With a groan, Tyler slumped down on a bench outside the library to wait for Robin, inspecting his blistered hands. His physiotherapist had suggested he'd use adapted gloves adapted to avoid such injuries, but Tyler had refused after getting a close look at the frumpy handwear. Padded finger gloves in neon colors would definitely tamper with his effortless style. And being stylish felt important to him, especially when he couldn't rely on his physical prowess to charm.
Pressing on one of the water-filled blisters, he did regret his decision a little bit. Still, he would probably turn down the offer again if asked, because he couldn't be caught in those stupid gloves around Robin. In fact, he had especially curated every part of his look for maximum charm. It may look like a regular college guy outfit, but even such a look took careful consideration to put together; a slim white t-shirt with a low v-neck that showed off just a little bit of chest hair, frayed soft jeans with holes on the knees that let some skin peek through, and on his foot was a white sneaker with rainbow-colored laces--which he may have borrowed from a pair of Emmie's roller skates. Tying those laces had been a small coming-out party, even if no one had commented on them yet.
While waiting for Robin, who appeared to be late, Tyler popped a lollipop, looted from Miss Horn's office, in his mouth. The sweetness took away some of the sting from the blisters. Sucking on the candy, Tyler's attention was drawn to the lawn across from the library, where a few students were amusing themselves with a friendly game of soccer. The pitter-patter of shoes on grass and thumps from the bouncing leather ball called to him, singing a melody familiar to his limbs.
Tyler could still feel the sensation of the ball against his left foot, even if that foot wasn't there anymore. Glued in place, it was always there with him. Tilt to the left, run to the right, round the goalie, and score! The roar of the crowd roared in his ears, still ringing from two years ago.
"Sorry, I'm late." Robin suddenly stood right in front of Tyler, blocking out glorious but painful reminders of the past. The other boy panted as if he'd been running and on his light-blue polo-shirt was a big brown stain, looking as if he had got into a fight with a soda dispenser. If Robin had put as much effort as Tyler into his outfit, the effect was now ruined. Luckily, his cuteness made up for the messy clothing.
"You look less... put together than usual," Tyler noted, admittedly enjoying the sight of Robin before him, all hot and bothered. "You didn't have to sprint across campus for me."
"I didn't want you to have to wait," Robin explained, adorably eager to not inconvenience Tyler."Have you been here long?"
Tyler shook his head, making meticulously styled curls fall in his face. It took a lot of effort to make his hair look so effortless."I just got here." Tyler turned up his palms to showcase his blisters. Perhaps it would earn him sympathy points. "I just needed to rest a bit before I tackled the library."
"That looks uncomfortable." Robin looked like he wasn't sure what to say or do.
"I've been through worse..." Tyler mumbled. When he realized the words could be interpreted as passive-aggressive before it was too late to stop them from escaping his lips. Biting his tongue, he looked across the lawn again, toward the students playing soccer. He wondered if Robin knew how to play soccer. Perhaps he could teach him otherwise as payment for tutoring. Surely, Tyler didn't need two legs to instruct. And instruction may come with some physical contact...
Inhaling to focus, Tyler rose from the bench. "I think I'm ready to battle the library now! Come on, Robby."
Eager to get seated next to his tutor, Tyler moved at brisk speed on his crutches. It wasn't until he'd made his way inside, gazing upon a library that was bustling with students--seemingly occupying every table in sight--that he realized Robin was lagging behind.
Just as Tyler turned around, Robin caught up, his breath rapid and pearls of sweat adorning his upper lip. It didn't seem like Robin worked out a lot. Perhaps they could work on that together too...
Sweeping his gaze across the student-filled library, Robin seemed to come to the same conclusion as Tyler. There were some available tables on the upper floor, which you could only get to by traversing narrow spiral staircases, but every table on the bottom floor was occupied. "We could go to my place," Robin suggested. "It's on the bottom floor."
"We don't have to..." Ty flexed his hands, to show that he was up for the challenge. "I can make it up there..." He knew he could, but he also knew it would be a painful task with his already blistered hands. And he wasn't keen on having the eyes of everyone on him while climbing upward. But he also didn't like admitting his limitations, especially not in front of cute boys.
