Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It wasn’t rare for people to ask Grian out. In fact, he was quite used to it by now.

He normally tried his best to be polite. To let them down as softly as possible because he knows what it’s like. After his whole… thing. With Ellen, he knew what it was like to be rejected. Ellen rejected him kindly, he was thankful for that. Even if that whole mess was starting to mess with his head.

This time he’s asked out though? It’s different. Sam and Taurtis have constantly been bugging him about different girls. It’s all they talk about. It’s always about how “he’s so attractive but never uses his good looks!” or “when will you bring someone home, both me and Taurtis have already been dating people!” And it honestly got to him. Why didn’t he get a choice in when to start dating? Why was it always based on them?

They had just moved to Tokyo Soul after the entire incident with their old school. They were now in the witness protection program, courtesy of Okami and Silly. Grian questioned why he followed them to the new school, only to realize that going home would probably be worse than just sucking up his pride and following Sam and Taurtis. Sam was… Definitely a personality. Grian found him annoying some days, but it’s whatever. Taurtis is fine on the other hand. Yeah, he’s a bit childish. Loud. Chaotic. But Grian is fine with it. He’s one of the few reasons Grian considered staying in the first place.

Grian wishes he had left. The duo, mainly Sam—Taurtis just seems to be going along with it to avoid an uncomfortable situation—are getting worse with this questioning. None of the girls at this school caught his eye. Was something wrong with that? No. He deserves a choice in his love life. Sam seems to think differently of that, though. He believes that since Grian doesn’t want to date girls, he's a wimp.

This is starting to get annoying. That's almost all that he talks about now. Always about if he finds a girl attractive. Always about how Grian needs to man up and date someone. It’s irritating to say the least.

He needs a way out and fast. After that weird meeting with that… “girl” Kurokuma, he claimed he was gay. That shut Sam up for a bit, because what the fuck do you do when you’ve been trying to set your apparently gay best friend up with a girl?

Grian can’t just stick with the gay lie forever. He would eventually have Sam asking him about boys instead of girls. Then it’s the exact same situation, but this time with the gender he isn’t even interested in.

Maybe that’s a lie… Maybe he did find a boy a little attractive here and there… And it’s not like he’s actually liked a girl… Fuck. Not the time. At this point he liked nobody. No man or girl. All that he wants these days is to just avoid the topic. All he wants is a way out. A fake partner or someone willing to go along with it just for the sake of getting Sam off his ass every two seconds.

That’s when he thinks of it. Taurtis.

Taurtis had mentioned wanting to date someone, but being hesitant because of the whole Salex situation. Maybe Taurtis was his way out. Grian would get Sam to lay off of him and Taurtis could get that picture perfect relationship he never got with Salem.

Maybe that’s too cruel, using Taurtis’ dead lover as an excuse to fake date him just for the sake of being able to ignore Sam. Maybe Grian should find another plan.

It’ll always be there in the back of his mind, regardless. Grian wishes that he could understand why.

Those are the thoughts saved for when he’s trying to fall asleep.

The next day at school, the trio are standing around at their lockers. God knows where Dom went. Sam is going on his usual rant about classes and how much they suck, what they’re gonna do after school, and more rather unimportant things.

That’s when a boy walks past. Grian doesn’t know his name. He doesn’t bother with names. Sam glances at Taurtis, who gives a strained smile at him in return. Sam looks to Grian. He has to suppress a sigh.

“What’s you think of him, Grian?” Sam says, his bunny ears lifting as if he’s excited for Grian. He wishes he could just walk away. He can feel the wings on his head twitch in irritation as the others pull in closer to himself. It’s almost a reaction because of the shame he felt, “Awww! Grian’s blushing!” Sam says way too loudly for his comfort, elbowing Taurtis who awkwardly laughs in response, “We found the one~!”

As Sam goes on an entire ramble about how this random boy could be “the one” for him, Grian has to make a decision.

He needs to play with some random boy's heart, or he needs to play with Taurtis. One of these results in one boy who he doesn’t know and doesn’t care about’s heartbreak. The other ends in Grian potentially ending this all by just settling Sam with Taurtis. He could only pray that the nights he’d spent with Taurtis were enough for him to go with it.

“Sam.” Grian starts, cutting him off. Taurtis seems interested in whatever rebuttal Grian has come up with. Oh little does he know. He is the rebuttal, “It’s not whoever that boy is that I’m interested in.”

Sam pauses. His ears twitch as if as a “you’re joking” look. Who could’ve caught Grian’s attention? Who did he miss? “It’s… It’s not? Who! Who you’ve gotta tell me! We’re best buds, right?” Sam immediately starts pushing for answers. Taurtis seems more interested, but casts looks to Sam at the prying.

The bell rings.

Grian feels himself breathe and it is the best feeling ever. He stumbles out some excuse about how he can’t be late and rushes into Tori’s class, sitting as far away from Sam as he can. Taurtis settles next to him. For the most part, it’s silent between. Tori teaches the class, they don’t go out for once. It’s honestly boring.

