Devour || AU VegasPete Fanfic

Chapter 17: A Bad Date (Arm×Pol Side Story)

Arm walked out of the elevator not wanting to continue this conversation. His day was ruined anyway. No point in deteriorating it even more.

As Arm stepped into the apartment his phone buzzed in his pocket. A call. He hoped it wasn't his partner calling him and asking him to come over for a new case that just dropped on the never-ending pile.

It wasn't his partner. In fact, it was someone he had been waiting to hear from for quite some time now. It was Pol. They hadn't talked since yesterday morning.

"Hey," Arm couldn't stop the goofy smile spreading on his face as he received the call, his tension melting away in seconds.

"Hi," Pol sounded a little breathless. "Where are you?"

"Home. I took a day off," Arm said as he made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water.

"Oh thank god!"

"Huh?"

"So—excuse me—how would you feel if I tell you—excuse me please—to get ready in thirty minutes?"

"Pol, where are you?" Arm felt an odd mix of excitement and nervousness run through him.

"I may or may not have taken the week off from school and come to Bangkok to spend the time with you." The sound of the city blared through the phone mixing with Pol's voice.

Arm felt a rush of emotions in his chest. He could feel his cheeks hurting from the smile that took over his face. Pol wanted to spend time with him? A whole week?

"Oh?" was all he could manage.

"Yeah. So get ready. I'll be over at your place in 45 minutes. I have a whole day planned."

"Organized," Arm complimented. He felt a weird flutter in his stomach. Was this what they called butterflies? Wasn't Arm a bit too old for this?

"I try," Pol's smile blended with his words.

After hanging up, Arm quickly showered and got dressed. He never put too much attention to what he was wearing but today was special. So he spent ten minutes browsing through his minimalistic closet and picked an outfit decent enough for a whole-day date.

A pair of blue jeans paired with a white shirt and a thin navy blue sweater vest. The weather was a little chilly so the vest wasn't overdoing it. Arm liked the way he looked. He only hoped Pol would like it too.

Pol had never paid attention to what Arm wore before. Would that change now? Now that they were... what were they? Dating? Surely not. Friends? It didn't feel like it anymore.

Arm didn't know if he liked this grey space where he and Pol stood. But he didn't want to push Pol into making a hasty decision. He understood why Pol needed time. He had been with this man for the past six years. He knew him.

Pol never dated a guy before. And things were complicated enough because of that. The fact that the guy in question was Arm made it trickier. They were determined to figure it out though. Even if in the end it turned out that Pol didn't want to date Arm, Arm would make peace with it. He spent six years being friends with him. He could survive a lifetime too. Hopefully.

Arm's phone pinged with a new text.

—

Pol cursed himself for not dressing up. In his defense, he had just made a four-hour train journey but seeing Arm standing in front of him looking so effortlessly beautiful made him mad at himself for not putting in enough effort. Arm deserved better than this.

He was in his pink long-sleeved shirt and black pants. The most basic outfit he owned. Why didn't he think of his outfit while planning this date?

It was a little alien for Pol—this whole friend turned to potential lovers thing. He didn't even know he could be this person—this person with new preferences. Yes, he was accepted by everyone around him wholeheartedly. He was aware that he was very lucky to have this privilege of acceptance. But it was still difficult in some aspects. It was like he was getting to know himself in a new light. And as he looked at himself in a mirror every day he had a nagging feeling that he didn't know the person staring back at him.