Things had been somehow even worse between Andy and Lonny since the trailer incident. They acted the same and never acknowledged it, but the tension was so much worse now. Every touch felt electric, every glance left the guitarist breathless. He didn't know what to do or how to fix this. Was there anything to fix? Maybe Lonny was reading into things. Maybe he only felt these things and Andy was fine.
He sat on the hotel bed, scrolling through his iPad for a show to watch. It was late at night, and he was exhausted from a long day of traveling. Lonny and Andy were sharing a room... again.
Lonny tried to keep busy and ignore the older man. Maybe not ignore him, just the feelings Lonny had whenever he looked at him or thought about him for too long. Tour would be ending in a few weeks so Lonny just needed to hold out until then.
'Just get through Warped tour.' He thought to himself.
"Damnit!" Andy yelled in frustration as he searched his bag for that damn medicated eczema cream. He was having the worst flare up he has had in a while and it was driving him insane. It was all over his left hand and creeping up the inside of his arm. The telltale sting was also on his chest and back, but he hadnt taken his shirt off to check though he already knew there were flare ups there as well. It was burning and itching so much it was pissing Andy off.
"Everything okay, Andy?" Lonny asked carefully, unsure if he should do anything to help whatever was going on. On one hand he wanted to be a good friend, but on the other...
"Yep, fantastic." He said, not looking up as he dumped everything in his duffle bag out onto his bed. 'I lost my lotion.' Sounded so painfully whiny.
"You seem stressed. What are you looking for?" Lonny asked, completely missing the sarcasm. Lonny was never great at picking stuff like that up, and he was still getting used to Andy's dry humor.
Andy paused, weighing his options. He really didn't want to have to explain this to Lonny. "Nothing important." He said, digging through his things. He could feel Lonny's eyes on him, but ignored them. Andy knew if he met his gaze he wouldn't be able to keep it from him. 'Stupid fucking puppy eyes.' Andy thought to himself.
Lonny gave him an unimpressed look, cocking his head to the side. "Do you want to try that again?" He asked. Andy looked up and sighed in defeat. There was no way he was getting out of this at this point.
"Have you seen a lotion bottle? I can't find it." Andy asked with a sigh. Lonny's brows furrowed and he stood. "What does it look like?" The guitarist asked, wanting to help. He was a little confused why Andy was so worked up over lotion, but decided not to press.
"White with green letters." Andy replied, the cuff of his sleeve gripped in his fist, hiding the inflamed skin. He never really mentioned his eczema to people. It was just a thing that he dealt with and he didn't see why anyone else needed to know about it outside of whoever was buying the soaps and laundry detergent. Yanni knew because of course Yanni knew, and Frank knew because he was the TM and needed to know that sort of thing. Jesse knew about it as well, but that's just because he's known Andy for so long.
"Did you check your toiletry bag?" Lonny went into the bathroom to look. The bag in question was sitting on the sink, so he opened it up, waiting for Andy to respond before he started looking through it.
Andy hummed in reply to indicate that he had not. It hadn't been in there the last time he used it, but it could've ended up in there somehow. All he was really focused on was his damn hand.
Lonny rifled through the small black bag on the sink. Andy seemed very upset about something and seemed to be taking it out on his missing lotion. It seemed like a bit of an overreaction so there had to be something else going on. Maybe the band? Andy had opened up to Lonny about all of that.
It was a hard pill to swallow finding out one of your favorite bands was all but over and all of the horror stories that lead to it, but sadly Lonny had kind of seen it coming after the release of their last album. The obvious pain Andy felt about the whole situation broke Lonny's heart.
Lonny continued to look for the aforementioned tube. He didn't peg the singer as a lotion guy, but he did have nice skin that looked very soft so it would make sense.
Lonny pulled out a white bottle and turned it over in his hands to see if it had the green letters Andy mentioned.
Exederm Flare Control Cream was written across the front of it and Lonny frowned slightly as he looked at it.
"Found it!" Lonny announced, entering the room once more with the bottle in his hand, holding it up for the singer to see it.
"Thank you." Andy said, taking it from the younger man with a grateful smile. "You're welcome. Is it okay?" Lonny replied, looking at Andy with those big brown eyes.
"The bottle?" Andy asked in confusion, turning it in his hand.
"It's Exederm. I'm assuming you have eczema so I was wondering if your flare up was okay." Lonny said. "My brother used to have it as a kid and I know how bad it can get." He elaborated.
Andy looked uncomfortable, glancing around like he was looking for an escape before he sighed. "Yeah no it's not great." He admitted. Andy wasn't sure why he answered honestly, but it was Lonny. He couldn't lie to him.
"Can I help?" Lonny asked without thinking. He wasn't sure how exactly he was going to help, but god forbid him not offering.
"How exactly?" The singer asked. Lonny shrugged vaguely, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know, maybe get any spots that you can't reach?" He tried and them immediately wanted to slap himself.