"It's calmer at my place," Robin added as if to give Tyler an out. "So we can focus on studying."
Was that a wink from Robin? Or had Tyler just imagined that? Would they focus on studying or "studying"? Tyler had to know, so he had to accept the offer, without letting on how keen he was. Because maybe that wink hadn't existed.
Still, hanging out with Robin all alone in the other boy's room certainly couldn't be a bad idea for getting closer. It would hopefully allow him to scratch a bit further beneath the guarded surface of his tutor. And maybe there would also be something sweet in it for him.
"Do you have anything to eat at your place?" Tyler asked, flashing a smile at Robin. "I think I need some snacks to be able to focus."
Robin nodded, confirming the presence of snacks at his place. That settled the deal.
"Let's go then!" Tyler declared, excited about the prospect to see Robin's place. Exiting the library, he realized Robin was once again lagging behind. Deciding to take pity on his slow companion, he slowed down a bit. "You show me the way," he said, gesturing in front of him with one of his crutches to show Robin that he should take the lead.
***
Orderly but cozy, Robin's room bore the essence of him. Among neatly stacked books and perfectly folded clothes, hints of a playful personality shone through from details like a few Star Wars lego figurines on the window sill--arranged into a silly battle scene where a light saber had split one of the characters in half--and bed sheets bearing the smiling yellow face of Sponge-Bob.
Sitting atop those bright-colored sheets and sharing a bag of Reese's pieces--although maybe sharing was an overstatement as Tyler had eaten more than a dozen already while he'd only seen Robin nibble on one--with books strewn all around them, Tyler was in seventh heaven. He found this study arrangement infinitely superior to the rickety tables in the library: he had snacks, he had a comfortable soft sitting spot, and, most importantly, Robin was mere inches from him. When they both bent over a textbook to study a certain segment, Tyler felt the warmth of Robin's breath tickle his neck, and when Robin flipped the pages his hands hovered enticingly close to Tyler's right leg.
Supposedly, they were studying Psychology, but Tyler had to admit he didn't remember a word of what they had covered so far. Hopefully, it wasn't necessary for their upcoming test. He was studying though! He was just more focused on trying to decipher every facial expression Robin made and scanning the room for clues hinting toward the other boy's sexuality. Why couldn't he make it easy on Tyler by having a giant rainbow flag emblazoned on his walls?
"Let me get a notepad and I'll write the key factors down for you," Robin said, rising to walk toward his desk. Tyler wasn't sure which key factors he was talking about, as he hadn't been listening in class, but he enjoyed the sight of Robin bending over in front of him. His dark jeans hoisted down slightly, revealing white underwear underneath. Unfortunately, he couldn't quite tell if they were boxers or briefs. Hopefully, he could find out one day.
Hit by a case of nosiness, Tyler peaked toward the open desk drawer in front of Robin, who rummaged around in search of the aforementioned notepad. A hint of color caught his attention. A rainbow perhaps? Leaning forward to get a closer look, which was quite easy since the room wasn't big so the desk was right by the bed, an arch with stripes of color distinctly stood out to him. The shape was found on a familiar brochure depicting a gathering of happy and smiling students. Tyler couldn't read the print but he knew that it said "Vale University LGBTQ society" since he'd seen the same brochure before, in Miss Horn's office. It had laid on her table during the next counseling session after he revealed his sexuality to her.
A clue! A bright shining gay clue! On the inside, Tyler celebrated like when he scored that final goal in the high school soccer finals, while on the outside, he tried to remain composed.
But now what? Should he say something? Going "I saw your gay brochure and I'm super gay too, let's make out!" seemed a bit too forward. And maybe the brochure wasn't even Robin's? Or he'd just taken it to be polite and had forgotten to throw it away.
"Here's the notepad." Having closed the desk, Robin returned to the bed. Was he perhaps sitting a little bit closer to Tyler than before?
"Great," Tyler replied, having forgotten what the notepad was even for. "Can you remind me... what were you going to write down?"
