Their second date consisted of dinner, a movie, and then a walk around campus until Sean insisted that Lawson should get some sleep and walked him up to his dorm. They stood outside of the door looking at one another for a long moment before Sean laughed and stepped forward, closing the distance between the two of them to press a quick kiss to Lawson's mouth. It wasn't exactly the kiss he knew both of them were thinking about having, but Lawson was happy they were saving that one for later, and smiled up at Sean pleasantly.
"Don't look at me like that," Sean demanded, expression soft and Lawson raised his eyebrows. They were still standing incredibly close together, sharing the same air, and Sean's eyes seemed to have a hard time focusing on something other that Lawson's mouth.
"Like what?"
"All cute and happy like that," Sean claimed, squeezing his eyes shut before taking a big step away from the other boy. "You have no idea what you do to me, Lawson".
"I'm guessing it's similar to what happens to me every time around you," Lawson pointed out, frowning a little bit because Sean had moved so far away.
"Lawson, I need to ask you something," Sean claimed after a long pause, in which Lawson could admit he was shamefully checking out the other boy.
"Yeah?"
"Would you... Lawson- fuck, what's your middle name?" Sean inquired and Lawson's eyebrows shot up.
"James".
"Would you, Lawson James Murphy, please officially be by boyfriend," Sean finished, a small smirk on his face because they both knew the answer was yes.
Only Lawson didn't give it right away, only stared at Sean with wide eyes, because he had made a promise to himself earlier in the week, and he thought he would have a little more time before he had to fulfill it.
Before you become official, you need to tell him about Nathan.
At Lawson's clear hesitance, Sean's eyes got incredibly large. "Do you... not want to date me?"
"No!" Lawson exclaimed. "I mean, of course I do. I really want to date you, Sean. You know I do. It's just... I need to tell you something first, and then you can decide if you want to take it back or not, Alright?" His teeth tugged at his lower lip, partly in nerves, and partly to keep himself from begging the other boy to not take it back, even before he shared his secret.
Slowly, blue eyes unwavering from Lawson's brown ones, Sean nodded. "Okay... I'm listening".
Lawson didn't immediately speak, thinking about the best way to tell him. Nathan and I used to have sex. A lot. Or, you know my friend Nathan who you've actually become pretty close to? Yeah? Well we had sex in a hot tub before. Only horrible options ran through his head, and it was only when he notice Sean was getting increasingly nervous that he blurted out, "Nathan and I used to have an arrangement in high school!"
He then cringed because his neighbors had probably been able to hear that, and the one on the left was prone to yelling at him and Wes whenever they were too loud.
Sean's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Uh... I'm not sure what that means. What kind of arrangement?" Sean asked, and Lawson turned his face away, staring down the hall and trying to pretend like there wasn't a tomato colored blush on his face. "Oh". Sean's voice was very small. "Like... a sexual arrangement?"
"You could call it that," Lawson grumbled, biting his lip again and turning his face towards Sean, who, to his surprise, threw his head back and laughed.
"You, and your friend Nathan who is very attractive, and now single had an arrangement in high school? He's the guy you've have sex with?" All of this was said through light, sarcastic sounding laughter that made Lawson want to cringe. Instead, he scoffed.
"It wasn't romantic or anything. I was telling the truth when I said I never had romantic feelings for a man before. It was just..." Lawson cut off and shook his head. "It was nothing. Literally just a sort of... if stress reliever. It doesn't even matter really. Nathan loves Glenn, and I really like you, and I do want to date you but I wanted to make sure to tell you before we started dating in case it came up in conversation and you thought I was hiding it from you". Sean just looked at him, eyes slightly narrowed. "Sean?"
With a sigh, and a little head nod, the boy said, "thank you for telling me".
Lawson lip was getting sore from chewing it so much, but he still continued to. "Does it bother you?" Something in his voice caused Sean to smile and move closer again, back into touching distance.
"Not enough that it changes anything," Sean assured and Lawson breathed a long sigh of relief, leaning forward to press his face into Sean's shoulder.
