Chapter Text
Derek hates going outside. As a child, he had spent most of his time studying in his room, nose deep in a book, and writing notes with his hands. Languages, science, mathematics, he could still feel the smell of the books at the tip of his nose whenever he closed his eyes. The harsh sunlight however, was not very merciful at his reminiscing, beating down harshly on his head and body. His eyes stung as he used his open palm to shield them from the light. In that moment, he belatedly regretted all the time he’s spent sitting in front of a computer screen in the dark as his eyes watered at the edges.
Insects buzzed in the distance as he made his way back to his apartment. He was grateful for the fact that the grocery store wasn’t too far from his place that it necessitated the use of a car so he could just walk if he had to. He wasn’t planning on going outside today, it wasn’t even in his to-do list for this week, but for some reason, he ran out of toilet paper and his usual grocery delivery was unable to make it for a few days. Leading him to a situation where he had to lug around a six-pack toilet roll back to his place as he made his way through the park.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. It has been a while since he last took a step outside. With his eyes closed, he thought he’d just enjoy this rare time outside despite sweating bullets underneath his thick hoodie. He listened closely and heard the laughter of families sitting on the grass nearby, the playful yelling of children as they chased each other across the fields of grass, and the raucous cacophony of a group of friends somewhere.
The heat was truly oppressive. It was the kind of heat that felt heavy and sticky as it tried to push down on his chest as he tried to breathe. Slowly, he felt it wrap around his head, smothering him like a thick blanket. He didn’t expect the heat to be this harsh. The sunlight beamed down relentlessly, a cruel reminder of his poor decisions, feeling the sweat pool on his chest and back even more.
He slowly opened his eyes as he put one foot in front of the other to make his way back. But darkness greeted him instead of the vibrant green of grass and trees, black where the sun and sky was supposed to be,
His world spun.
He couldn't see anything, but he knew he was headed for the ground.
Once Derek’s consciousness was roused, he was met with soft green grass instead of the dusty, hard and earthen path he was on earlier. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed the sunlight was a little gentler on his eyes now. Taking in the details of his surroundings, he came to the conclusion that someone must’ve moved him from where he passed out to underneath the shade of this tree. He didn’t need to mull over the identity of this mysterious benefactor for long however, as a concerned face made its way into his view.
It was a man crowned with brown hair bleached by the sun, with green eyes vibrant as the nature around him, face dotted with freckles like a map of the starry night sky. As Derek blinked his features into memory, a groan escaped his lips as the face looming above him broke into a smile. Worry now replaced with a grin, Derek could swear his surroundings became a bit brighter when he smiled. He took his arm and put it over his eyes in a poor attempt to block the surroundings glow.
“You’re finally awake! I was getting worried you wouldn’t wake up there for a second.” The stranger's eyes softened as he spoke in a light, teasing tone. Derek peeked from underneath his arm to look at the stranger, and decided to get up. As he slowly tried to drag his body upwards, “Hey, hey, take it easy, you just woke up,” the stranger knelt beside him, his hands flew to his back, helping him steady as he sat up.
“Did you help me earlier? Thank you for that, the heat must’ve gotten to me.”
As he explained his thoughts, he felt his head throb, raising his hand to hold his head as he closed his eyes again. As he silently complained about the heat, suddenly, a cold sensation pricked at his forehead and his eyes widened in surprise. Shooting his gaze upward, his eyebrows knitted together as a frown formed on his face. The stranger now sitting beside him, pulled his hand away, holding a bottled beverage dripping with condensation Derek noted, and put his arms up in surrender.
“Oh sorry, you mentioned the heat getting to you so I thought something cold would help.”
Derek’s frown was replaced by his face morphing into a small smile as he gazed at the stranger’s apologetic eyes. This time, the stranger offered the bottle in front of him, and Derek took it. As he went to twist off the cap, he found that it was already opened, but the drink inside was untouched. Shifting his attention back to the stranger, he spoke, “I’m Avery by the way. I was passing by when I saw you collapse in front of me.” As the stranger, no, Avery, spoke, he scratched the back of his head as he looked to survey the trees beyond Derek’s side.
Avery stopped, and turned his attention back to Derek who was about to take a sip of the drink offered to him. With the seriousness of a cop in those action movies that Derek liked watching as a guilty pleasure, he spoke again.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” Derek paused, slowly putting down the bottle before even taking a sip.
“Go ahead.”
Avery took a deep breath as he asked, “Why are you wearing such a thick hoodie in this heat…?”
Derek looked to his side where he found his six-pack of toilet rolls. Avery must’ve grabbed it after moving him, an action he was very grateful for. “...it was supposed to be a short trip,” but before he could even finish explaining, he was cut off by the sound of laughter.
Avery was laughing.
Not a small giggle, but full on boisterous laughter, the laughter you didn’t want to experience in the middle of the night as the rest of the world sleeps.
He was bent over, laughing, holding his stomach and tearing up as if Derek’s blunder was the funniest thing in the world. At first, he was confused, and then, he was annoyed. His heart swelled at the sound of Avery’s laughter and he wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid smile off of his face.
