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Rodrick was panicking, plain and simple. The thing was, he had no reason to. Technically he already did the hard part by actually asking Harris out, but now he had to prove that he wasn’t all talk and wow him on their date. Because they were going out that weekend. It still felt so surreal, even his mom had picked up on his giddyness, and had then grilled him about why he was in such a good mood. It wasn’t like she couldn’t put it together– Rodrick had taken a whole afternoon to clean out his van, even enlisting his band to help out. So she figured out pretty easily that he had a date, and once she did, she was all too excited about that.
“Where are you planning to take her?” She asked, following him up to his room when he tried to escape her questioning. “I’ve never seen you put this much effort into something like this! She must be really special.”
Rodrick had absolutely no desire to correct her, because at the end of the day, it’s not like he could outright tell her that he was going out with the same guy his dad referred to as prissy. No, he’d let her keep her assumption that he was going out with some girl instead. “It’s not that big of a deal!” He deflects, ducking into his room and attempting to kick his door shut before she could follow him inside. “We aren’t even officially dating or anything.”
Susan doesn’t try to push her way inside, but the closed door doesn’t deter her either. “So it’s a first date? That’s so sweet, Rodrick,” she fawns, unable to help herself.
Searching through his closet and dresser drawers, Rodrick looked for something acceptable to wear. He didn’t want to go too formal, but he didn’t want to be too casual either and look like he didn’t care. After some internal debate, he opened the door, holding up two shirts. “Which one looks better?” he reluctantly asks, trying not to cringe when his mom lights up.
“Oh, go with the striped one,” she suggests, a little impressed that he was picking between two button-down shirts. Rodrick shut the door again and tossed the striped shirt somewhere in his room, opting for the plain black button-down instead.
As he surveyed himself in the mirror, he found that he looked… really good. Everything else was already set up for the date in advance, so this was the last thing he had to perfect. He hurriedly did his eyeliner, smudging it around his eyes until it looked just the right amount of mysterious and sexy. Once that was finished, he stepped back out, letting out a relieved sigh when he realized his mom was no longer loitering around outside his door. He checked his phone and grimaced at the time, picking up the pace to get ready. When he was finally about to walk out the door, his mom caught him again.
“Rodrick, wait up a second,” Susan calls out, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from just running off. The rest of his family were already sitting around the table for dinner, his spot left intentionally empty because he had plans. “I’m really excited for you, honey.”
Rodrick pauses, finally allowing her to fuss with his clothes without shooing her away. She fixes the collar of his shirt, making sure he looks alright before stepping back with a smile. “Thanks, mom,” he sighs, though he’s antsy to leave. It was almost six forty, and he had planned to pick Harris up at seven.
“Oh, you should get her some flowers!” Susan suggests, and Rodrick actually considers it for a moment. “It’ll show her that you’re taking things seriously.”
Distantly, Rodrick remembers how Harris brought flowers when he came over for dinner that one time, and how for a split second, he assumed they were for him. In that brief moment, he had felt so flustered and thrown off (in a good way) that he completely tripped over his greeting, forgetting what he was going to say entirely. Maybe his mom had a point. “Hm. Yeah, I’ll think about it,” he decides, finally brushing his mom’s hands away when she just kept fussing with his shirt. “Later, mom.”
Rodrick did end up picking up a small bouquet of flowers from the corner store, and thankfully they didn’t look too pitiful. He was originally going to stay as far from roses as possible, because that was way too cliche for his tastes, but in the end the bouquet he picked still featured a rose or two, though it was in addition to small clusters of other flowers. It was cute, and hopefully not too cheesy. He pulled up to the Hills’ house at exactly six fifty-seven, cutting it pretty close to the agreed upon time. Timing was actually pretty important to the date he had planned, funnily enough. Not that he had sprung for a reservation at some fancy restaurant or something like that, but more because he had something special in mind that required outside help– help that was scheduled to be at a certain place at a certain time.
He took a steadying breath before hopping out of his van, fiddling with the bouquet as he approached the front door. Before he could talk himself out of it, he knocked. The door opens, but instead of Harris standing there, he’s greeted by the sight of Heather Hills herself. His heart drops into his stomach in an instant.
Heather practically grimaces upon seeing him, but thankfully he has the wherewithal to hide the bouquet behind his back before she spots it. “What are you doing here?” she scoffs, crossing her arms.