"Thank god," he breathed, and Sean's arms came to wrap around his waist. "Hey... does that mean-"
"That I still want you to be your boyfriend?" Sean asked into his ear. "Yes, I believe it does".
Unable to help himself, Lawson released a high pitched happy noise before grinning into the other boy's shoulder. "Well," he said, speaking only after he had composed himself and Sean had stopped laughing at his joy, "then I guess I'm your boyfriend".
They were already pretty much hugging, so Lawson's arms came out around Sean's shoulders to complete it, and Sean sighed in content against his neck before his lips moved to that spot below Lawson's jaw that made him squirm. After discovering it the weekend before, Sean had pressed his fingers into the spot many times just to see Lawson jolt, but this was the first time since that day that his lips had grazed it. Lawson groaned softly, and Sean kissed it again, and then again, and then he laved his tongue over it slowly.
Tangling a hand in the back of Sean's hair, Lawson pulled the other boy's head back so they could make eye contact.
The tension between them was insane, and the room behind him was empty since Wes was with Del. They could very easily-
"Fuck," Sean groaned before gently pushing Lawson away. "You should go inside now before I maul you in your hallway".
When Lawson swallowed, it felt incredibly thick going down. "Is that an option?" He inquired, completely sincere and Sean swore, bringing his hands up to cover his face before speaking.
"Your friends will ask us when we made out the first time and we'll have to say, the same night that Lawson admitted to fucking Nathan," Sean groaned into his hands before dropping them. "Not tonight".
"Okay," Lawson agreed before leaning forward and pressing a short kiss to the other boy's cheek. "Leave me then to get off all by myself". Another groan, but this time Sean began to walk away from him, down the hall.
"Enjoy the rest of your night, Lawson," Sean called over his shoulder, not giving Lawson anymore time to tease him, because the second later he was trudging down the stairs.
With a grin to himself, Lawson pulled out his keys and opened his door. Despite what he had said to Sean, he didn't masturbate once he crawled into bed. Instead, he took out his phone and called Nathan.
***
As Lawson got ready the next day, he spoke to his mother over speaker phone, though he feared he would have to take her off of it if she kept making those squealing noises.
"Mom, please calm down," Lawson urged as he raked his hands through his light brown hair, trying to get it to do something good. Quite miserably, he was failing. "It's not that big of a deal".
"A boyfriend!?" She yelled in response before making more happy noises. "You have a boyfriend?!"
"I'm not going to repeat myself," Lawson insisted, trying to sound stern. He was glad his mother couldn't see his smile. "I don't really get why you're freaking out anyways. We've only been dating for like a week, and he's only been my boyfriend for..." Lawson paused to check the time on his watch. "Thirteen hours".
"This is perfect!" She claimed, and Lawson took a seat on the end of his bed to put his shoes on. "I want to approve of him before you get too far into the relationship. When can you two over for dinner? Are you doing anything tonight? Or tomorrow works, though it's a sunday and we'll have to put the girls to bed a little earlier-"
"Mom," Lawson interrupted. "Not... Not this weekend. Probably not even next weekend either. I don't want to scare him away so soon, you know".
"Lawson," She shot back and he huffed.
"Fine. I'll... I'll talk to him about it but no guarantees". Another happy noise left his mom and Lawson rolled his eyes. "Calm down".
"Oh, you know I can't," She was saying, but Lawson was only partially paying attention as there was a knock on his door. He checked the time again, and noted Sean was a few minutes early, but he didn't mind.
"Hey mom, sorry to interrupt but I actually need to go," he cut in, picking up his phone before taking it off of speaker and pressing it to his ear so she couldn't say anything embarrassing when he opened the door for Sean.
While he was waiting for Lawson, Sean had been looking down at his phone, but the second the door opened he raised his head and smiled. For a moment, Lawson allowed himself to be distracted by how good Sean looked wearing fitted dark jeans and a button down- the top ther buttons were unbuttoned and Lawson was extremely tempted to lean forward and bite Sean's collarbone- but then his mother asked, "is it him?" in his ear, loud enough that Sean apparently heard because his eyebrows shot up. "It is, isn't it".
