Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aaron sat on a high chair, his feet crossed underneath him. In his lap was a sketchpad filled with textured drawing paper. He absentmindedly drew short light strokes on the paper, his eyes fixed on the still image of Levi in front of him. Aaron was drawing for the first time in weeks since he'd met Levi and yet every time that he was in this room, he could hardly get himself to make any progress.
He blamed Levi.
The other boy stood perched in a crouching position that should have been impossible to hold for so long but he'd hardly moved in the past few minutes. A paintbrush in one hand, he made long languid strokes on the canvas, leading bright bursts of colour on the whites. He hadn't explained what he was attempting to create, simply because he'd explained that he didn't know but Aaron was beginning to see it take form, tiny figures without faces bursting with colours. He had no doubt that whatever it was, it would be mind-blowing.
"When were you going to tell me about your father?" Levi spoke suddenly, his voice a low murmur. It took Aaron a moment to register that he'd spoken. Levi was turned away from him, but Aaron made a conscious effort not to make any outlandish facial expressions.
"What about my father?" he asked, in an attempt to steer the conversation away. Levi turned around to look at him. His expression was unimpressed. Aaron sighed. Why hadn't he told him that his father was Tony Stark? Aaron could have said that he thought it didn't matter but he couldn't even convince himself that it was true but it did matter. It always did. But Aaron hadn't wanted it to matter.
"I don't know." He sighed. It had been easier that way. "I guess I thought you would figure it out eventually. Everyone does and you did."
"I did." He didn't look away from his painting. The air of serenity that had existed a moment ago seemed to have disappeared. Aaron wondered if he was reading him wrong.
"So you've been asking around about me?" he asked in a light tone, both in an attempt to lighten the mood and a part of him wanted it to be true. He was being ridiculous, he was sure. He'd only met him a while ago. Levi had casually mentioned his ex-boyfriend once and every part of Aaron had felt as if he might explode. He'd not considered however that Levi might simply not be interested in him. He certainly wasn't easy to read.
"It's not hard to put together. Your dad doesn't exactly stay lowkey. It didn't take long."
So, Aaron hadn't read it wrong. That one definitely felt cold.
"I'm not interested in your money, just so you know." This time he turned around to stare at him. "Or your rich daddy."
"I don't think you are." That had never occurred to him. His hang-ups with introducing himself as his father's son had always had more to do with his father. Never with them and certainly not with Levi. "I didn't say anything about it because I didn't think it was important and because my dad is kind of a touchy subject. Why would you think that?"