Andy looked skeptical, eyeing the younger man for a moment before he realized he was being genuine. He weighed his options. This was a horrible idea, this was far too intimate especially after what had happened. How was he supposed to get out of it? Obviously he could just say no thank you... but he couldn't get the words to leave his mouth. Andy stood there for a few beats before nodding. "I think I have a flare up on my back so if you wouldn't mind helping with that spot I would appreciate it."
"Of course! What do you need me to do." Lonny nodded. Andy sat the bottle on the bed, and pulled his hoodie off. Lonny could see the eczema on his back. It wasn't too bad, if Lonny wasn't looking for it he probably wouldn't have seen it.
"I can take care of my hand." Andy said and that was when Lonny looked at the aforementioned appendage. It was bad. It was red, raw, and dry. The skin cracked in some places, and angry lines around it that showed Andy had been scratching at it.
It looked so painful, it broke Lonny's heart a bit. Without much thought, Lonny took the bottle off of the bed, and opened it, pouring a small amount onto his fingers. Andy was now sitting on his bed with his back to Lonny, waiting for him to apply the cream.
"Just a thin layer, you don't need a lot." Andy said after a few beats. Lonny nodded, and then chuckled at himself for it. Andy had his back turned, he couldn't see the nod.
Lonny rubbed the product in between his fingers, trying to warm it up some before he reached out, and pressed it into the skin. Andy shivered ever so slightly, but quickly relaxed as Lonny gently massaged the cream into the inflamed area. "Does that hurt?" Lonny asked gently, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"No, it's fine." Andy reassured him. This was very odd. No one has done this for him since he was a kid. It felt strangely calming. The tension between them was still there, but it fell to the background as he relaxed into Lonny's gentle touch.
"Okay I think that should be good." Lonny said, sitting down on the bed next to Andy. The lean muscles and tattoos distracting him.
"Thank you for-." Andy started to say as he turned to face Lonny, but before he could take the bottle from him, Lonny carefully took his left hand into his own, and examined it. His brows were knitted together with worry before he poured some cream into his hand. "You don't-."
"I want to." Lonny cut him off before he began applying the product. Lonny didn't know what he was doing or why he was doing it. This was so stupid, he needed to stop before he got in too deep.
Andy wanted to argue, but didn't have the strength to do it. He allowed Lonny to help him reluctantly, knowing full well that it was a terrible idea. "Just avoid the broken skin." He instructed. Andy's heart was thudding in his chest, Lonny's feather light touches made his skin feel too warm and his breathing too heavy.
Lonny nodded and did as he was told, very careful as he moved up Andy's arm. Lonny's hands were soft and warm. It felt nice. Andy didn't get taken care of very often.
There was a small patch on his chest so Lonny took a bit more cream, and smoothed it over the area. Andy's breath hitched at the gentle touch and he looked at Lonny. He couldn't form words so he just stared, studying the guitarist's face as he concentrated on the task at hand. He had a bit of stubble growing in. It was really attractive on him.
Lonny looked up and met Andy's gaze. That was when it really hit him that he was sitting on a bed with a shirtless Andy, and his hand resting on his bare chest. The silence was thick between them, but neither seemed to be able to move from their spots.
Andy held his breath, unmoving as he waited for... well, something to happen. Lonny's hand slowly dropped to his side, breaking the connection, but the tension was ever present. It loomed over them like a dark cloud threatening to unleash the storm that lies within.
Lonny couldn't look away from the singer's icy blue gaze, his heart racing as he tried and failed to take some sort of action. What exactly? Lonny was unsure. All he knew was that he had the most beautiful man he's ever seen sitting shirtless in front of him and all he could do was gawk.
Andy leaned in- like he had no control over his own movements- brushing a soft kiss to the corner of Lonny's mouth.
"Thank you, Lonny." He murmured into his skin before pulling away. He stood up, and pulled his hoodie back on, grabbing his phone off the bed as he made his way to the door. "I'm gonna call my parents, I'll be back." He said. Andy's heart was pounding in his ears. He did not just do that.
Lonny watched the door close behind the singer and just sat there in stunned silence. He slowly lifted his hand up, his fingers brushing over the spot Andy had kissed.
'Well... now what?' Lonny thought to himself, still feeling the ghost of the singer's touch.
Andy sat down on the floor just outside the door, trying to calm his nerves as he stared up at the ceiling. This couldn't happen. Lonny worked for Andy! There were so many variables, so many things that could go wrong...
So many ways Andy could get hurt.
Andy didn't want to trust anyone this close to his passions again, let alone in a romantic sense. The band he had fought for since he was fourteen was destroyed over a poor choice in a friend. What would happen if Andy opened his heart to the wrong person? What would happen if he let himself fall in love?
"Well... now what?" He said out loud with a long sigh.
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Hello! I am so sorry it has taken so long to put this out, January has been a train wreck 💀 we are nearing the end of this story though so fear not! I won't be edging y'all for much longer LMAO