Before Lawson could respond, Sean leaned towards him, close enough that their mouths were nearly touching. While maintaining eye contact, he said, "Hi Mrs. Murphy," into the speaker and Lawson's eyes got incredibly wide. He jerked away from the other boy as his mother made a noise like a scream directly into his ear.
"Oh my god, mom. I need to go. I love you, and I'll talk you later," Lawson demanded, all the while that his mom yelled is he cute, he sounds cute! Into his ear. He cut off her voice by hanging up as he glared at Sean, who smiled smugly.
"Well, am I cute?" Sean teased, leaning forward slightly, and Lawson attempted to stay annoyed, but failed with a short huff of amusement.
"You are," he admitted. "And you're lucky for it or I would have already knocked your teeth out". Sean laughed, because they both knew at this point Lawson didn't really get angry with him, and then held his hand out.
"Come on. Nathan's probably waiting".
After their date the night before, Lawson had called Nathan to inform him that Sean had been educated of their past, and while he seemed perfectly okay with it, it still might be a little weird for a while. Upon hearing this, Nathan had said, "Don't worry, I'll fix this," before hanging up on him without explanation. That came five or so minutes later when he received two text messages, one from Sean, and one from Nate.
Nathan:
You me and Sean are getting lunch tomorrow to talk it out
Sean:
I'm not dead, I know you were probably wondering. Also, we're apparently getting lunch tomorrow with Nathan because he wants to "talk it out," whatever that means. I'm guessing you told him?
And so there they were, in a coffee shop thirteen hours later waiting for Nathan to arrive. "I honestly have no fucking clue what he's going to say," Lawson admitted, shifting nervously in his chair and Sean reached under the table to put a hand on Lawson's knee, stilling him.
"Why are you freaking out so much? You've told me everything, right?" Sean asked, and Lawson nodded quickly.
"Yeah, of course I did... It's just, well, Nathan's kind of an idiot, as you've probably realized, and I'm concerned that he will feel the need to give details or something, which is something I really don't want to relive, and I'm sure you don't want to here," Lawson explained, bringing his hand to Sean's under the table. "Thank you".
"For?" Sean asked, turning his head to look at Lawson.
"For being so understanding with this," Lawson explained, and Sean looked at him for a moment longer before sighing heavily and leaning forward to press his forehead against Lawson's.
"Why wouldn't I be understanding? I like you, like, a shit ton, if you haven't realized. What happened in the past doesn't really matter for anything except the fact that it made you who you are today, and I think you're wonderful, so maybe I should actually thank him," Sean said, voice low and Lawson laughed softly.
"Don't do that. His ego will get even bigger". A snort left Sean at that, and his mouth parted to say something else, but before sound could leave his lips, they were interrupted.
"See, I told you that you were dating," Nathan said happily, taking the seat across from Sean and smiling at the two of them. Reluctantly, the two embracing boy's pulled back from one another.
"At the time you brought it up, we weren't," Sean pointed out and Nathan just shrugged. He must have already gone to the front and ordered, because he was cupping a back coffee between his hands. His dark blue eyes focused on Sean, completely ignoring Lawson.
"Would you like to talk about it?" Nate questioned, suddenly serious and Lawson looked between the two boys. Sean seemed completely at ease, shoulders relaxed and eyes half lidded.
"Did any of it happen because you had feelings of one another?" Sean inquired, voice steady. In response, Nathan snorted.
"No," he assured with a head shake. "Not at all".
"Then I guess I really don't care".
Nathan looked at him for a second, eyes slightly narrowed, and then he shrugged and said, "okay," before asking what they had been up to lately.
It was a relief to Lawson to be off the topic of him and Nathan, and onto the topic of him and Sean, so he eagerly told his friend of their whereabouts over the last week.