Grian leans on one of his hands, shifting to accommodate his wings in the seat. He really needs to start asking for these classes to have stools for him. Then again, they would probably yell at him for being “greedy” and wanting too much. It’s whatever, he just has to stay on the edge of his seat and lean forward to let his wings wrap around himself. Not the most comfortable position, but it’s whatever.

Taurtis is glancing at him a lot. It’s not missed by Grian. He knows that Taurtis knows something is up. He quite honestly would be concerned if he didn’t suspect anything. Eventually he leans over, whispering, “So… Who is it?”

Grian needs to either lie or try to get both of them to skip class without Sam noticing. He can buy them time. As if comical timing, Tori calls on him to write something on the board. God this is going to be a terrible idea. He winks at Taurtis, basically saying “one second” before walking up.

He purposefully sticks his leg slightly out so he trips, banging his head on a desk. He yelps out a curse in fake fear, just sitting for a second as the pain in his head settles in, “Fuck.. My head..” Grian mutters, shifting to sit. He winces slightly. Yeah that hurt like hell. Tori rushes over, immediately checking on him. He can hear snickers and giggles from across the room, some of them are concerned murmurs.

“Grian-! Are you okay?” She asks, kneeling onto his level. He can feel his feathers slightly fluffing up, mostly out of defense. His instincts have always been weird whenever he gets injured. Inhaling a breath, he has to perform, “I’ll be fine.. Can I uh.. Go to the nurse?” He asks, looking up to her despite the fact she’s still kneeling.

“Of course, do you need someone to walk you there?” Tori asks, standing up and extending a hand for him to talk. Grian accepts it and stands, rubbing his head where it hurts, “Yeah, I don’t know where it is. Can Taurtis take me?”

“Of course. Be careful. Taurtis, Grian, you’re excused.” Tori says, watching the two. Taurtis grabs Grian’s bag and walks over to them. He didn’t make it far before he had his little... Performance. Grian slightly grimaced at the pain. He was expecting to fake twisting his ankle but forgot to move his head and instead got a slam straight to the head.

“You alright?” Taurtis asks as he grabs Grian’s hand to guide him. Grian glances to their connected hands in confusion. Taurtis answers before he can even ask, “Figured your head hurt from that fall.” Taurtis winced at the memory of it, “I thought it’d be nice for you to have a guide!”

Grian sighed, “Thanks. I’m fine, my head just hurts.” He says as they settle into silence. Grian can eventually will his wings into relaxing again, now remaining folded against him as if expecting a threat. Whatever. Better than I’m looking terrified as he stumbles through the hallways holding Taurtis’ hand.

“You asked about it,” He starts, watching as Taurtis turns back to look at him, “About who it was.” Grian finishes to avoid any further questions, “That was mostly an excuse to get out of class to talk to you but it went extremely wrong. I have something to tell you, but it’s better if we talk in the nurses office.” Grian says with a soft laugh. This probably sounds terrible.

He said it so others around them could hear. So the few kids could suspect something. He had a plan. He was going to follow it. Then Sam would leave him alone and Taurtis could live with his fake boyfriend and ignore that fading longing for Salex.

Taurtis didn’t know what to expect when Grian said that. It fell into a mostly tense silence, the weight of his words heavy. He honestly expected a confession. Is it weird to say he wouldn’t have minded that much? He didn’t know his own sexuality or anything, but he could accept that Grian was very pretty, attractive, handsome, however you’d prefer to say it.

As they eventually get into the nurses office, Nurse MD looks at the two, glances at Grian’s head, dismisses it, and leaves to go back to his class. Taurtis stands next to the plain white bed as Grian is sat on it. Grian inhales and exhales.

“I want you to fake date me.” Grian says bluntly. Taurtis opens his mouth. Then shuts it. Then it opens again. Then it shuts. That’s the opposite of what he expected, “Okay that sounds terrible out of context uh- let me restart!”

“So basically Sam has been on my ass about getting a girlfriend, now a boyfriend. I’m done with his shit and the only way to shut him up is to make him happy. I know you seem uncomfortable going along with it so I figured the easiest way to get out of it was us pretending to date. You’d have a fake partner who you could- I don’t know whatever you want with me, and I’d have peace and quiet and be able to live without Sam constantly in my ears about dating someone.”

Taurtis just stares. There’s nothing more fitting to do when someone says that. He doesn’t have much to lose in this, plus the chance to just… Indulge. Sounds nice right now. Maybe he should.

“That’s.. Not what I was expecting. So… Is there anything for me in this..?” Taurtis asks, moving to sit next to Grian on the bed. He laughs softly.