“Oh, uh–” Rodrick swallows hard. He can’t just say he’s there to pick up her twin brother for a date, can he? “I’m here for Harris,” he decides, standing up a little straighter. Heather rolls her eyes, but steps back from the door– not enough to let Rodrick inside, but enough for her to crane her neck towards the stairs.
“Holly! Tell Harris to get his ass down here!” She yells, before walking off somewhere and leaving the door open. From just a room over, Holly walks out looking annoyed, but she puts on a smile when she spots Rodrick.
“Oh, you’re Greg’s older brother,” she notes, squinting at him slightly like she wasn’t quite sure what to make of his being there. “Rodrick, right?”
“Yeah.” Rodrick mutters, trying to peek inside for any sign of Harris. He was probably crushing the poor flowers with how tight he was holding them, keeping them out of sight. “Is Harris gonna be out soon?”
Holly opened her mouth to answer, but a thud from upstairs cut her off. She sighed and just turned towards the stairs, stepping enough out of the way so Rodrick had a clear view of Harris stumbling down the steps, holding his arm that he had clearly just banged against a wall or something similar. “Ow, shit,” he grumbles, too focused on not tripping to notice both that the front door was open and that Rodrick was standing there, exuding awkwardness. Holly looked between the two of them– Harris, with his darkwash jeans and combination of light-colored long sleeved shirt under a navy T-shirt, which was much more effort than he usually put into his outfits, and Rodrick, who was clearly sweating and was actually dressed sort of nice, not to mention the way his arm was jammed behind his back, making it painfully obvious he was hiding something– and smiled.
“Have fun, you crazy kids.” She snickers, patting Harris’s back before heading up the stairs herself.
“What–” Harris splutters, though his attention is quickly stolen when he spots Rodrick. He straightens up quickly, a smile pulling at his lips. “Oh! Hi.”
“Hi,” Rodrick echos, caught between the urge to grin or to laugh. Harris looked good, though his outfit was leaning towards a style closer to what Rodrick wore than his usual attire. It worked on him though, the darker colors complimenting his fair complexion and hair. “These are for you,” he says, presenting the flowers to him. They were a bit crushed from his haste to hide them, but Harris stared at them with a look of wonder.
“For me?” he asks quietly, like he didn’t quite believe it. “Fuck. Thank you.” He took them with gentle hands, his cheeks turning pink as he straightened out a few of the blooms. For a moment, Rodrick swore Harris’s eyes looked glassy.
“Jeez, you’re not gonna start crying, are you? It’s just some flowers.” Rodrick frets. That wasn’t the reaction he was going for. He relaxed a bit when Harris snorted and swatted his arm, finally stepping through the doorway and closing the door behind him.
“Shut up, asshole.” Harris laughs, his words having no bite at all. “They’re lovely, thank you.”
Rodrick smiled to himself, a soft, bubbly, bashful feeling making his chest feel like pop-rocks were fizzing around inside. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take much more of this sincerity, which probably wasn’t a good thing considering that the date had barely started. “Don’t mention it, just get in the van.” he huffs, nodding to where he had haphazardly parked.
“Mm, you definitely don’t sound like a serial killer or anything,” Harris jokes, still cradling the flowers in his hands like they were precious. He still gets in without much of a complaint, and Rodrick drives off, headed towards their first destination of the night.
“No one’s actually ever gotten me flowers before,” Harris admits as they sit in the Sonic drive-in, waiting on their order. That had been the first order of business in Rodrick’s date agenda: grabbing food and drinks. He was a bit worried that it was too similar to what he and Harris were already doing, but it didn’t seem like Harris had any complaints so far. He was smiling at the flowers, still just as enamored with the gesture as when Rodrick first presented them.
“Really?” Rodrick hums, shifting in his seat slightly, just enough to turn his body towards him.
“Mhm,” Harris chuckles, laughing to himself. “Wanna know something funny?”
“Sure?”
“So, you know how sometimes there’s really specific words or names for things?”
Rodrick grins, shaking his head. “No, but I know you’re a nerd so this doesn’t completely surprise me.”
Harris snorts, jabbing his elbow into Rodrick’s side before continuing. “Anyway, there’s a specific name for this type of small bouquets.”
“Oh?”
