to each other when they already so different in height.
The silhouette of their building came into view much sooner than Couri would have liked, content to walk side by side with Fein all night if he could. At the doors, Fein didn't let go right away, didn't let him leave. Couri watched as his friends headed inside, but none of them seemed to think anything was amiss, so he just had to look back and look at the way Fein was already looking at him.
He didn't know what was going, but didn't want to interrupt whatever Fein seemed to have going on his head, so Couri just stood waiting patiently. Honestly, he was perfectly willing to wait all night, he always had patience for his friends talking to him about anything. He tried to be a good friend like that for all of them, and thought he did a pretty good job overall.
Eventually, Fein seemed to come to a conclusion and just sighed.
"There's no way to really get around this." Couri froze, that did not sound like a good thing at all. "Before you freak out, we'll be fine. Well, on my end we'll be fine, I guess it depends how you respond to this."
That helped, knowing Fein wasn't trying to suddenly sever their friendship, but that mostly left him confused.
"Yeah, there's no way around it. I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't know when, it just hit one day and I haven't been able to go back since. You're my favourite person, and I just needed you to know."
Couri felt his breath hitch, but he felt disconnected from himself. Was this real? A slight breeze conveniently rolled through at that moment, and it was too real to be some sort of dream or elaborate daydream he had concocted.
"Out of everyone, why me?" Couri winced, that was absolutely not the correct response and nowhere close to what he actually wanted to say.
Fein blinked, probably in disbelief, at the response, but just looked at Couri with that intensity again.
"Because you're... you? There's not a reason, I guess."
"That. Was not what I wanted to say. But I did mean it. Sorry, I'm just in shock." Couri stammered.
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you wanted to skip to the part where you either reject or accept so I can know how I'm meant to be feeling right now." Fein cracked a grin, but it wobbled a little and Couri felt his heart pinch.
"Oh, fuck! Oh my god, I'm love with you too. Like bad bad."
Couri watched the tension run out of Fein's body and felt a little bad for the guy. Couri had never had the guts to do this, so he was glad Fein was able to. Which led him to a question.
"Wait... why the girlfriends then?" Couri had to ask.
"Trying too hard to get over you. That's why they all broke up with me. They'd realize I was in love with you and break up with me soon after, or try and make it work anyways then break up later when it was obvious it wasn't going away." Fein shrugged.
Slowly, other things were clicking into place now.
"Did our other friends know you were gonna do this tonight?" He couldn't say the word 'confess' for some reason. "Is that why they kept looking at you, at us?"
Fein laughed. "Yeah. Shit, I didn't think you'd notice. They were all being fucking bastards about it."
"And then... why tonight then? How did they know it was gonna happen tonight?"
Fein suddenly turned red and looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. Interesting, Feinberg did not do things like that, and Couri was hopelessly endeared by the sight of him so awkward.
"So, there's kind of a groupchat trying to get us together. And they set a bet, or a dare, or whatever. They said that if you won the award that I'd have to confess tonight. It wasn't like I didn't believe you'd win or something, I really believed you would. I guess I just needed an excuse, or a final push to suddenly do it." He explained.
Couri was overcome by the urge to either punch his friends (very nicely) or give them all great big hugs for making this finally happen. He'd decide on a case by case basis when he saw each of them again. Poundy was getting a punch and Fulham was getting a punch and a hug, he could rule pretty much immediately.
"Can I do something?" Fein asked, bringing Couri out of wherever his thoughts had brought him.
He agreed without hesitation, not even thinking about it, because he'd do just about anything if Fein asked. One long stride and Fein was behind him, then both Fein's arms were wrapping around Couri's waist to pull him closer. Couri leaned his head back on Fein's shoulder, suddenly aware how cold he was out here in comparison to how warm Fein felt.
"Oh my god, I wanted to do that all night. You look so pretty, and all I could think about was your waist in this corset." Fein almost groaned.
Couri giggled and blushed, suddenly reminding himself of some schoolgirl being confessed to.
"Can I do something else?" Couri asked, and Fein agreed just as quickly as Couri had before.
Couri spun and felt as Fein's arm loosened. Gingerly, he took each of Fein's hands and put it on either side of his waist, giggling a little again when Fein squeezed. Then, a little too slowly, put his hands on Fein's cheeks, feeling the heat of the blush under his skin, and began to lean in.
Fein seemed to get the memo fairly quickly, and deliberately closed his eyes, just waiting for Couri to meet him halfway. And meet him he did, their lips colliding with perhaps a little too much speed and eagerness on his end. They levelled out quickly, and Couri was able to enjoy the fireworks-like feeling that he had heard described many times before.
He had thought it had to be exaggerated, it was just lips meeting, but now he understood. He really got it. Fein's hands grounded him at the same time that his lips made Couri float away. It was over just a little too soon, as Couri tried to adjust and step a little closer but kicked his feet against each other and stumbled into Fein's chest instead. It didn't matter, Fein caught him easily and then held him there, gingerly.
It seemed they both would have liked to stand there longer, but it was only getting colder and later, and despite all their closeness they couldn't hold it off forever. But Couri was not going to let this newfound discovery go to waste. He looked up at Fein, tilting his head innocently.
"Come up to my room with me? If Danny knows you're confessing then he better be fine with this as repayment."
Fein grinned in response, and stepped away. Not forgetting for a moment about Couri's shoes and how they would probably be worse now than before, he put out his arm again. This time Couri didn't think before taking it and leading him inside.
Tonight, he won two pretty big things. And as good as one was, the other was a whole lot sweeter.