“Probably. For one, you don’t have to be a part of Sam’s really embarrassing conversations about my love life. For two, he’d probably try to send us on dates of his choice so things like free food and entertainment without him. For three, you’re a very… Touchy person. Not in a mean way by the way, and I don’t mind touching so you could go crazy.” Okay to say he didn’t mind it was a bit of an understatement. Grian was beyond touch-starved. His parents were terrible and constantly fighting, their touch was never gentle or anything for long. He’s been living mostly alone until he moved in with Sam and Taurtis, even then Taurtis only ever did small things. Like holding his hand or brushing against him while walking.

Grian never minded it. He probably needed it after all those years.

Taurtis looks to the ground, considering his choices. There isn’t much negative to it, “No strings attached?” Taurtis asked. Grian nods, “It can end whenever. No strings attached. When it ends Sam will feel too awkward to ask me about it and then just make jokes.”

He has to think about this. If he chooses to fake date Grian, he can’t have anyone else. Would he be fine with it? Truth is, he probably would. He never minded Grian’s company, plus they’d have to do lovey-dovey stuff to sell the act anyways, so what would he get out of denying it? More embarrassing interactions with Sam? Some girl who he’d probably end up leaving?

He had two choices. One was a loss and one was a win.

Taurtis knew what the better option was.

“Then of course I’ll be your fake boyfriend, Grian!” Taurtis beams. Grian lets out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much.” Grian says, shifting to stand up. He holds a hand out for Taurtis to take. Taurtis takes it and stands up, but doesn’t let go. He winks at Grian, who cringes at that gesture.

“Then how about we get back to class, babe?” Taurtis says in a teasing voice. Grian dies inside just a little. God he’s going to have to put up with this, “Just… Try to make it believable at least? And let’s get the story straight. I came in here with you, we were alone, it was dark, and I confessed to you. You said yes and now we’re dating.” Taurtis pauses at that, looking Grian dead in the eyes, “So basically how it originally went, just without saying fake dating?”

“Exactly, but we aren’t going to be the most public about this. Lets just leave a bread trail and let everyone else get the idea. That’s why I made it sound like a confession on the way here. If anyone asks, which they will eventually, we will announce it then. For now, just hint at it. Make small comments that are romantic in some ways but teasing in others. Lead them on.” Grian instructs. Taurtis nods. Right. Not a very public thing until it’s announced, then they’re the talk of the school.

And with that, the two left the nurses office. The bell rings, signaling for the next class. Taurtis was kind enough to carry his bag for him, because he was injured after all, and that’s what couples do. They are still holding hands while looking at each other and talking, occasionally whispering and giggling.

A few students whisper and point, murmuring quietly. Perfect.

The two walk into Nurse MD’s class, who immediately shoots them a look. He probably hated the PDA they were doing. Either way, they sat next to each other once given permission, still holding hands even if the position was a bit awkward. Then Sam walks in. The duo look at each other and softly laugh.

Sam walks and sits behind Taurtis, “You two left me! Don’t laugh about it!” He immediately pouts, lowering his ears in mostly fake offense.

“What? Grian was injured and I didn’t want him to get lost!” Taurtis immediately argues back, “So you leave me behind? And Grian, you didn’t even ask me to bring you! Why him!”

Grian tightens his hold on Taurtis’ hand. If he noticed, he didn’t speak of it, “Because I was injured..? Sorry I didn’t want you screaming in my ear with a headache,”

“And Taurtis wasn’t?” Sam immediately shoots back. Taurtis sighs, gently squeezing Grian’s hand. He shoots an apologetic look back and loosens his grip, “No, he wasn’t. He was actually quite calm.”

That shuts Sam up. He rolls his eyes, muttering about betrayal. His bunny ears lower and he starts giving them the silent treatment. Taurtis looks at Grian. Grian looks at Taurtis.

Both of them immediately have to try not to laugh. It’s hard when Sam looks so pathetic while pouting behind the two.

Sam gives them a look. They’re clearly hiding something that he doesn’t know. Sam is really nosy, he wants to know. As he was about to go and ask, his once pouting face forgotten, Nurse MD starts into a lecture. Sam glares in disappointment, wanting to whisper, but getting caught every time.

He really wanted to know.

For some reason, Taurtis and Grian would whisper and softly laugh to each other but not get caught. Didn’t Grian mention he liked someone earlier? Did… Are they… No. No way. Sam would know if Taurtis was gay, right? But… This behavior is really hard to explain. They’re still holding hands and giggling like elementary students who claim they’re dating.

The bell rings and class ends. Lunch. Perfect time!

Taurtis takes Grian’s bag. They aren’t holding hands anymore. This time their dialogue is audible to Sam, “You can’t just take my bag!” Grian says, trying to reach for his bag, “Ah- But I’m not taking it. I’m carrying it for you!” Taurtis says with a playful smirk on his face.

Grian mutters in protest, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes before following Taurtis out. Acting like he doesn’t exist behind them. Like they’re… The only people in the world. On my gord. They are totally together. How did Sam miss this?

How long has this been going on?

He follows behind the… Couple? He just needs to get an answer. To set his view of them in stone.

