Chapter Text
The first time Austen met Aidan, they were in a room filled with all their mutal friends. Austen had been dragged there, against his will, by Jaren, Blake and Cameron. They had called it a friendly 'get together' arranged by Blake where Austen knew no one except the people he called his friends.
"Chill out, Sovi, it'd be fun!" Jaren had said, grinning, the soda can in his hand crinkling. Austen had snorted, replied a half-hearted 'yeah right' when they—he—walked in.
He was pretty. He was so pretty. Pretty in a way that stole Austen's breath away, pretty in a way that made Austen's hands tremble and his grip on the red solo cup to loosen, pretty in a way that made Austen feel so faint. He had those eyes—those mesmerizing eyes that caught the light whenever he turned, and that smile—
Gods, that smile.
He smiled like no one was watching. He smiled in a certain way that made the corners of his eyes crinkle, in a way that felt like sunshine, in a way that could probably powder a small city if he tried. Austen couldn't stop staring. His eyes were stuck on him, his smile, his laugh, the way he moved around like he owned the place. And Austen didn't even know his name.
"You okay?" Blake nudged him with a knowing grin, a low chuckle escaping his throat. "You look constipated, dude."
"I'm—he's—what's—I—" Austen stammered, which was rare. He rarely got shy. He was always the smooth guy who knew his ways. But now his brain just seemed like butter, melting the moment the sun shined its rays on him. "I'm just... enjoying the view. Totally normal."
"What view?" Cameron joined the conversation, a half-empty bottle of beer in his hands. He peered around, following the direction of Austen's heated gaze. "I only see Aidan and Dylan over there."
"He's—he's Aidan?" Austen swallowed around air, trying to ignore the way butterflies seemed to erupt in his stomach the moment he said his name. Aidan. The name sounded nice in his mouth, like it was always meant for him to say it—
"Someone's got a crush—" Jaren began to tease, swiveling his head to the direction where Dylan and Aidan were standing. "Yo, Daukster! Come over here!"
Austen immediately panicked, the soda in the red solo cup he was holding sloshing around in a flurry. He tried to make himself look busy, all the while hissing and cursing lowly at his friend who was now grinning smugly like a cat who got the cream.
"What's up?" The taller one—Dylan—said, coming up to them. "Sorry we got here so late. I tried to leave the dorms earlier but—" He elbowed Aidan, "this one took so long."
Blake laughed, responding, but Austen didn't hear a single word of what came after. His gaze was fixed intently on Aidan, who looked even prettier up close. There were slight freckles dotted along the bridge of his nose, so faint that Austen normally wouldn't even notice—but he did. He did. He noticed everything. He noticed the small mole underneath Aidan's left eye and the way his eyelashes curled just the slightest. He noticed the earring studded through Aidan's right ear—a tiny gemstone, reflecting the way the ceiling lights shone.
"Hey," Aidan said with a small grin, one that made his eyes light up. "What made you suddenly decide to host a party, Blake? I thought you had that calculus exam scheduled the day after tomorrow."
Gods, his voice sounded so hot. It was deep but not that deep, compared to Austen's, and it sounded... perfect. Austen hadn't even talked to the guy, but he would spend five hours listening to Aidan talk about toasters and enjoy every damn second of it.
"Exams are just excuses for the profs to torture us," Blake made a face, sighing. "I don't even know why I took calculus. I currently have a 32 percent and most of my classmates hate me."
"Everyone hates you," Cameron replied, deadpan. "I haven't met anyone who likes you yet."
"My girlfriend likes me!" Blake whirled around, offended.
"She's too nice to say she hates you," Jaren offered, smirking. "Poor soul."
"Okay—that's just mean," Blake sighed dramatically. "Anyway, Aidan, Dylan, meet Sovi. He's also called Austen but you can call him dumbass if you want."
"Hey," Austen protested weakly. He would have snarked back, said a sarcastic line that was guaranteed to score Aidan over but he was too busy staring at the man standing before him.