As he tried to push down on his heart, his own body betrayed him as heat creeped up his neck, spreading rapidly across his face. As Avery looked at him, he wiped a tear off the corner of his eye. But the flush on Derek’s face wasn’t missed despite his most earnest pleas to his body. Suddenly, Avery’s hands were on his forehead and neck, as if checking for his temperature.
The texture of Avery’s hands was the first thing Derek took note of. They were firm and lightly calloused, and he could see his arms dotted by a few scratches that creeped upwards. Derek froze. He could only watch as Avery’s hands fussed over him, worry evident on his warm features. Avery’s mouth flew as fast as his hands, asking rapidly if Derek was okay. Slowly, Derek opened his mouth to answer, tongue tied as he felt the warmth of Avery’s skin on his own. His thoughts a rapid fire mess as he tried to think. His body decided for him first however.
Derek shot up.
And Derek fell back down, immediately.
The edges of his vision darkened. His eyes were unable to focus as he felt the blood rush into his head. Blood vessels pulsating strongly as a reaction to him standing up too quickly. He held his head in his hands as he groaned, his vision was spinning again. Avery looked at his hands, previously fussing over Derek that was now pushed to the side. He curled them tightly and stood up straight.
“Okay, you just lost your privilege to move for the next ten minutes mister.”
Avery spoke, his voice now carrying none of its previous softness as he looked down at Derek, who still held his head. Slowly, Derek came to. As he met eye to eye with Avery’s knees, he looked up, only to be met with a stern look. Avery bent down and pressed his hands down on Derek’s shoulder, emphasizing his previous statement. Derek could only look on helplessly as he was held hostage on the ground.
He closed his eyes, as he was, there was no point in resisting the man standing over him. He decided he’d much rather wait for his privilege to move to be given back instead of fighting for it. And so, he relaxed his body and chose to lean back on the trunk of the tree as he felt Avery’s hands move away from his shoulders. He felt a cool breeze pick up, as he listened to the melody of insects and laughter from farther away and let the time pass over him.
Ten minutes passed.
He opened his eyes once again, only to be met with Avery watching him like a predator waiting for his prey to move into position.
“My name is Derek, and thank you again. I just remembered that I didn't tell you my name yet.”
His vision has long since recovered, the darkness replaced with the vibrant hues of summer, his vision focusing on the man in front of him.
His movements were met with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. So he didn’t speak any further and instead grabbed the drink offered to him from what felt like so long ago. He twisted the cap off and put it to his lips, the sweet taste overwhelming his senses, the liquid thick and sticky as it oozed down his throat. ‘Too sweet.’ he complained in his head, alongside his complaint however, he wondered if Avery was fond of sweet things. Which was a thought he tucked away deeper into his mind.
The drink has lost its battle to the summer heat. No longer the ice cool beverage that sent a shock through his body, it was replaced by a weak coolness as the heat continued it's attempt to strip the lands of it's coolness. He took another sip of the sickly sweet drink and swallowed hard.
The last time he had something this sweet, was when he was fed cake back in his family home. It was a miserable experience, which ended with him kneeling besides the toilet seat as he was unable to tolerate the taste and texture of the confectionary. Snapping out of the memories, he looked towards Avery once again. His features were softer now. Tension unwound from his shoulders and his eyebrows curved up once again.
Avery plopped down beside Derek with a sigh. A childish grin bloomed in his face, as Derek’s stomach fluttered in response. “Der, can I call you Der? Anyways, are you always such a handful?” he asked, tone teasing and light.
If Derek wasn’t sitting down already, he might’ve fallen down once he heard Avery called him a nickname. “I don’t go outside often,” he said curtly, inviting a giggle from Avery in response.
“How can I repay you?”
Derek’s question cut through the air, silencing what little remained of Avery’s giggles. Avery’s back went rigid as he straightened himself. From his reaction, it was evident that he didn’t expect Derek to be so direct. He took a moment’s pause and spoke slower than he’s done during all their time together.
“How about a lil’ date?”
Derek’s eyes widened for a second before becoming composed again, Avery intended for the joke to fall flat. Only spoken to try and mess with Derek and lighten the mood between them. As he was about to say it was supposed to be a joke, Derek’s voice cut through the air again.
“Sure.”
The voice carried no hesitation, clear and certain. He took up Avery’s joke as a serious proposal and Avery’s jaw was left wide open as Derek stood up. Belatedly realizing that the man in front of him towered over him.
Derek grabbed his toilet paper and reached out his other hand to help Avery stand up, noting the shocked expression on Avery’s face. “Can I get your contact? I have no work lined up this weekend if you’re free.” He smoothly rattled off the words in his mind, wishing for Avery not to notice his sweating palms. “Yeah, Saturday works for me…” Avery spoke, mindlessly agreeing to Derek’s words.
And this time, it was Derek’s turn to flash a smile at Avery. His head turning it's gears as he found something new that piqued his interest.