Lunch falls in silence at their table. It’s tense, but only between the two and Sam. This is the first time Taurtis wasn’t sitting next to him. He’s sitting next to Grian.

He swears that he isn’t jealous of them, because he isn’t! He’s not mad! He’d be happy that Grian finally got a boyfriend after all his pestering! Maybe it’s not who he expected, but it was someone!

Didn’t Grian say that Taurtis wasn’t his type when he came out? Huh. Sam couldn’t help but wonder what had changed in that short time.

Chapter Text

That was the day that changed everything.

Suddenly Grian had a lot more alone time with Taurtis than he knew how to deal with. He was never really the person leading conversations, normally Sam did that for him. Then again, Taurtis was always happy to just fill the silence and talk for him so Grian couldn’t say he minded.

They needed to fuel the rumors somehow. For some reason nobody has asked them about it yet, but he knew that suspicions were rising. People on Fwotter and Fumblr were posting about them. People would ask about it, only to be met with the same suspicions the duo had been nursing.

It was awkward between them. How else do you comfortably transition from friends into “boyfriends”?

What could be better than a date!

As much as Grian was kind of enjoying this whole thing, mainly because it gave him more time with Taurtis, there were awkward moments. Mainly because it was fake, so asking “hey! Let’s go on a date!” sounds a lot more weird than it would with a real couple. One of them had to ask it eventually though.

Taurtis had walked into Grian’s room, not bothering to knock despite how much he was told to. Grian was sitting on his bed reading a book. He had the lights dimmed. He never liked bright areas, always preferring things like mood lighting. It made the environment a lot easier to swallow, especially with two roommates who are… Well. Sam and Taurtis.

He looked up from his book at the sound of the door opening, having to suppress a sigh from escaping his lips. To shift his focus, he bent the corner of the next page of his book and set it down to give Taurtis his full attention.

Taurtis bounces on his toes, a sort of fidget he’s been doing since they were kids. Grian figures that it’s probably about their “relationship”. They were bound to have to discuss more eventually.

“So… Y’know how we are dating, right?” Taurtis starts after a moment of fidgeting. Grian stared at him. Yeah. He knew that pretty well considering he was the one who “asked him out”.

“I am aware of that.” Grian says, confirming it in case Taurtis didn’t catch the hint in his stare. He offered a small nod, urging Taurtis to continue what he was going to say.

Taurtis cringed. God this is awkward.

“Right. So… I think we need to do more.” Taurtis continued, waiting for any sort of reaction from Grian to continue. He got a soft hum in acknowledgment. He’s surprisingly right. They do need to be seen together in order for others to believe it.

“Okay. So I think we should go get coffee together! Like a date!” Taurtis finishes, standing proudly. He has an… Odd way of asking people out. Though maybe it’s just because they aren’t actually dating. He doesn’t know. Though Grian has to admit it is kind of endearing.

“You’re right. Works for me,” Grian says, pausing after a moment, “How do we get Sam off our back? Won’t he insist on coming?” He asks, tilting his head to his right slightly. The feather plumes on his head softly twitch, matching his confusion.

“Then we say it’s a date!”

“No.” Grian immediately shuts it down. It’s too early. People would question this. Anyone who knows Grian would know he doesn’t like his relationship status being a public thing, “People will probably think it’s fake if we rush into things.”

“But it is fake?” Taurtis questions, clearly missing the point.

“Taurtis- I- People aren’t supposed to know that it’s fake. The entire reason I asked to do this is so that people would think I was in a relationship and back off.” Grian tries to explain. He also did it to get Sam off his back but whatever. Taurtis already knew that part.

Taurtis’ mouth makes an ‘O’ shape as it clicks, “Ohhh… So then how do we get out without Sam coming?” He asks.

“I just asked that.” Grian says with a sigh. Great! Now they’re back where they started! Shutting Sam down wouldn’t work, he’s too stubborn for that. They’d need a distraction or something.

“Maybe we could see if Dom could distract him long enough for us to slip away?” Grian suggests. It’s really the best thing they have right now. Then Sam will have someone to focus on who isn’t them.

Taurtis nods, “Yeah! Then we can go to that one coffee shop by school, other students will probably be there!”

“Never took you for a coffee person, Taurtis.” Grian says with a soft chuckle.

“Ehh.. Not really my thing but that’s like- a romantic environment, right? Plus since other students go there, people can see us acting all lovey-dovey!” Taurtis concludes. Grian nods with a soft hum. He’s acting smart today, which is rare. At least the two get to go hang out without Sam, even if that means they have to fake being in love.

“So if it’s alright with you, let’s do it tomorrow. One of us can pull Dom aside at school and ask if he can do it as a favor. Right after school works fine, right?”

“Yep! Not like we had plans either way!” Taurtis says with a smile. It’s stupidly warm and Grian wants to hate it. He can’t for some reason. Whatever. They have a date to plan.