“Mhm. There’s actually a few, but my favorite is nosegay.”
Rodrick blinked. “No fucking way its called that.”
Harris grinned, barely able to contain his giggles. “It is! I swear, you can look it up.” he insists, and Rodrick laughs along with him. “Fitting, right?”
“Yeah,” Rodrick agrees. He rolls down the window when their food arrives, and then they’re headed to their next destination. They had come pretty far as friends– Harris didn’t even question the secrecy anymore. He didn’t feel the need to badger Rodrick about where they were going anymore, happy to just be along for the ride. Maybe that’s what made everything feel so easy so far, since the date didn’t feel that much different from their previous hangouts. It just felt good, right.
Rodrick pulled up and parked the van in a park, just as the sun began to set. The view wasn’t the best, especially since it was a small park just outside of a neighborhood public pool, but it had the effect of feeling more personal than just any old playground.
“C’mon,” he prompts, unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out with the bag of food in hand. While Harris was getting out, he jogged around to the back of the van, unlocking the back and pulling the doors open. “Ta-da!” he says, showing off the interior to a slack-jawed Harris. The back of the van– which was usually a hot mess of cables, instrument cases, old amps, and random trash– had been completely cleaned up and transformed. There were blankets on the floor to add cushion, and the hooks drilled into the ceiling that usually held coils of cables now held delicate looking fairy lights. Rodrick had already hopped inside, busying himself with turning each battery-powered strand on.
It definitely was not the best thing in the world, nor necessarily the most original, but it still looked pretty damn magical. Harris’s throat felt tight as he climbed in, sitting down with his back against the wall as he took it all in. “Damn, Rodrick…” he murmurs, his eyes finally settling back on the man of the hour– who was finally sitting down himself, the warm, amber light making his features softer, more sincere.
Rodrick ducked his head, suddenly very interested in how he was going to set out the food between them. “I, uh…” he clears his throat, smiling nervously. “I made the guys help me clean up. Figured it was better than, you know, just eating in the front seat like usual.” Harris nods along, sipping from his slush. “Is it too much?” he asks, finally meeting Harris’s eyes properly.
“You kidding?” Harris snorts, wincing through the sting of a brain freeze to scoot closer to Rodrick. “This is– fuck, this is better than anything I would’ve thought of.”
Relief flooded Rodrick’s system so fast it nearly made him dizzy. His knee bumped against Harris’s, setting that same pop-rock fizzy feeling off in his stomach. “Yeah?” he grins, because he still had one more trick up his sleeve. “This beats out all the other dates you’ve gone on?”
Harris chokes on his drink a bit, his face flushing crimson. “Well, I mean, yeah?” he admits, setting his cup down and picking up a few fries instead. He paused, as though figuring the best way to dodge the question despite having already answered. “It’s not exactly a high bar, though.”
Rodrick raised an eyebrow, but decided not to press yet. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear about any of Harris’s other dates quite yet– and the final phase to his date agenda was running late. He even double checks his watch, and yeah, everything else was running on schedule thank god. “You should’ve had higher expectations,” he declares, taking Harris’s grin as an invitation to slide closer as well.
“Mm, maybe,” Harris chuckles, unwrapping his burger and taking a bite. “Sonic, flowers, and a cozy-ass picnic set-up. You really went all out, huh?” Rodrick grinned– Harris had no idea. Finally, he heard the signal, two quick thumps against the side of the van. He quickly knocked back, his heart skipping when Harris looked around, bewildered. “What the hell–”
“Just listen for a sec,” Rodrick says, effectively shushing him. From just outside the van, literally just out of their line of sight, acoustic strumming permeated cozy quietness around them. It was melodious and gentle, even if the beat was distinctly punk-rock.
“Live music?” Harris breathed, laughing softly. “How’d you convince someone to do that?”
“Ben owed me a favor,” Rodrick admits with a grin. “He’s the guitarist in my band.” He watched to see if Harris would recognize the song, but when it was clear he didn’t, he leaned a bit closer. “I made him learn an acoustic version to a few of our songs.”
“That’s– wow,” Harris laughs, leaning against Rodrick’s side. “You know you're not supposed to raise expectations this high on a first date, right?”
“Yeah, it's uh, not my usual move.” Rodrick admits, a sheepish smile on his lips. “But you're not exactly my usual type of date, either. I dunno, I felt like putting in a little effort.”
