Chapter Text
It was 6pm and Derby was squirming anxiously inside the “Burgers” fast food joint. The name was a bit on the nose, but what did you expect from such a low-class establishment? He clung to the booth seat with both hands to hold himself steady as he glanced over top of his expensive sunglasses to watch the people walk by outside the window.
He also donned a branded baseball cap to mask more of his face and hair. God forbid he be identified in a place like this. Expecting to see his ‘date’ any second, he shifted his attention to the door in anticipation of his arrival.
Thanks to a rather ridiculous string of messages, he had been left waiting for over 10 minutes and was starting to think he’d been pranked. I guess he finally understood how Pinky felt. He huffed a little louder than he’d liked, sliding to the edge of the seat to leave when the door swung open with a chime.
“Hey Hal!” A waitress calls from behind the counter, trotting over to him with menus in hand.
He walked with confidence, the type that all the Greasers had. It made Derby’s skin crawl. Hal scanned the room perplexed, before settling his gaze onto a disguised Derby with a slightly bewildered, yet amused expression.
“Finally.” Derby tutted inaudibly to himself.
He was almost disappointed Hal had actually showed up, already regretting how easily he was talked into this.
To be frank, the only reason Derby had agreed to such an arrangement was that he was lonely. After Jimmy had knocked him down a peg and then forced him to be chummy with the Greasers, he had lost a lot of respect. Some from his loss of power, but most just from how much of a dick he was during the whole ordeal.
So when he found himself agreeing to meet Hal Esposito of all people for dinner, he was more than just upset.
He glared at Hal from across the table as he slumped down into the seat in front of him, the scent of grease and motor oil mixing with Derby’s cologne.
Hal squinted at the rather odd-looking sight before him, taking a moment to confirm the random stranger he had just sat with was really Derby. He wasn’t sure if he was going to dinner or going on a secret mission.
At the very least, he’d decided if he was going to catch a bite with the leader of the Preps, he should at least make himself presentable, sporting a blue turtleneck, a few chunky rings, and a black suit jacket, as per Lucky’s instruction.
As much as he would have preferred to wear anything else, there wasn’t much stopping his friends once they’d gotten wind of his date, greasing his hair up to high heaven and even getting Vance involved to curl a few strands at the front.
“Derby? The hell are yous wearin’?”
Derby scoffed at such a question, but to be fair, it was reasonable - he looked ridiculous. Hesitantly, he took off his sunglasses, folding and neatly placing them on the table.
“A disguise. If I'm going to be here I’m at least going to make sure nobody can tell who I am. Just look at this place!”
He gestured towards a particularly grimey spot on the floor before looking back up at Hal. He observed his laid back mannerisms, and how he fidgeted with the rings on his fingers, giving an appreciative “Hm.”
“At least you look presentable. That’s probably the only redeeming quality you have right now.”
He had wanted to give a better compliment, something along the lines of “You look nice”, but he’d rather throw up breakfast before he ever called a greaser “nice”.
Hal chuckled, resting his mouth and nose into his knuckles as he propped an elbow on the table. The rings were cold against his face and he immediately regretted getting talked into wearing them.
It was rare he got comments on his looks that weren’t derogatory, and especially rare to get said comment from a Prep. Maybe he should get Lucky to dress him more often.
He fumbled a little to find a comfortable way to lean on his hand as a smile crept across his face.
“Thanks.”
Taking the beat in conversation, he observed Derby’s face, something he had somehow never thought to do before. His features were weirdly defined. Hal wasn’t jealous, but he was miffed at how little effort he assumed it took for him to look good.
“Not too bad yaself. Although I’m sure you don’t need me tellin’ ya that.”
“Yes, yes. Whatever.” Derby repeated, brushing him off and busying himself with the menu.
He gripped the sides tightly and held it close to his face so Hal couldn’t see his slightly flushed face. Compliments surprisingly weren’t something Derby got many of either, and it never reacted well to such unsolicited ones.
“-dun’t need me tellin’ ya dat.” Derby mocked under his breath, hoping it would quash the butterflies in his stomach.