"Nice to meet you," Aidan smiled—god, his SMILE, Austen could look at it for hours—and reached out his hand. Austen stared down at it dumbly for a second before hastily wiping his own sweat-filled palm on his jeans before grabbing Aidan's hand—it's so SOFT, also did you know Aidan wore a ring on his index finger—and shaking it vigorously, pointedly ignoring Jaren's snickering in the background.
"I'm Austen," Austen said stupidly, still holding onto Aidan's hand. "But my, uh, friends call me Sovi. You can call me yours."
The room was silent for a moment. Austen's words registered in his brain and he promptly flushed, dropping Aidan's hand in mortification. He refused to look at the now openly-laughing Jaren, who was doubled over, the soda in his cup sloshing. Austen wondered what Aidan now thought of him. Oh god, what if he's disgusted? Austen had just seen the most beautiful man in his life and scared him away before he even got to do anything!
Aidan stood there for a moment, and Austen was prepared to run away to Antartica and drown himself in the river, when Aidan's smile somehow got even bigger and beautiful at the same time. Was that even possible? How was that even possible?
"I'll consider the free trial." Aidan said, teasing, a glint in his eyes. "But you have to offer me a subscription first, Austen."
Austen nearly cried. By how Aidan said his name or the equally flirty line, he didn't know. But what he did know was that he was going to fucking marry this man. He was going to marry Aidan so hard today. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe even week if Aidan wanted some time to process.
Blake elbowed Austen, snickering. "You're drooling, dude, all over your chin and stuff."
Austen quickly wiped at his chin, finding nothing, then shooting Blake a look filled with hatred that could curdle milk. Of all times, why would Blake choose now to embarrass Austen in front of Aidan? Austen turned away from Blake, that traitor, and instead looked at Jaren and Cameron, who were both sprouting amused looks.
"So, uh," Austen cleared his throat shakily, hyper-aware of Aidan's eyes on him. He was not going to mess this up. "How'd you guys meet?"
"Oh, Aidan and I go way back," Jaren drawled, amused. "We met maybe four or five years back? Dylan introduced me to him at the time."
Austen could feel a faint flush of regret, anger, and envy. How come Jaren knew Aidan that long and never once told Austen that he had a friend who was prettier than all the girls Austen had dated? How come Jaren never once mentioned Aidan's name? Or maybe Austen was the one not paying attention.
"You never told me," Austen hissed lowly under his breath. "Jaren, you fu-"
"Relax, dude," Jaren laughed. "I mentioned him plenty of times."
Austen raised an eyebrow. "Then how come I never heard his name before today?"
"'Cause I always called him by his nickname, Sovi," Jaren said, smirking. "Just like how I do with you."
A nickname? Austen's mind frantically scrolled through past memories but came up blank. Jaren didn' talk about other people a lot, just his other friends sometimes, but they were all referred to by their real names. The only person Jaren talked about with a nickname was—
"He's Daukey?!" Austen's mouth dropped open. Aidan startled, then shot a frantic stare at Jaren and Austen, clearly having heard his nickname.
"The one and only!" Jaren grinned, blatantly ignoring the way Aidan's cheeks now flushed red—such a pretty color—and the way he pretended he was busy three feet away despite doing nothing and obviously listening to their conversation.
"The same one you told us who fell in a lake last week when feeding the ducks?" Austen said in disbelief. Behind him he could hear Aidan make a sound of distress and Austen immediately wanted to take back what he just said.
"The same one," Jaren grinned wider, looping his arm around Aidan's neck and pulling him close. "But he's still the dumbass who fell asleep on me when we were playing Overcooked. That shit was crazy, I don't even know how he managed to do that."
"I was tired, okay—" Aidan started to argued, the red hue still visible around his cheeks. Austen was mesmerized. The slight blushes of crimson paired with that devastatingly pretty face? Austen could trace the color for days.