“A little?” Harris scoffs, a playful edge to his tone. “Rodrick, you're actively ruining me for other guys.” He tilts his head back slightly, staring out at the pink-touched sky thoughtfully. “Hell, you could've just taken me to a fuckin’ McDonald's and I would've been fine with it.”
Rodrick laughs, nodding his head along with the music as Harris spoke. “Next date, then,” he teases, earning another jab to the side. “Seriously though, don't raise your standards too much. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type of event.”
“Noted,” Harris hums, sitting up straight again. They ate while they talked, the topic of conversation bouncing around like it tended to do when it came to the two of them. It really felt like no time at all had passed, but then Ben knocked on the side of the van again before circling around to the open back.
“I'm gonna head home,” he says, taking in the sight of them sitting close together, finishing off the last bits of their food during a lull in the conversation.
“Yeah, okay.” Rodrick hums, and Harris gives Ben a quick wave that he returns. “See you later, man.”
“Later!” Ben calls, already heading back to his car. Harris leaned back to grab his phone, which he had tossed further back in the van at some point. He checks the time and laughs.
“Damn, it's almost nine,” he muses, showing Rodrick. “Time really flies, huh?”
“Yep,” Rodrick chuckles, popping the ‘p’. He grabs all of their fast food trash and stuffs it into one of the paper bags that it was carried out in, giving them both room to stretch their legs out without getting up quite yet. “We don't have to call it quits yet, do we?” He asks, glancing back over to Harris. Technically his curfew was at nine‐thirty, but there was a pretty good chance his mom would be forgiving considering he was out on a date. Actually– scratch that, his dad would probably be pissed if he was out late for a date, mostly because there was no way he'd believe that someone out there was interested in his lazy, loser son.
“Eh,” Harris made a so-so gesture, but then aborted the movement. “You know what? I don't really want to. Not quite yet anyway, as long as you want to keep going too.”
Rodrick lit up, his chest fluttering in a way that was becoming all too common during their date. “Cool– yeah, I'm down with hanging out longer.” He says, though his legs were a bit sore from sitting for so long. The blankets might have been a major improvement, but the back of the Löded Diper van still wasn't the most comfortable place to hang out. “You wanna drive around for a bit?” He offers instead, offering Harris a hand.
Harris takes his hand, a lopsided smile on his lips. “Sure, I said I'd let you take me anywhere, didn't I?” he lets Rodrick lead him out the back, closing and locking the doors behind them. They got back in the van, with Rodrick starting her up and putting in one of his band's CDs. It wasn't the most romantic per se, but Harris jammed along with him anyway.
“Sooo…” Rodrick draws out loudly just to be heard over the music, tilting his head towards Harris as he slowly drives through the neighborhood. “Does this top out as the best date you've ever been on?”
Harris snorts a laugh at his audacity to ask, reaching over to turn the music down a bit so he wouldn't have to yell too. “I already told you, it isn't a hard bar to clear,” he chuckles, playing with his seatbelt absently as he spoke.
“Well yeah, but I wanna hear you say it.” Rodrick insists, a playful glint in his eye. Harris shoves his cheek lightly to get him to look back at the road.
“Fine, fine,” he snickers, shaking his head slightly. “Yes, Rodrick, for your information, this is the best possible first date you could've possibly put together.” he says, enunciating each word much like he did when he was playing the role of Rodrick's tutor.
Rodrick nodded approvingly, doing everything in his willpower to not visibly shiver at how emphatically Harris says it, purely for his benefit. It was enough to make his insides melt entirely, leaving everything, especially his brain, completely useless for a moment. “Good,” he murmurs, because his brain still feels a little mushy and words are hard.
Harris fidgets in his seat a bit, turning towards the window to hide his face. He chews on the inside of his cheek as he considers something, before turning back to Rodrick, pink-faced and a bit shy. “It was also like, my first date. Ever.” he admits, a bit sheepish. “Soooo… yeah.”
Rodrick comes to a harsh stop just before running his third stop sign in a row, blinking owlishly at Harris. “Shit– for real?” he asks, his chest tight for some strange reason.
“I mean, yeah?” Harris shrugged, trying to play it off casually. “It’s not like Plainview is flooded with guys who’d want to take me out like this,” he says it like it’s obvious, and it leaves Rodrick speechless. “So, yeah. This was my first time going on a date.”