Or at least piss Hal off enough to get him to leave before someone came to serve them.
“Ha ha, is that what we sound like to ya?”
Hal peered over his menu, gauging Derby’s mood to see if joking back would be a good idea. Usually Hal wouldn't mind his tongue that much, but he had been instructed to be on his “best behaviour”, lest he ruin what little peace there was between their cliques. With how red Derby was, he assumed it was probably best to keep his old money impression for a later date.
Through the flush of his cheeks, Hal could see Derby grimace at the choices. Rich guy like him’s probably never ordered take-out in his life.
Reaching across the table, Hal dipped Derby’s menu with a hand to get a better view at what he was looking at. Derby instinctively smacked his hand away with the shock of closer proximity.
“You have your own menu!” He snarled with a hateful glare.
He had been eyeing the steak, astonished that such a crappy place offered such food. It wasn’t the nicest-looking thing, but it was better than the greasy pieces of shit next to it.
Derby glanced back up, spotting the same woman from earlier approach the booth. He cleared his throat and put the menu down, perching his arms on top of it and giving her his best ‘i totally want to be here’ smile.
Hal brushes off the animosity, rolling his eyes at such fake visage.
“I’ll get the juicy lucy burger and he’ll have the bison burger with swiss.”
“Of course, regular drinks?”
“Yeah please. Thanks sugar.” Hal grinned, plucking the menu from under Derby’s arms and passing them towards the waitress.
Turning back, his lips creased into a smirk, in expectancy of Derby’s scolding. Derby’s smile had faltered upon hearing Hal order for him and as soon as the waitress was out of ear shot, he leaned forward to grab Hal by the jaw, pulling him in a little too close for comfort.
Derby was used to having to manhandle his subordinates all the time, reaching forward on instinct.
“I swear to god Hal if you . .” Derby’s eyes narrowed, realising his surroundings and promptly releasing Hal’s jaw.
His eyes narrowed, shoving Hal back against the cushioned backboard, sitting back down and wiping his hand onto his sweater.
Hal was suddenly a little besides himself, running his own hand over his cheeks where Derby had dug his nails. He wasn’t completely surprised Derby had laid a hand on him, but he certainly wasn’t expecting such initiative.
“Date’s barely started and ya already gottcha hands all over me. Suppose I should think myself lucky, ey?” He joked as he leant backwards, resting his hand on the back of the booth chair and turning outwards to view the restaurant, using his other hand to loosen his neckline that was feeling a tad tighter than when he put it on.
“Don’t put it like that. This is not a damn date.” He replied, pulling his collar over his mouth and nose to act as if he was stifling a quick cough, when really he was covering his further flushed cheeks.
He knew full well this was a date. What else could he call it?
“Whatever you say pretty boy,” Hal clicked his teeth and turned back to face him.
His eyes drew to the cap perched on top of Derby’s head. He chuckled internally to himself at the get-up, attempting once again to reach over, this time tipping the brim of his hat to let a few loose strands fall in front of his face.
“No one’s gonna see ya so jus’ take off the stupid hat.”
“But what if-” Derby cuts himself off.
Maybe Hal was right, for once. He begrudgingly slid the hat off onto the table, hair mussed and clearly not intended to leave the hat.
“Happy now, pauper?” Derby flicked his hair to shift the hair that draped over his forehead.
He said that word like a slur, and with the way he spat it at every person he met, it might as well have been.
“Very.” Hal mused at the state of his curls - for once he wasn’t the one with messed up bangs.
“And don’t call me pretty boy. Ever.”
“Why not? It’s true ain’t it?” Hal teased, staring at the obvious strand of hair that had started to curl the wrong way.
Before he could mention it, the waitress walks over with a tray and two incredibly blue drinks. Pacing them down, she smiled towards Hal, tipping her head down slightly to meet his gaze.
“Here you go Hal, it’s on the house!” She giggles, giving him a quick wink before sauntering back behind the counter.
“Aw ya too kind, thanks sugar.”
Derby’s lip twitched in annoyance. Why would she wink at Hal and not him? Hal? Of all people?