"So you've already been on... what, like four dates?" Nathan asked and Sean shrugged.
"Technically two official dates. We still do stuff during the week but they aren't really dates," Sean explained, and Lawson nodded in agreement, bringing his eyes from his boyfriend to Nathan, who had seemingly stopped paying attention to them.
His eyes were on the front of the coffee shop, mouth slightly parted as if he was seeing something that surprised him, and Lawson glanced over his left shoulder to see what exactly had caught Nate's attention.
Of course.
Glenn was standing in the doorway, hesitating, his expression a mix between happy and conflicted, and Lawson glanced back to Nathan. A soft elbow was driven into his side, and then Sean's lips were by his ear, whispering, "who is that?"
It didn't really occur to Lawson before that Sean really had never seen Glenn clearly before. The only time the two of them had been in the same place at the same time was that night they picked Glenn up at the bar, and even then, it was dark out and Sean had only been viewing him from a distance.
"Glenn," Nathan answered, having somehow heard Sean's whispered question. Sean's eyes widened a bit, and then he looked back towards the front at Glenn, who didn't seem to know what to do.
"How much longer do you guys have?" Lawson inquired, referring to the break that Nathan and Glenn were currently on. Nathan's throat constricted as he swallowed.
"A week," he admitted before his lips curled up into a smile, eyes still on his boyfriend. When Lawson turned his head, Glenn was also grinning, eyes only on Nathan as he crossed the busy cafe towards them.
"Looks like you get to meet another one of my friends," Lawson said to Sean, and then a smiling Glenn was upon them, attention still on a single person.
"Hi," he greeted, voice airy and Nathan just tipped his head back to look up at the other boy, eyes very bright with joy. The look reminded Lawson that this entire time without Glenn, Nathan had only had a fraction of his usual happiness.
Slowly, Glenn's eyes shifted over to Lawson, and his smile turned into something different. "Lawson".
"Hey Glenn," Lawson greeted softly and then Glenn's eyes were focused on Sean. "Oh! This is Sean. Sean, Glenn".
"Nice to meet you," Glenn greeted pleasantly, shaking Sean's hand.
"You as well," Sean said, and Glenn's eyes slid over to Lawson then, his expression knowing. With a roll of his eyes, Lawson squeezed Sean's hand beneath the table.
"I just wanted to say hi," Glenn explained, addressing Nathan now. "I know... well, I wasn't sure really what to do since we didn't talk about what happens if we run into one another, so I should probably just-"
"Sit," Nate concluded for him with a grin, and Glenn's eyes widened a little bit.
"Are... are you sure? I mean, is that okay with you? I understand if you don't want me to-"
"Glenn, sit down. Of course I'm sure," Nate cut in again, and Glenn smiled and took the seat across from Lawson. Immediately, he turned his entire body towards Nathan.
"Why aren't you eating?" Glenn asked, and Nathan's eyes got very wide. Lawson looked down at the muffins him and Sean had ordered, and then the table in front of Nathan, which only had his coffee.
"I, um-" Nathan began, eyes wide but Glenn tisked and got to his feet. "You're leaving because-"
"I still haven't ordered," Glenn explained. "I'm also going to get you food, and your going to eat if, even though it won't be lettuce or something equally terrible".
With that, Glenn left, and Lawson laughed at Nathan's ashamed expression. "What just happened?" Sean asked, looking between Lawson and Nathan.
"You see, Nathan gets obsessive about his weight and refuses to eat anything but vegetables and protein shakes," Lawson explained, leaning into his boyfriend side. The tables here had benches for seating, so it was easily for them to slide together. Sean's arm came around his waist absentmindedly.
"Really?" Sean asked, addressing Nathan who shrugged.
"I used to be overweight as a kid and Nico Dayton- Glenn's ex-boyfriend- used to beat me up because of it," he grumbled with a frown. "I can't help it".
"Glenn force feeds him unhealthy things like French fries all the time," Lawson said, and a second later a pastry was dropped down on the table before Nathan, and Glenn was sliding back onto the bench, this time with a coffee mug.