—

The rest of the day goes by in a blur. Taurtis decided to not leave Grian’s room after date planning for whatever reason, so he had to sit and read while Taurtis went off on rambles. Not that he minded of course, it was a nice way to fill the silence between them.

Sam occasionally came in to bug them, but would cast them weird looks after a while and then walk out. Probably because the two were never this close before, so the sudden proximity was weird. Grian could see why it seemed weird. Especially because he was the one making them be in such close proximity so suddenly.

Grian doesn’t actually remember how the night ended for him. He thinks he can remember hearing Taurtis’ voice as he talked something about the Game Crab, though he isn’t sure. He doesn’t remember settling down or doing any of his nightly routine, so why did he wake up laying under the covers?

The answer he got wasn’t one he would like to talk about.

In the morning, Grian had asked about it. Taurtis had smirked at him and explained it. Apparently while reading, he had drifted off and ended up falling asleep against his shoulder. Taurtis sadly had to go to bed at some point, so he ended up moving Grian to lay down and closed his book for him. He also threw in the detail that Sam walked in and took a photo. He probably posted it onto fumblr or fwotter.

At least this helps with their performance. Grian would have to get used to being affectionate with Taurtis at some point. At some point he’d have to start doing stuff like that more for the sake of showing his “love” for Taurtis.

Now they are on their way to school. Sam is a few steps ahead of them, walking backwards so he can continue to talk with Taurtis. Grian normally zones out these conversations because he’s not involved in them, plus having time in his head helps him focus more during school. This time though, he’s making sure that while thinking he remains a little bit closer to Taurtis than normal.

Their hands occasionally brush and Grian ignores the jolts of electricity that rush through him at the contact. This is all just an act. It’s stupid how he is so reactive to touch, though that’s probably rooted in his parents not liking him and refusing to touch him.

Taurtis eventually takes the hint at what Grian is doing. Sam looks slightly puzzled, but shrugs it off. Taurtis has days where he seems more clingy, maybe Grian has those too.

Taurtis glances to Grian, the two having a silent conversation in that single glance. Taurtis grabs his hand, interlacing their fingers. He rubs circles on the back of Grian’s hand for a moment before dropping the contact, shooting the shorter one a small smile.

Now that catches Sam’s attention. Maybe a few other students saw it too. Best case scenario someone got a photo.

Sam eventually voices his thoughts, “Dude. The fuck is going on with you two?” He asks, confused at this sudden shift in dynamic. Normally Grian only tolerated the two.

Taurtis looks at Grian and has to bite his lip to avoid laughing. This time Grian answers for him, “Nothing, Sam.” He tries to answer seriously, though it is a bit hard to suppress the urge to smile or laugh.

Sam doesn’t seem to believe it but drops the topic anyway. He honestly doesn’t care about their relationship status, he would just care about the gossip it’d bring.

The trio falls back into conversation as they were before, though they continue the small acts of contact with each other. Grian can feel stares and he can’t help but want to laugh at it. They’re playing and winning this game.

—

Classes begin as normal. Tori of course checks in with Grian to make sure he’s ok after the little “accident” yesterday, which he is. The day is going in a blur already.

Grian found that to be normal. The days drifted past him before he could catch them. Some days it just felt like routine was the only thing keeping him going. At least he wouldn’t have to mentally deal with whatever Sam drags him into if he lets the days blur before him.

Recently he’s been dragged out of his thoughts a lot more though.

It’s still hard to focus on staying present, even when he has to. It does get awfully annoying getting dragged back to reality though. Autopilot was his main life setting. He supposed he could blame himself for this issue though. It was his idea to make this fake relationship, now it’s his job to maintain it. He can’t expect Taurtis to do it on his own, especially since this was for his own gain.

The bell rings, signaling the start of lunch.

Taurtis sits next to him and Sam sits across from Taurtis. As normal, the two are talking while Grian mostly sits in his head. That’s when he remembers. He has to talk to Dom.

He makes up some fake excuse, though he’s not exactly sure what he said. Probably that he was going to the bathroom or something, and slipped away from the cafeteria.

It wasn’t exactly hard to find Dom, you just had to know where to look. He found him in a hallway at his locker, pausing behind him, “Hey, Dom.”

“Hey.” Dom responds, closing his locker and turning to face Grian. It’s silent for a moment. Grian rubs his fingers against the edge of his sleeve, a nervous habit, “Did you uh… Need something?” Dom asks.

Right, he should probably talk.

“Yeah, actually. Can you do me a favor after school?” Grian asks, looking at Dom with pleading eyes.

“Depends what it is.”

“Me and Taurtis. We want to go out without Sam and we need you to distract him so we can leave school without him noticing. Just after school. You two can do whatever, but we just need the alone time.” Grian explains, feeling the fabric of his sleeve. It’s slightly scratchy. The uniforms here weren’t the best comfort wise.