"Remember those key factors, I talked about?" Robin asked, moving toward Tyler to flip through the book. "Let me see which chapter it was in."
"Of course." Tyler had no clue what Robin was talking about, but admitting to that was admitting to his own ignorance, which felt like a faux pas in the current company. "Maybe chapter 5?" he suggested, to cover for his cluelessness.
He reached his hand out to help Robin flip through the book, scooting a bit closer in the process. Not more than an inch remained between them.
"Maybe..." Robin mumbled, seemingly unsure about Tyler's suggestion. Which was fair since he had really just thrown a number out there. Robin bent forward to flip to the end of the book where he could check the index.
And there it was. Not the mysterious key factors. Tyler didn't care about those. But physical contact as Robin's leg nudged against his own, making tingles reverberate through his body. He could feel it in his legs, arms, and in his... groin.
Oh fuck! This could get really embarrassing really fast. Leaning back a little, Tyler adjusted his t-shirt to drape over the burgeoning bulge in his pants. Sometimes, it was damn annoying to be a guy and not be in full control of your physical reactions.
Perhaps wondering why he had moved away, Robin looked over. Not quite knowing what to do with himself and experiencing hormones taking over his body, Tyler simply smiled. Robin smiled back. The world appeared to stop spinning. All that existed were smiles and tingles.
Should he... do something? Robin's lips looked awfully enticing.
Before Tyler could act, or even figure out how to act, Robin looked down into the book again. "I think the answer might actually be in chapter five," he mumbled, a red tint spreading over adorable cheeks. Had he maybe seen Tyler's predicament? Or had he pondered similar queries to Tyler?
"I already looked there," Ty replied, surprised his off-the-cuff guess of chapter had turned out to be correct. He picked up the book, pretending to check the chapter in question but actually placing it conveniently across his crotch to hide any sign of arousal. If he could just take a moment to breathe, the issue would hopefully resolve itself.
A buzz from a phone cut through the room. It took Tyler a few seconds to realize it was his phone, which was placed beside him on the bed, that was ringing.
Having to ponder a moment of how one even answered a phone, since his brain currently wasn't the most well-fueled part of his body, he managed to pick it up and press the answer-button, after registering that it was his aunt who was calling.
"Yes, Aunt Donna," Tyler answered, remembering upon hearing her worried tone that he'd told her he would call her about an hour ago when they had planned to be done studying. "I'm alright. We're about to be done. You can come and pick me up at the Falk building."
He figured perhaps it was for the best he left, as he needed to get home to think in peace, and probably take a cold shower. Right now, with the constant stimuli of Robin's presence, Tyler couldn't formulate any plans on how to proceed.
Hanging up on his aunt, Tyler turned to Robin. "I should go," he said, noticing that the distraction of the phone call had solved the situation in his pants. So it was probably best to head out while that lasted. "My aunt has started to worry. She worries a lot about me these days..."
He grabbed his crutches and lifted himself from the bed. "Perhaps we could... study here from now on," he suggested, looking down to realize there was still a small bulge below his mid-region. It seemed he had declared the situation resolved too soon. "It's easier to focus here. And you have tasty snacks." Tyler flashed a patented smile toward Robin, attempting to distract while he readjusted his pants.
"Of course," Robin replied. The answer came quickly, indicating that he'd liked their study session on home turf. So if he had noticed Tyler's pants situation, he hadn't minded. "Just come here next week and we'll study."
Tyler couldn't wait. He couldn't wait to sit on that bed again. He couldn't wait for more snacks. He couldn't wait for more touches.
Author's Note: This chapter mirrors Chapter 6 in SLB quite closely, especially the conversation at the beginning of the chapter. Then the scene in Robin's dorm room is set right after the scene featured in SLB (which shows them entering the room and getting comfortable). Their legs touching is briefly mentioned in that story, but I wanted to feature that moment more closely in this story.
I must just say that I'm so enjoying writing in Tyler's voice because it's so different from Robin's and he's worried about so different things. And well, he's much more hormonal :)