Chapter Text
"Jesus Christ, Aaron, you're a mess," Kevin says between laughs. He's practically giggling, and he knows that. It's really really embarrassing, but he's pretty sure no one at the table notices. Besides, he could easily blame it on the alcohol. Sure, he stopped when he realized Aaron was drinking way too much, but still.
"What are you on, bro?" Aaron asked, leaning into Kevin's side. "I literally barely even drank." It was a lie, an obvious one, at that. He's slurring his words slightly, limbs clearly less in his control than usual. He's so close to spilling the glass of water that's meant to sober him up.
"Whatever you say, man." Kevin glanced to the other side of the table and gave a long-suffering look at the only other relatively sober person in their group. Herm was basically wrangling both Zane and Denny, but at least those two had a tiny bit of a conscious left.
Kevin looked back at Aaron, smiling down at him. From this angle, he doesn't look half bad. He finally understands the comments under their videos and under edits of them. He will never admit it, but he's developed this habit of watching thirst edits of Aaron. He's got this confidence to him that people find attractive. But Kevin didn't really get the appeal other than that until now.
"Hey, Kev," Herm says, pulling both Zane and Denny as their arms wrap around his shoulders. It's honestly impressive how easily he carries both men, drunk as they are. "I ordered a cab back to the hotel for us three. You think you can handle Aaron?"
"Yeah, I can take him," Kevin replies, eyes trailing back to Aaron like he's attached by magnets. Herm hums and walks away, clearly not struggling too much with the men's weight.
"Pause," Aaron says, a little too loud. He grins up at Kevin from where he's resting his chin on his hands. It's cute, the way he was clearly waiting for Kevin to laugh.
Kevin barely registers what he'd said before, what Aaron is now referencing. When he does, he closes his eyes and sighs before laughing softly. He looks forward, focusing on how the patterns of the wall twist and turn. "How much did you even drink? You're normally so much quicker than that."
When Aaron doesn't reply, Kevin turns to him. His breath catches at the look he is giving him. He's resting one arm on the booth's headrest, his head resting on that one, the other lazily on the table. The pose itself is enough, but, paired with that look in his eyes, it's killer. His pupils are blown wide, probably from the alcohol. but the fondness in the eyes has no other excuse. This is easily the one of the worst things that's ever happened to Kevin.
Kevin looks forward, unable to bear it, but he can still feel Aaron's gaze on his face. Why is it so hot in here? They should really get that conditioner fixed or turned on or whatever. He grabs a glass of water from the table, and drags it to his mouth like it weighs 5 tons. He barely takes a sip and- "That was mine, you know"- promptly spits it out. Kevin coughs and hits his chest, trying to get his breathing back under control.
"Really, Kev? 'S'it really that bad to drink something from my glass?"
"What?" Kevin asks. Where the fuck did he get that conclusion from? "No, no, no, not at all. That's fine, you surprised me is all." Kevin makes the mistake of looking over at Aaron. The other man looks back at him like he just told him he'd run over his dog. The sight makes Kevin's heart _ache_. He has the sudden urge to apologize and hug Aaron. He doesn't, refraining from doing any more stupid shit.
Aaron looks away from him, freeing Kevin from his freezing gaze. Calming down and breathing properly, Kevin pulls out his phone and asks for an Uber to get to the hotel. It's really not that far -they could probably just walk if Aaron wasn't drunk and they weren't celebrities-, so the ride isn't going to set them back much.
Aaron leans over, shifting enough so that he can take up the smallest amount of space as possible. He rests his head on Kevin's shoulder. Kevin freezes, his entire body refusing to move, whether to keep Aaron close or to push him away, Kevin isn't really sure. It doesn't help when Aaron moves and breathes against his neck. Aaron is breathing Kevin's scent in. Kevin thanks his past self for choosing such an exclusive restaurant, thinking of the absolute hell they'd be in if anyone saw them like this.
He feels cornered suddenly, despite the fact that he's on the exit's side on the booth. His mind is screeching at him to run, to fight, to escape whatever way possible. "Aaron," Kevin starts, hand on Aaron's shoulder to push him away. Supposedly. For some reason, his body is just not cooperating with him tonight. He wants to blame the alcohol, but he knows that's a bold-faced lie. It's Aaron. Drunk Aaron is ruining his life.
"You smell nice." Kevin is going to crash out. Kevin is going to ban alcohol from the entirety of America. Kevin is going to buy 20 bottles of the same cologne. Just as Aaron opens his mouth to say something else, lips brushing against Kevin's neck, a ding comes from Kevin's phone. He sighs in relief when he sees it's from Uber. Their car is here.
"Up and at 'em," Kevin says, hand finally pushing Aaron away so he can stand up. He can finally breathe again, calming himself down in the small reprieve he has before Aaron follows. "Come on, Aaron, the Uber is literally right outside." He pulls Aaron up, feeling like a petulant child. He's glad the bill is paid already; he would not have half the amount of patience required for that.
Aaron whines at first. But then, he lets himself be manhandled into position, giggling all the while. "You're strong," he tells Kevin between giggles. Kevin focuses on his breathing and walks, Aaron's arm slung around his shoulders at an odd angle due to the height difference.
He hates his treacherous hand for holding onto Aaron's waist. He doesn't even like him like that. Whatever Drunk Aaron is doing, it's messing with Kevin's mind so bad. He needs to get him to his hotel room, stat. He walks a little faster, ignoring the way Aaron stumbles as they walk.
Kevin finally gets the two outside just as a gust of cold night air rushes past them. Kevin feels fully sober now, shivering slightly in his place as he stands still just for a second. He feels his Uber rating lower and lower as they stand there, Aaron standing slightly straighter.
He spots the car with the correct license plate and speeds up his walking, opening the car door and leaning in to confirm the driver's name. When he gets his own name in response, he nods. He lowers Aaron into the car seat and closes the door. He runs around the car and hops in. He apologizes to the Uber driver for taking so long as he buckles his seatbelt.
He watches Aaron struggle with it for a hot minute before relenting and moving over to help him with a sigh. He resolutely ignores the way Aaron leans towards his touch and how warm he is in the places they touch.
He leans back in his own seat, watching the way Aaron sways in the car just to make sure he doesn't throw up all over the poor man's upholstery. That would probably get Kevin banned from Uber. Aaron slumps onto his right side, towards Kevin. He's giggling to himself, hiccups strewn in between. His smile is basically blinding Kevin, that's how cute he is. He turns to look up at Kevin, and Kevin almost cries. "Hi," he giggles.
Kevin smiles back at him and says hi back, softly. He feels like he's going to burst.