Dom raises an eyebrow and Grian can feel his cheeks heating up. His wings curl against himself in embarrassment under the stare. Now there’s another person suspecting them, though it’s probably confirmed for him now.

“I’ll see what I can do, but you owe me.”

Grian lets out a sigh of relief, his wings relaxing their posture. Now that he has a way for them to get out of school, the last thing left to do is to successfully get out and to the coffee shop, “Great, thank you.”

Dom nods, turning away. Grian retreats back to the cafeteria. When confronted about it, he makes up some lies. He doesn’t know what he says anymore if he’s being honest. Words just escape him before he can think about them. Autopilot.

Before he lets himself fall back into that trance he always seems to be in, he leans over to Taurtis and whispers to him, letting him know that the date is still on. He nods.

Sam eyes them again. A few girls who were watching whisper to each other and type on their Icrabs. Perfect. Everything is going according to plan.

Now to actually have the date.

Grian is torn away from his thoughts as the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. He can’t help but smile as he stands up, brushing his hand against Taurtis’ as they walk to their lockers and prepare for the next class.

This was going to be interesting.

Chapter Text

As the final bell rang, Grian walked down the now crowded hallway, his location set to his locker. He casts a glance at Dom, praying that he actually causes a distraction enough for the two to slip by.

Taurtis normally walked with him to his locker because he didn’t use his own. He either used Sam’s or Grian’s. Today he had used someone else’s.

“I’ll be right back,” Taurtis said suddenly, turning to the right. Grian blinks at him for a moment.

“Did… Did you forget where we’re going?” He asks. Taurtis freezes and a soft blush highlights his cheeks.

“No… I just.. Forgot to give a pencil back!” Taurtis lies. Grian knows this is a lie because Taurtis just doesn’t do the classwork, so he never has a pencil. Whatever.

The more time he wastes on this, the more time Dom has to stall. He knows Dom is going to have some insane favor; so he needs to make this as short as possible to lessen the blow.

“… Okay. Just meet me by my locker and make it fast.” Grian says, sighing. He continues walking down the halls. Taurtis shoots back a reply but he misses it.

Gord, he hates these halls.

With Taurtis it’s at least somewhat bearable. He has a distraction that he can use instead of listening to the chatter that’s all too loud. He has a way to get himself out of his head. With Taurtis gone, Grian almost misses his locker. When did he get this far?

He doesn’t know.

It’s fine.

Grian opens his locker and collects his stuff from it. It’s not a lot, really. His bag that he doesn’t want to carry around and some extra money. Inside his locker he keeps a photo in there.

Grian often finds his gaze locking onto it. It’s a photo before everything changed. Of him, Ellen, and Taurtis on Halloween. He doesn’t think about Halloween much anymore after the incident, but he can never get rid of that photo. He misses Ellen. They were competent and didn’t drive him absolutely mad. He was kind of forced to act romantic with them, but behind the scenes the two were just close friends.

Taurtis knew that and understood it. Sam didn’t.

His mind continues to wander to that night. How they roamed the school, the three nooses that hung at the entrance, Gareth’s ghost. All of it. Then the part he dreads thinking about.

How Sam stabbed Taurtis.

How Taurtis offered to drive him to the airport, even while bleeding how.

How Grian stupidly accepted, knowing how dangerous of an idea it was.

How the bus crashed and-

“-Rian? Are you there?” Taurtis calls out, waving his hand in front of his face. Grian loses eye contact with the photo and glances down.

“Yeah, sorry. Just… Thinking.” He confirms, turning to Taurtis while shutting his locker (if it was too hard, nobody pointed it out.)

Grian gives him a fake smile, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah… Let’s go.” Taurtis replies, not convinced by the fake happiness. He knows briefly what happened while he was at the hospital. That’s probably what he’s thinking about if he’s zoned out while staring at a photo from Halloween, after all.

Maybe he could try to talk to him about it later, but right now? They had a date to get to.

Grian nods, grabbing Taurtis’ hand and intertwining their fingers. He’s leading him down the hallway. They can both feel the stares, hear the whispers, see the phones. They don’t care.

Dom can only distract Sam for so long. Grian knows that. That’s why he’s rushing. That’s why he misses the blush that spreads on Taurtis’ cheeks. That’s why he’s being so forward with Taurtis for once. He’s focused.

Once outside the building, Grian turns to Taurtis. The school in the background catches his eye for a moment. As much as he hated it, it was a nice building; a good view, “Do you remember where it is from here?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Follow me.” Taurtis said with a smile. None of them break apart their hands. Now that Grian isn’t as focused, he’s very aware of Taurtis’ hand against his.

He can feel the different patterns of his skin, feel the roughed up hands, feel the scars and marks. Now it’s his turn to flush up. He’s just glad Taurtis is turned around and leading the way. Grian can only hope that he doesn’t see how much a simple act like hand holding messes with his mind.

Grian lets out a shaky exhale, calming himself enough. Taurtis stops, causing him to stumble back a step or two.