He needs Aidan. Gods, Austen had only met him for how many minutes, five? Six? He didn't know. But he needs that man in his life now. He vaguely thought about hugging Blake after this for hosting this party but decided against it. Hugging Blake was like asking for a death wish.
"Do you play video games?" Austen suddenly blurted, effectively interrupting Aidan and Jaren's banter. The two of them turned towards Austen, Jaren amused and Aidan curious. Austen's ears were red now under both of their attention, but mainly Aidan's.
"Yeah, I do," Aidan replied, a bit shyly, Austen noted. It seemed like Aidan was only comfortable being his usual self around the people he'd known around longer. Austen was determined to be one of those people. "I play a lot of horror games? I get super scared but I like playing them anyway..."
"I play a lot of horror games too!" Austen exclaimed, ecstatic that he has something in common with Aidan. "What do you generally play? Maybe we could play together?"
Aidan sent a shy smile in return, and Austen's heart soared. He was definitely going to marry this man. Austen was going to marry Aidan, and they would exchange rings, and they would invite all their friends—Jaren, of course, because he knew Aidan, Blake, because he hosted the party, Cameron, Austen didn't know what Cameron did but he was still being invited. Aidan's friend—Dylan?—was also invited, of course, along with anyone else Aidan wanted to invite.
They could have their wedding at a church, or at a local park, what was the most beautiful place Austen knew? The beach, probably, when the rays of the rising sun hit the tide perfectly. Maybe they could have their wedding there? Ooh, but what about the church? Austen wants to see Aidan walk in wearing a tuxedo, definitely looking delicious and a bit shy. Then they would exchange their vows, Austen vowing to love Aidan forever and Aidan saying the same, and...
They would kiss. Oh gods, they would kiss. They would kiss and Austen would definitely say it was the best kiss of his life. He had a lot of experience with kissing—those girls before Aidan, Austen didn't know how he even dated anyone when someone like Aidan existed—but Aidan would be the best and only person Austen would ever kiss from that point forwards.
And then they would have their honeymoon. Where? Where was Aidan from? Maybe they could go to Aidan's hometown. Austen's hometown was generally boring, he guesses, with its old windswept neighborhood and ivy-covered walls. But Aidan deserves perfect. Maybe they could book a lovely little hotel overseeing a beautiful view of the sea, and at night, they would...
They would... they would...
"...but Jaren says that the mechanisms are rigged so he won't play with me," Aidan was saying, and Austen realized he'd been zoned out for most of the conversation. His ears burned harder—what was he thinking, daydreaming about his and Aidan's wedding like that when they weren't even dating yet?
"I'll play with you!" Austen volunteered desperately, even though he had no idea whatsoever what game Aidan was rambling about. "I... really like rigged mechanisms. Totally. I'm a genius at solving them. You should see me when I'm in my element."
Austen saw Blake raise an eyebrow, looking back at Jaren and Cameron, because they all knew Austen did not like rigged game mechanisms at all. In fact, Austen hated them. Said they were troublesome to solve. Austen always skipped them whenever one came up in a game he was playing.
His crush is so obvious, Austen saw Cameron mouth at Jaren. Austen almost felt offended for a second, because he didn't have a crush on Aidan, rather, he's in love with him.
"Really?" Aidan looked excited, hopeful even. "You will?"
"Yes!" Austen nearly shouted, his heart pounding so hard he was almost afraid Aidan would hear. "I'll play any game with you."
"Simp," Jaren muttered under his breath, elbowing Blake, who snickered. "Austen wasn't even this down bad for his ex-girlfriend of three years. That's crazy."
"Shut up," Austen whirled around to glare at them, hoping Aidan didn't hear what his traitorous friends said. "That's different. I didn't like her much anyway."
"Aidan," Dylan—Austen forgot he was even there—spoke up. "When are you leaving?"
Austen hoped Aidan never left. Austen hoped Aidan stayed here, in Blake's cramped apartment, looking like a dream and being all pretty forever. But it was getting late, and they had classes early next morning.
