Scott sat down to order pizza and hack away at his assignment some more, waiting eagerly for Charlie to close up and come sit with him. Nervous excitement twisted in his gut, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he thought about Charlie approaching him, running his fingertips across the back of Scott’s shoulders, settling down next to him and resting his head against Scott’s arm.
He probably wouldn’t do any of that, but it was a nice mental image.
That was the part that was making this easiest to accept. Scott really liked the idea of doing romantic, sensual things with Charlie. He couldn’t stop himself from liking it.
Since it wasn’t hurting anyone, he didn’t see a whole lot of point in trying to stop. He was done with resisting. Resisting was hard and unsatisfying.
Kissing Charlie would have been satisfying. Holding him close, gently taking his glasses off his face so they wouldn’t press into either of them, starting off soft and gentle and then exploring Charlie’s mouth, pinning him against the wall, reaching down between his legs...
“And I’m done,” Charlie said, flopping down on the other side of the desk and breaking Scott’s train of thought. That was fine. Charlie in the flesh was way better than the fantasy of him.
Even if the fantasy had been hot.
That was maybe not the best opener, so Scott shoved the thought aside.
“You look done,” Scott said, taking in the way Charlie had pretty much deflated, sinking heavily into the chair.
Charlie shrugged. “Some days are longer than others. I love this job, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I get exhausted. Sleep usually fixes it.”
“I’m sorry I’m keeping you, then,” Scott said. “You shoulda said you were tired. This isn’t urgent.”
“I know. I wanted to hang out with you.” Charlie smiled a tiny, shy smile, the tips of his ears going pink. “Friends help, too.”
Scott shifted his weight on the flimsy library chair, making it creak a little worryingly.
At least he knew now that Charlie really did want to hang out with him.
“Pizza’s coming,” Scott said, pretending to focus on his laptop. He typed two words without paying any real attention to what they were, and then looked back up at Charlie. “Should be here in half an hour or so.”
“I love Thursdays.” Charlie smiled wryly. “I can almost taste Friday, which means it’s nearly Saturday.”
“That’s… one way of looking at it,” Scott said. He wasn’t sure he had Charlie figured out, yet.
He wasn’t sure he’deverhave Charlie figured out, but right now, that seemed fine. Right now, all he wanted was to figure out enough to approach him in a way that wouldn’t freak either of them out.
“Like I said. I love my job, but I love getting to take a break, too. Balance is important.”
“Of course.” Scott licked his lips. “Could you look at this for me? I’m not sure how much sense it makes.”
Scott was fairly sure it made perfect sense, but he couldn’t get closer to Charlie if he was all the way on the other side of the desk.
To his relief, Charlie didn’t question the need to get up move his chair, sitting down so close to Scott that their shoulders touched.
Scott’s stomach flipped over. This was it. Charlie was as close as he was ever going to be.
Scott watched him reading the last couple of paragraphs, concentrating so hard that the tip of his tongue poked out between his teeth.
All Scott could think about was how much he wanted to kiss him.
Charlie hummed, pushing away from the desk and standing. “This mostly makes sense to me, but I wanna look up some of the terms. Just for myself. If that’s okay?”
“Sure,” Scott said, his knee bouncing with nerves. He was letting Charlie get away. This was his shot, and he was missing it.
It took him three seconds to decide to stand as well.
The space between the shelves and the desk was narrow, barely enough room for the two of them to stand in it at the same time. Charlie’s chest brushed against Scott’s own, his eyes going wide as he looked up at him.
With a surge of confidence, Scott leaned in. He moved one hand to Charlie’s jaw, holding him in place, and then sealed their lips together, a soft, happy sigh escaping him as he made contact.