“What the fuck,” Rodrick mutters, completely ignoring the light jab Harris gives him for lingering on it. “I thought that you of all people have been on a date before.”
“Fuck off,” Harris groans, hiding his face in the wilted bouquet. “I haven’t had anyone I even wanted to date until I met you!”
That admission is what finally caused the tightness in Rodrick’s chest to snap, sending warmth flooding through him so quick it left him reeling. “Oh,” he whispers, barely audible even with the music turned down. “That’s– Fuck.” If he hadn’t been gripping the wheel, he would have easily tucked his head between his arms, overwhelmed with the sudden intensity of his affection for Harris. Harris was in a similar state, his cheeks and ears bright red as he stared very intently at his lap as he fidgeted with his sleeves, pulling them over his hands. Rodrick started driving again, since he’d been sitting at the stop sign for way longer than was necessary. The atmosphere had taken a bit of a nosedive, since the two of them ended up equally flustered by Harris’s admission. It wasn’t entirely awkward though, but that was by virtue of how great the date itself had gone. Rodrick couldn’t stop smiling, even if he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
Harris reached over to turn the music up again, but Rodrick panicked and grabbed his hand before he could touch the dial. The touch was like static electricity, and Rodrick quickly found that he didn’t want to let go, so he adjusted his grip and laced their fingers together. Harris bit back a smile, finally relaxing back into his seat. They still didn’t speak, but the residual awkwardness dissipated instantly. Eventually though, they ended up parked in front of the Hills’ house, their hands still intertwined.
“This was a lot of fun,” Harris says softly, squeezing Rodrick’s hand. “Thank you.”
Rodrick squeezed his hand back, all of what he wanted to say getting all choked up in his throat. Calming himself down was no easy task, but he managed to pull himself together enough to handle the end of the date. ”Don’t mention it, seriously. I had a lot of fun too,” he admits, subconsciously shifting towards him.
Harris hums, letting the silence settle between them again. The quiet felt strangely intimate, the van only being illuminated by the streetlights outside and the faint glow from the dashboard. He unbuckled his seatbelt, but hesitated instead of going right to leaving the van. Slowly, he leaned in, and as though in a moment of shared impulse, so did Rodrick. They met in the middle, a slow press of lips that gained confidence once it became undeniably clear that the intent is mutual. Harris pulled away first, his cheeks flushed pink and biting back a smile. “See you Monday,” he murmurs, still close enough that their noses were brushing.
Rodrick was slack-jawed, the fizzy feeling that he had been harboring in his chest all evening spreading until it consumed him entirely. Words didn’t seem like they could possibly be enough, so he just nodded slowly and kissed him again. He could feel Harris smiling against his mouth, and couldn’t help but smile too. Finally, Harris really did have to pull away. “Bye,” Rodrick breathes, watching as Harris got out and jogged up to his own front door, letting himself in and sneaking one last wave before closing the door behind him.
Once he was certain that Harris was inside and wouldn’t be able to see him anymore, Rodrick let himself giggle and laugh– letting out all of his pent-up giddyness before driving home.
When he got home, it was almost a full hour past his curfew, so he took some care to park quietly and sneak around to the back door. It was quieter than going through the front, even if it was a bit farther from the stairs. It certainly seemed fool-proof to him at the moment, but Rodrick is quite the dedicated fool. As he tip-toed through the kitchen, the lights flicked on and he was greeted by the sight of his mother, standing by the lightswitch. Thankfully, she didn’t look too mad that he was late.
“How’d it go?” Susan prompted, bouncing on her heels a little. Rodrick’s face instantly flooded with warmth, but even embarrassment couldn’t stop the smile that threatened to pull at his lips. Susan must’ve noticed, because she just beamed at him.
“Yeah– it went good. Well. Really well.” He mutters, correcting himself– another habit he somehow picked up from Harris. If he ever claimed to miss the days before he had basic grammar rules drilled into his head, he was a liar. His mom pulled him into a quick hug, and he didn’t immediately push her off.
“I’m so happy for you, honey. Now go to bed– date or not, you came home way too late.” She chastises him lightly, patting him on the back to get him to stumble up the stairs.
Rodrick smiled as he went, feeling more at-ease than he had in a long, long time.