“Do you have to keep calling her sugar? It’s so gaudy.” Derby tuts.
“I mean, I do know her real name, but they don’t like ta be called anything other than their badge,” Hal gestured to his own lapel, “Keeps ‘em safe an’ all that.”
Derby looked down at Hal, then to the waitress, who gave him a small wave upon hearing herself mentioned. Feeling awfully embarrassed, Derby pulled his drink over only for his face to drop in horror.
“This . . . looks radioactive.” He commented rudely, lighting pushing the glass back to the middle of the table.
“Aw come on! Ya not even gonna try it? Sure I’m not great at alotta things, but orderin’ food an’ drinks ain’t one of ‘em.”
He pushes the drink back towards Derby, pinching the red and white straw between his fingers and giving it a quick stir, placing it back into the drink to face him.
To be truthful, Hal only agreed to his usual drink because of what he knew it would do to Derby’s mouth. Yeah the boys told him not to stir the pot but come on! How could he not when given such a golden opportunity?
He desperately tries to hold a straight face, hoping Derby would take the bait.
“. . . Fine. But if I don’t like it I’m asking for water.”
Derby then took a small, tentative sip. The drink was fizzy, but nothing like the sparkling wine he was used to. But somehow, he started to enjoy it. He gave another, longer sip next, finally taking his mouth off the straw.
“Alright, perhaps I can let this slide.” He shrugged, giving a half-hearted smile, revealing a blue tint to his bottom lip.
Hal pursed his lips, covering his grin with a hand over his mouth, but that didn’t do so much to hide the general amusement. He immediately looked away, not daring to look at Derby out of fear of laughing.
He shifted his weight forward, shuffling both elbows onto the table as he tried to occupy himself by looking anywhere but Derby’s face, but he couldn’t help it, sneaking a glance at Derby’s bottom lip and letting out a low, muffled chuckle.
Tilting his head, Derby raised an eyebrow, “What? What’s so funny?!”
Upon not receiving an immediate response, his brows knitted together in irritation.
“Don’t ignore me!”
Hal continued to snicker for a second, holding out a hand to try catch his breath without Derby snapping at him.
“Jus’ lemme show ya.”
He reached for his own drink, pulling the straw to his lips and taking an intentional sip, making sure it would stain. After another moment to chuckle to himself, he parted his mouth slightly to show part of his tongue and bottom lip, now coloured a very bright blue.
Derby wasn’t mad at first, returning the chuckle. That was until it dawned on him that he looked the same.
His teeth clenched in anger, lip tightening into a pout as he shielded his mouth from view. He was about to rip Hal a new one, but he caught the waitress's gaze from across the joint and decided making a scene would only really end badly for him.
“You are so lucky we're in public, fatass,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Hal's eyes were already tearing as he burst out laughing, grinning a huge blue smile as the waitress returned with a plate in either hand. She returned his grin as he turned to greet her, giggling as she glanced between the two.
“I take it the drinks went down well.”
“As always.” Hal's eyebrow twinged upwards.
Swiveling back around to Derby, he noticed a slight twitch of his lip. He quelled his laughing to save him from much further embarrassment, flashing a smile towards his food.
Derby looked towards his food in dismay. Part of him wanted to make up some excuse that he wasn’t hungry, but that would be a lie. He supposed if the drink wasn't so bad, then what's the harm in trying the food?
Gripping his fingers on either side, he tried his best to mimic how Hal was holding his burger, but it was a bit of a struggle considering Hal was a tad larger than he was. He splayed his hand best he could, hoping that the copious amounts of grease wouldn't ruin his casual wear and bringing it up to meet his lips with shaking hands.
Finally, he committed, taking a large bite and chewing quickly to choke it down easier. It was . . . decent.
“Fancy enough for his majesty?” Hal said between bites and sips of his own meal.
He eyed Derby, trying to figure out whether he was enjoying it or putting on another front.
“Peasant food ain’t so bad, right? Here, try somma mine!”
He slides his plate over the table but Derby shakes his head, mouth still full.