“We’re here!” Taurtis exclaims, beaming brightly at the coffee shop. It looks pretty normal; nothing very special to note about it.

It has dark walls that are decorated by different types of hanging plants and lights that are supposed to mimic mood lighting, but the point is mostly missed. It’s too bright, like they only bothered to dim the lights enough for it to be noticeable, but not enough for it to be good lighting.

He shrugs off the interior that he can only view through a window, and lets Taurtis lead him in. Taurtis holds the door, like a gentleman, and Grian chuckles out with a soft, “Thank you,” before heading inside.

The place is quite crowded, though that’s to be expected since school just got out. The line isn’t too long, as most people have just sent one person in their group to order. Taurtis glances around before looking to Grian.

“You go find a table, I’ll go order.” He says. Grian nods, about to go head off to find the duo a table before he’s cut off, “Wait-! What do you want?”

“Anything’s fine. I’d prefer if you added espresso though.” Grian says immediately, like he was expecting it.

Because he was. He knows that Taurtis doesn’t come to coffee shops much, so he doesn’t know his order. If Taurtis didn’t ask about what he wanted, he probably would’ve been more concerned. Taurtis nods.

Grian walks across the buzzing shop, eventually finding an open table meant for two. He pretends to ignore the glances people cast at him, probably confused as to where Sam is and why he’s not going to a 3 or 4 person table. He has to awkwardly shift around in order to shuffle into his seat, keeping his wings tucked tight against himself so he doesn’t take up too much room.

Because that’s what he always preferred to do.

To slip away.

He taps on the table impatiently. Grian has never liked being alone in busy or crowded places, it always overwhelms him. Being an avian, his sense of hearing is boosted. That’s why he doesn’t like when Sam or Taurtis speak loudly and yell. That’s why he hates being in the school hallways at the end of the day, always having to leave with a headache because of them.

Today his head was quieter. Probably because he zoned out his walk in the hallway.

Now it was louder. He’d hate to lie and say that he’s ignoring it, because he isn’t. He can feel the pain and he hates it.

Whatever.

He’ll be fine once Taurtis is here.

Maybe if he asked, Taurtis would let him borrow his headphones. That could block out the noise.

(Deep down, Grian knows he’d never ask for that. He prefers to keep his strengthened hearing and hatred of noise to himself.)

He can’t let it bother him too much.

After what felt like an eternity, Taurtis walks over with two cups. He sets one in front of Grian and the other across from him as he scoots into the seat, “There you go! Sorry it took so long.”

“It’s no problem, thank you,” Grian says with a soft smile, brushing off his growing headache, “How much do I owe you for it?”

“Huh? You don’t owe me anything, silly! It’s a date, I’m paying!” Taurtis exclaims, maybe a bit too loud. Grian cringes as heads turn in shock at the words. He can hear the rustling of bags as people begin to pull out their phones, probably to gossip about what was said.

Taurtis immediately realizes what he did and blushes, softly chuckling with a genuine smile.

As sad as it is, Grian thinks it’s the most genuine joy he’s seen directed at himself in years. It takes everything (and a sip of coffee) for him to not melt at the sheer joy that Taurtis emitted.

He was like the sun. He was always bright and bringing people together, always the one making people smile and laugh. Taurtis was always liked.

He probably doesn’t know why Grian feels weak because of a single smile. Yet even then, he can feel himself softly smiling back.

Eventually the two fall into conversation, though it’s mostly Taurtis doing the talking. Grian is able to focus on his voice, and suddenly the loud environment fades into ambience around him. It’s almost comforting.

It would be if he didn’t know this was all fake.

At some point during their date, Taurtis had set his hand on top of Grian’s. It took a lot out of him to keep his wings tucked against his back and for them to not flutter like a giddy child.

Grian couldn’t tell you why the touch made him light up so much. Maybe it was the warmth he’s been deprived of his whole life. Maybe it’s the “genuine” care he’s being shown. Maybe it’s the lack of expectations Taurtis has for him. Maybe it’s the fact that Sam isn’t there and it’s just the two of them, seemingly alone, against the world.

He couldn’t settle on which option it was.

Maybe it’s for the better that he can't.

Grian is snapped out of his thoughts after his phone buzzed. Part of him wanted to throw it, to ignore it, to continue whatever joy he had just been feeling.

It appears that Taurtis got a similar notification.

“One second- Sorry-!” Taurtis apologies, going to check. Grian laughs softly at the apology. He acts like Grian isn’t on his phone too.

Grian can feel his cheeks heat up at what he sees.

It’s a photo on Fwotter, taken fairly recently of the 2. They are sitting at the coffee shop and both are softly blushing. Something Grian had missed on both his own cheeks and Taurtis’. The caption is something about how they wondered if the two were dating.

People in the comments mentioned the comment Taurtis made earlier that day about how it was a “date”. Grian tightens his wings against himself as his cheeks turn a darker shade of red.