"Has he been doing that often?" Glenn asked Lawson, gesturing to Nathan, who made a face.
"I don't know," Lawson admitted, thinking back. He recalled his lunch with Nathan, all those weeks ago, when Nate had only picked at a salad. Then he recalled going to Nathan's apartment to pick him up for tennis and gathering all of those wrappers from cheap processed foods. "I think he goes through phases". With a sigh, Glenn looked at Nathan, who shot Lawson a less than pleased look.
"I have not. All I ate was absolute shit until I gained like ten pounds, and then fell back into old ways to lose it. I'm fine now. Really-"
"You can't just do that," Glenn said, exacerbated, and Nathan just smiled fondly at him.
"This is what happens when you're not around to take care of me". Glenn's cheeks pinkened a little bit, but his eyes rolled and he fixed Sean and Lawson with a see what I have to put up with look.
It was easy for the four of them to fall into conversation, like Glenn hadn't been absent at all, and Lawson felt himself relaxing into Sean upon realizing that perhaps this wouldn't be as awkward as he had been expecting.
Glenn asked the two of them a lot of questions about their relationship, wanting to know when it began, how it began, Why it began, and every other question possibly before Lawson laughed and told him to stop.
Then they moved on to talk about Glenn, and how he'd been lately, which resulted in Glenn learning Sean had also been present that night he was drunk, and apologizing profusely while covering his face with his hands in embarrassment. Of course Sean had insisted it was fine, but it took Nathan reaching up and linking his fingers with Glenn for the other boy to uncover his face, still looking sheepish.
Quite easily, Sean managed to make Glenn forget about his embarrassment but asking him about his relationship with Nathan. The question made Glenn grin and lean into the boy at his side.
"It was very surprising for us all, I assure you," Lawson said to Sean, who's eyebrows raised when Nate took his eyes off of Glenn for a split second to glare at him.
Glenn just laughed prettily and gave a brief summary of the beginning of their relationship that ended with a comment about Nathan trying to remove his pants every time they kissed.
Looking a bit sheepish, Nathan shrugged. "At that point I didn't really get that people kissed just go kiss. I never made you do anything though".
"Why'd you even like him, Pearson?" Lawson inquired. "I mean, he's fine now, but in high school he was a total douche".
Glenn sighed softly, his hand pulling from Nathan's to instead come up and run through the other boy's hair. Lawson had spent enough time around the two of them to know the action came naturally, and Nathan's eyes fluttered closed. "He wasn't. He just... acted like that, but he was a good person. You could see it in the way he talked to his parents or devoted himself to tennis or how he'd make Jean laugh when he was clearly having a bad day," Glenn trailed off and Nathan turned his head to kiss the other boy's cheek, resulting in a warm smile from Glenn. "He wasn't really mean to other people".
"He did have sex with a lot of people and then not pay them any mind," Lawson reminded. The other boy didn't seem too bothered by the idea of his boyfriend's past sex life, and Lawson wondered what that felt like: not caring that your boyfriend had slept with so many people on the past because you were confident their future was yours. Lawson squeezed Sean's hand beneath the table at that thought, and the other boy shot him a surprised look out of the corner of his eye that Lawson grinned at.
"I didn't mean to..." Nate trailed off. "It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone. It was just... after eight years of Nico, and physically changing myself to be more appealing, it was frustrating that only then people started showing interest in me, so when they hit on me, I just did what they wanted, because it made me feel good about myself, but it also made me hate them in a way, because I knew they weren't interested in me because of my personality, so rejecting them afterwards was easy. Jean was really the first person I slept with who actually cared about me, and Glenn was the first to actually see who I really was and love me for it. It's why I didn't like you for so long, Lawson, until you actually made an effort to become my friend during our senior year. I figured you just wanted to sleep with me because I was attractive". The confession had Lawson's eyes growing wide, since Nathan was never really straight forward about his feelings, at least, not around him. Even Glenn seemed to be a bit startled.