He'd pass on that thanks, already feeling as if he had gained 20 pounds from his own burger. Goodness knows how much heavier he'd feel if he had tried Hal's monstrosity.
The table behind them had gone quiet, and for good reason too.
Derby had inadvertently sat with his back towards none other than Jimmy Hopkins, who was busy treating Petey to dinner to thank him for his earlier help with the Greasers.
Jimmy was rambling on about goodness knows what, while simultaneously stuffing his face with the remaining half of his cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake. Petey nibbled on his chips, stopping mid-bite as he finally realised who was sat in front of him.
“Is that Hal? and- Derby?” He exclaimed, rather chuffed that Jimmy's forced truce had worked so well.
He sat up on his knees, trying to get a better look at Derby's face to confirm his speculations.
“oh my god . . . I think they're on a date!” Petey giggled to himself.
Jimmy gives his a nudge under the table to get him to sit back down, “Damn. Didn't think he'd go for a guy like Hal.”
Hal shrugged, reaching back for his burger but stopping dead in his tracks upon meeting eyes with Petey.
“Shit-”
Hal directed his eyes subtly away from the stare as to not tip Derby off to their onlookers. Hal didn't particularly care what they thought of him, but he was vaguely aware of the reputation Derby had to keep, and he proffered not to be the reason for any falter.
“If Derby sees us, he'll get Bif to beat us up for sure!” Petey worries, turning to Jimmy in a panic.
“Don't worry man. Just let ‘em be and everything will be fine.” Jimmy leans back having absolutely smashed his burger, swiping at Petey's fries on the way back.
Petey gives Hal a little wave of acknowledgment before looking down to find half his fries in Jimmy's mouth.
Hal responds with a short nod that he immediately wishes he could take back as Derby's eyes follow his gesture. Raising an eyebrow at the action, Derby tilts his head in a curious manner.
“Oh what now?” He huffed, starting to swivel his head to look behind him.
Hal scrambles to think of a solution, frantically scanning the unfolding scene before committing to a lurch forward.
Taking Derby's collar with a strong hold, he yanked him back to the table. In his panic, he had used a tad too much force, pulling back and managing to stop their faces from clattering by less than an inch. Their breath mingled, catching each other's gaze.
Hal was usually impulsive and unfiltered sure, but this? There's no way he'd make it through this dinner without someone's fist against his jaw now.
For the first time in a while, Hal was at a loss for words.
Derby had yelped at the sudden yank, bracing his hands on the table. Upon realising hiw close there were, his cheeks burned, rivaling the colour of the ketchup bottle in their table's condiment basket.
His pupils darted around awkwardly, not sure whether to shove him away or . .
“Shit. Uh-”
Hal wondered if Derby could feel his hand shaking against his neck.
Usually he was pretty relaxed with physical contact. He was his mate's go-to ‘pillow’ for whoever fell asleep on the sofa after all, but this felt a little less platonic than he was used to.
He adjusted his grip before letting his hand slip away, not wanting to push either of them into something they would later regret.
As Hal's hand left his neck, Derby's own ran after it, grasping at his calloused fingers and forcing him to lean back in, his other hand fumbling for his baseball cap as he held his gaze with purpose.
“Don't make me regret this.” Derby muttered, touching his forehead to Hal's and waiting to see if he'd make a move.
As Hal could still see Petey's stare, he adjusted the angle and took the command, moving his hand to cup Derby's cheek. He stayed in the agonising tension for a moment too long, feeling Derby's jaw tighten eith impatience.
But as Derby opened his mouth to protest the inaction, Hal grazed a thumb over his face, placing his fingers exactly where Derby had placed his less than 10 minutes prior and pressing his lips to his.
Hal tightened his grip, squeezing his face ever so slightly before pulling backwards in complete awe that Derby had actually just let him kiss him.
Derby stared intently at Hal with a flushed face and wide eyes, mouth forming a small, dopey smile. He couldn’t believe he had just let himself be kissed by a Greaser.
The thought should have disgusted him, for more reasons than one but it didn't.
“-Not bad, Greaseball. Not bad..”