It was from embarrassment, at least that’s what he told himself it was. Nothing more. The two are nothing more than friends. This entire thing was fake. Grian came up with it, he knows it.

So why is he so affected by a few people saying that they’re a perfect couple?

Maybe it’s because the attention is on him for once. Normally Grian lets it fall onto Taurtis or Sam, but now he’s in the spotlight. He wants out of it.

Just act until the rumors die down, he tells himself. Somehow part of him knows that’ll be harder than he once thought it was. Whatever. He’ll live.

Grian has lived through worse.

He forces himself out of his head before he can spiral again. Before he can reflect on whatever he is feeling that he may never admit to feeling. Suddenly the place seems louder again. It makes his wing involuntarily twitch against his side.

Grian studies Taurtis’ expression as he stares at his phone. He’s blushing too, though not to the extent Grian fears he himself is. That is before he starts to laugh it off.

Taurtis subtly looks up and winks at him. He somehow knows it’s because their little plan is working. They’ve fallen into a hole.

Maybe Grian and Taurtis were trapped too.

He can’t force himself to care. Taurtis sets down his phone, reaching across the table to lower Grian’s phone too, “It’s not very polite to be on your phone during a date, Grian.” He teases.

Grian rolls his eyes, putting his phone into his bag, “Oh please, you were just on yours.”

“Then I guess we both aren’t very polite, huh?” Taurtis says with a chuckle. Grian laughs along. Suddenly, the world around them silences into background noise again.

His coffee is cold, but he doesn’t care. He drinks it anyway because it was a gift. He never declines a gift. It wasn’t the best cold, but he’d live with it.

The two continue to chat, this time Grian actually participates a bit more. It’s nice. He normally prefers to stay silent because he isn’t very good at having a conversation that flows correctly, but with Taurtis it’s different. Taurtis doesn’t care about that; the flow of the conversation. He guides it around as much as he wants, and doesn’t get upset when Grian tries to control it for once.

This is probably the longest conversation he’s had for a while. Sam likes to cut him off a lot to make comments. They aren’t the nicest, mostly being things about how he is awkward or hard to talk to.

Grian always brushes them off. It’s just goofin’ and gaffin’, right? Sam doesn’t have other motives behind it, honestly. He’s a bit too stupid to plan out something elaborate like getting Grian to shut up. If he wanted Grian quiet, he’d say what he wanted.

He doesn’t realize that he zoned out and was staring until a warm and gentle hand rests atop of his again.

“-Rian? You okay dude? You’re staring. I’m not that attractive, am I?” Taurtis says playfully, though he can make out the hint of concern behind his words. It was sweet how much he cared.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just got lost for a moment.”

“You sure? You’ve been acting weird all day.” Taurtis asks, a bit quieter. The change in his demeanor is oddly kind. How he’s keeping Grian’s business quieter than normal.

“It’s nothing, promise. I’m just not used to…” He signals around himself and to their hands, “This.”

Taurtis’ mouth makes an ‘O’ shape. Yeah. Sounds about right. This was new to him too, “Ohhh… Yeah. I see. Anyways stay focused on me next time, yeah?”

Grian nods, quietly laughing, “Of course. Don’t worry about me zoning out again.”

Taurtis makes a soft hum and nods.

Somehow they got on the topic of building. Grian couldn’t tell you how. He used to build for something that his friend Salted ran, a project called CraftedMovie. He doesn’t know when, but at some point he’d started rambling about it.

Block types, color schemes, palettes, everything. The words just flowed out of his mouth endlessly. Building was a hobby he’d loved back before he was dragged into Japan for that beach day. Now he hasn’t built in a while. He’s been too busy with the shenanigans that Sam and Taurtis cause to think about continuing his hobby.

He misses it.

He doesn’t know how long he talked about building, but it must’ve been boring. Grian doesn’t understand why Taurtis hadn’t cut him off. Why no comments have been made. He just stayed still, watching Grian with a fond look on his face and hand resting atop of Grian’s, listening and nodding along.

Occasionally he would make a comment or ask a question about it, which Grian always answered.

Why he was actually listening to it, he doesn’t know.

After he eventually tires his throat out and needs to settle for a sip of his cold coffee, he realizes how much time has passed. The sun is setting. The coffee shop doesn’t have many people left in it, those who are still there are mostly doing homework or on their phones.

He just has to ask the question.

“Why didn’t you cut me off? That certainly must’ve been boring to listen to.”

“I don’t think it was boring, it’s nice hearing you talk about something you’re passionate about.” Taurtis replies, a genuine smile on his face.

“But why? You don’t know anything about it so why would you listen?” Grian asks, tapping his other hand against his knee.

“You do the same for me all the time. I like hearing you talk for once. Besides,” Taurtis pauses, blushing slightly. He ignores the person filming behind them. He ignores the world around them as he hears the words that fall out of Taurtis’ mouth.

“I love you.”