McLennon Smutshots (Lowercase) *Cross Posted on AO3*

party skippers

1964

the party was crowded, packed wall to wall with various artists the boys shared the charts with as well as some strangers they had never once laid their eyes on. but it was coming out to be all the same, the lads came to find. everyone here in the states—well, more specifically—california, were rich and all the girls were easy. but for john and paul, they didn't care or want anyone else tonight. they were each lost in their own little separate worlds somewhere in the elaborate main room. paul had lost sight of john once already when he went to pour himself a drink, but finally he found him again leaning his back against the wall in a location no one else was at, thin lips wrapped around a cigarette. people tried to talk to him as they passed him by but it was clear he was shutting them down, for they all left quickly after uttering a word. he had shed off his jacket someplace, and his tie was loosened around his neck. his hair a bit unkempt from the lack of care john had about it this late in the evening. he was wearing sunglasses inside the place, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for john to do. he liked to hide his eyes sometimes, especially if he was in one of those isolated moods again. he looked like he may feel like an outcast at this moment, more likely than not eyeing the people around him while idly smoking, which was merely something he did to pass the time and/or calm his nerves. he was a beautiful mess, paul thought, a smile curling his lips upward at the sight of him from all the way across the room.

paul was ignoring a wealthy bird beside of him yapping his ears off about nothing paul cared for just to watch john. he didn't do it discreetly, either. at that thought, he took a sip out of his cup, a firm but not too stiff whiskey being the contents inside. he glanced over at the girl and grinned, replying a quick "yeah" or an "oh, i didn't know that" to try and remain friendly while she kept going with her story. she said something about how her father finally allowed her to come here to this party. he wondered if she was of age for a moment, but he wasn't going to pull her so he reckoned it didn't matter all that much how old she was. she meant nothing to him. paul was very openly bored, he thought, with the words she had to say. when he got lost in his head again, he looked back over at john. and she didn't mind that considering he was nodding his head and humming along in response for a couple minutes, but she still couldn't take the hint that paul was clearly uninterested in her. she didn't look in the direction paul's eyes were focused on, which was a nice thing, paul supposed. she was too caught up in her speaking to look into it that much. but after paul stayed keen on watching—well, admiring him, rather—for quite some time, he thought john may appreciate his company if he made his way over to chat. they've kept their distance long enough; it's time they linked up tonight. brian made sure to tell the two boys that they try and give each other enough space so that nobody could think anything more of them. and that in america, things get blown way out of proportion enough—think of how bad things could get if they're caught. he found out about the relationship between them quickly after discovering the group, considering john straight up told him. he told him because he knew he could trust brian, he himself being a queer man. sometimes, the pair wondered if that was a good move or not; perhaps they could have held it together tightly under wraps. but anyway—that's besides the point. right now, paul made the decision to quietly excuse himself from the young lady, saying he was very tired and was thinking of heading to a bedroom upstairs. he explained how he'd been on his feet all day up until now and wanted to rest. this was a rented home brian had booked for the weekend, after all. she was upset that paul didn't invite her up, but he didn't give her a second glance as he got up from the quaint little loveseat, immediately making a beeline to the man he wanted to speak to more than anybody else in the room. she could find another bloke to blabber on to in no time, he reassured his own mind. she surely had enough stories to tell.

as he approached his confidential lover, he noticed a smile forming upon john's face at his arrival. john already knew paul was staring at him; he hadn't taken his eyes off of him, either. he'd just gotten a brand new pair of prescription sunglasses, something he never had the chance to have before because they were quite expensive. it's new for john, having all this fame and fortune. he didn't grow up poorly, but extra things like how he now owned a pair of shades that he could see perfectly out of clear across the room made him feel a bit more privileged than he was used to. paul likely didn't know he was watching him. he probably thought he couldn't see across the room, which any other day he wouldn't have. but regardless, john caught him staring, and he knew it would only be a matter of time before he'd actually come over here. he saw how he paid little attention to the girl that used to sit beside him. it made him feel warm inside almost, to know that paul was studying him, not bothering to talk to the obviously above-average girl. she was all curves, john didn't know how paul could ever consider him over her. however, strangely, even as he felt like he wasn't wanted at this party, paul's sights set on him made him think at least his boyfriend wanted something to do with him. and he also hoped that from a distance, maybe he didn't look that bad to paul. he hoped he was enough for him, really. (and, in all honesty, he was stumped on how paul could favor him opposed to the bird.)