"In a bit," Aidan responded, making Austen's face fall. "Hey, uh, Austen?"
...which made Austen perk right back up, which was embarrassing, even for him. He tried not to look too eager. "Yeah?"
"Give me your number?" Aidan smiled softly, looking at Austen with those expectant eyes. "I mean, if you want. If you want to play together."
"Yes!" Austen really did shout this time, his hands trembling as he whipped out his phone and presented it to Aidan earnestly. "I'd love your number. I mean, uh, I'll love playing with you. Or texting you. Or anything to do with you."
Austen laughed awkwardly, fumbling to unlock his phone and passing it to Aidan. Aidan just shot him a small smile, not minding the awkward situation, thank god, and began to type in his number. Austen leaned slightly closer, his mouth moving silently as he read over the numbers one by one, already starting to memorize Aidan's number.
"There you go," Aidan pressed Austen's phone back in his hands and Austen stared down at it as if it were a holy object. Which it technically was, since Aidan touched it and now it had his number on it. "I'll text you if I find something awesome to play."
Austen nodded vigorously, not trusting his tongue. I love him, his mind screamed, I love him so much. He's perfect for me. I want him. I want to hold him and kiss him and whisper to him he's perfect, I want to kiss every inch of that gorgeous skin and tell him he's mine, I want—
I need him. I love him. I love Aidan.
Austen's mouth was dry, so dry, that he felt like he hasn't drank water in years despite his red solo cup standing on the nearby table. Aidan was still standing, barely three feet away, his attention now directed to Dylan. Austen opened his mouth to say something, anything—but what would he say? What could he say without scaring Aidan off?
'Hey, I love you despite only knowing you for twenty minutes, wanna make out in Jaren's bedroom?' Yeah, no. Aidan would be creeped out and Jaren would laugh at it for ten years.
Austen was frustrated; he knows he loves Aidan, but the words just wouldn't form in his mouth.
"Aidan," Austen's voice was loud over the chatter of the others. He saw Cameron elbow Blake from the corner of his eye, an action that was their sign to tease Austen about the situation later. But he didn't care. "I have, um, something to tell you."
Aidan turned from his conversation with Dylan. His eyes twinkled with mirth. "Yeah? Found something you wanna play yet?"
Austen's heart clenched. The emotion he was feeling was so... full, so big, like he had too much of it in his heart and he needed to give some of it to the man who was standing in front of him. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.
Austen panicked. "No—I mean yes—I mean not a game. I just... wanted to say that if you ever get murdered I'd make a really good witness because I'll remember your face extremely well."
Silence.
Blake snorted. Jaren dissolved into silent laugher, and Cameron facepalmed so hard Austen was afraid it would leave a permanent mark. Dylan was just staring at Austen, and the expression on his face was very, very disappointed and very, very unimpressed.
And Aidan... Aidan's face lit up with that teasing smile he had when Austen had first blurted that flirty line within three seconds of meeting Aidan. Austen's heart pounded even harder. Gods, what was wrong with him?
"You memorized my face already? People usually buy me dinner first before the obsessive attention starts." Aidan teased back, laughing—was that a WHEEZE? Austen's going to spontaneously conbust—in amusement.
Austen exhaled a massive sigh of relief, then his face immediately burned crimson because what was he doing, running his mouth around—two times, in fact? He's so lucky that Aidan was cool with it, if it had been a girl Austen would have a massive handprint on his cheek already.
"I didn't mean—I mean—that wasn't me—" Austen started, then stopped, sighing in defeat. His posture slumped. Aidan must think he's a total loser who can't flirt for the life of him. But Austen was usually a good flirt! He was usually so smooth that no girl could resist him. Was it because that today was Austen's first time flirting with a boy? Or was it because of Aidan—pretty, gorgeous, perfect Aidan—who made Austen's brain short-circuit? "I give up. Please pick me up and throw me in a lake."
"Simp," Jaren whispered again, louder this time. He shook his head. "Austen's going to be insufferable now."
"SHUT UP."