"Have I ever told you why it happened?" Lawson inquired, and Sean shifted a little at his left. These were some of the embarrassing details that he had been hoping to avoid, but Lawson didn't want Nathan, his friend, to think y what had happened between them happened for a reason that hurt his feelings.
"Not really," Nathan admitted, and Lawson sighed.
"Okay, well... do you know Lily Davis? She went to Valley, so you probably would have gone to middle school with her". Nathan nodded immediately. "Okay, well, as you know, my mom is really young, so other parents weren't exactly nice to her while I was growing up, except for Lily Davis's parents. We weren't close, but we'd hang out sometimes while growing up, so I had a crush on her for like, most of my childhood, and then we ran into one another in high school after losing touch and we hung out for a couple of weeks or whatever and then I asked her out and she said no, so I was upset and I wanted to forget and I- to some extent- trusted you, and from what I heard you weren't about to get the wrong idea and get feelings for me if we slept together, so I just kind of went for it".
It was quiet for a minute or two longer, and then Nathan began to laugh, startling the three of them. "Okay, So I may or may not have been kind of friends with Lily Davis-"
"Oh my god, you were having sex with her," Lawson accused, and Nate just held up a hand.
"Just listen to me man". He didn't deny it though, which spoke for itself. "So, we were friends, and I remember her telling me that a boy from my school asked her out but she was pretty sure he was gay so she said no".
To Lawson surprise, Sean and Glenn immediately both joined Nathan in his laughter while he repeated, "oh my god," over and over. "Has everyone known I was gay this whole time?!"
"I knew immediately," Nathan claimed with a nod, and Lawson looked at Glenn, who was chewing his lip and avoiding eye contact.
"Glenn?"
"I didn't know," Glenn claimed. "I just... wasn't all that surprised when I found out is all".
Finally, Lawson looked at Sean, who met his eyes and then laughed shortly. "Lawson, the first time we met you literally gaped at me in the middle of math class. I was pretty sure you were gay". Glenn and Nathan began to laugh again, and Lawson groaned, pressing his face into Sean's shoulder. "Hey. It worked out well for me".
Lawson managed a hum, but he still didn't lift his head up.
They hung out of a little while longer, just talking and laughing, before Nate shot Glenn a surprised look and then they both excused themselves, hands clasped as they walked towards the back of the café.
After their departure, it was quiet for a minute, and then Sean let out a little laugh. "Are they-"
"Going to have sex in the bathroom?" Lawson finished and Sean nodded shortly. "You bet". A little chuckle left Sean, and he leaned into Lawson's side, dropping his head onto his shoulder. It made Lawson smile, an with his right hand he brought his coffee to his mouth as he brought the left to the small of Sean's back.
"Wow," the other boy said, shifting a bit into his side. "I have to say, Glenn's not at all what I was expecting. I guess I was expecting someone more... wild after seeing him drunk that night".
"Yeah," Lawson agreed softly, turning his face into Sean's hair, not caring that they were two boys practically cuddling in a public place. "Now you know why we were so concerned. Because that's not Glenn at all". Sean nodded against his neck and Lawson looked off in the direction Nathan and Glenn had gone in, a small smile on his face. "Glenn brings out the best in him. He's happier when Glenn's around".
"I can see that now".
In an attempt to look at the other boy, Lawson turned his head and shifted his gaze downwards, but it was impossible with Sean resting on his shoulder.
"Hey, you're sure you're okay with this?" He asked softly. "Him and I being friends? What happened between us meant nothing to both of us, I promise you".
Sean lifted his head from his shoulder to give him a pleasant smile. "I'm really okay with it, Lawson. I was okay with it even before I met Glenn and saw how good they are together. I trust you, Lawson".
"I'm glad," Lawson whispered, and Sean's head dropped down on his shoulder again. "Hey. How do you feel about meeting my family?"
Where Lawson was expecting surprise, he instead received a soft chuckle into his neck. "I figured that would come up since I heard you talking on the phone with your mom this morning... do you actually want me to meet them though? I understand that you being ready and your mom being ready are two different things".
"I want you to meet them," Lawson said quickly.
"Okay".
"What?"
"I said okay," Sean repeated softly. "As in, Okay, I'd love to meet your family".
This was slightly surprising to Lawson, since they had only been dating for a week, and meeting his family seemed like kind of a big deal. Unable to stop himself, he grinned. "Really? You do?"
At this, Sean sat up, lifting his head from his shoulder so he could look at him. "Well don't sound so surprised," he began, sternly but with a smile. "I like you, and I'd like to meet the people who raised you".
Without pause, Lawson leaned forward to press his forehead against Sean's looking deeply into his eyes. "Is not the time? Because I'd like to kiss you".
Sean chuckled and pulled back slightly, but to sooth the rejection he pushed a hand through Lawson's hair. "I don't think we should make out in public".
Lawson groaned, but cracked a small smile. "Okay".
Sean dropped his hand and took a sip of his coffee. "So, what exactly should I be expecting when I meet your family?"
Excitedly, Lawson began to recite all the entertaining stories about his family he could remember, reveling in the way Sean laughed along. There were many- many- stories, so they were still talking about them when Glenn and Nate returned to the table, both of them flushed and slightly disheveled, but also happy.
Only Nate took his seat, and Glenn stood behind him, hands on his boyfriend's shoulder.
"You leaving?" Lawson asked and Glenn nodded twice. Immediately, Nathan's head snapped back to look at the other boy.
"You are? Why? Stay," He demanded and Glenn cracked a smile.
"I wasn't going to tell you his, but I had just come in to get a coffee before class, which I ended up skipping, so I should probably do find someone I can copy notes from," Glenn admitted, and Nathan's eyes widened slightly. Lawson knew why.
For the month that Glenn had been distant, he had used the excuse, "I can't, I have class," many many times against Nathan. The idea of him skipping just showed him much had changed.
"Why didn't you say something?" Nate asked, head still tilted back and Glenn laughed, leaning over his face.
"Because I knew you'd make me leave," Glenn admitted and Nathan hummed before reaching a hand up to the front of Glenn's shirt, pulling him down to kiss his lips, for far longer and deeper than they probably should have in public. Sean shot Lawson a look, as if to say this is why we didn't kiss, and Lawson cracked a smile before kicking Nathan's leg under the table.
The two boys pulled away from one another, grinning, and Nathan whispered a soft, "I love you," which Glenn repeated back immediately.
When Glenn looked up, he met Lawson's eyes and winked before saying. "I'll see you guys later. It was nice to meet you, Sean. Nate, I'll see you next weekend?"
"Yeah," the dark haired boy agreed.
They all watched Glenn leave, and Nathan sighed loudly, dropping his head into his hand. "I love him," he breathed softly and Lawson kicked him again under the table.
"So you take us out to lunch so you can have sex in the bathroom," Lawson question, though he wasn't at all offended, because Nathan was happy, and it had given him time to talk to Sean about meeting his family. At the question, Nathan looked sheepish but unashamed.
"What?" He asked, shrugging. "It was a good opportunity".
***
Nathan went back to his apartment, and Lawson went back to Sean's after the other boy promised laughably bad movies and popcorn. If Lawson was being honest, he didn't need any motivation to go to Sean's apartment. It was bigger than his dorm, colder than his dorm, and Sean was there.
"You want your blanket?" Sean asked as soon as Lawson jumped on his couch. He had been there enough times that Sean had started referring to Lawson's favorite blanket as his, which made him feel warm inside. Instead of agreeing though, Lawson rolled onto his back and extended his arms out towards the other boy.
"Be my blanket," he suggested, and Sean just looked at him for a minute before stepping forward and taking his hand.
"Okay," he agreed softly. "But I want to talk to you first, because you told me about you and Nathan, even though you were nervous about it, so I want to tell you something as well".
Immediately, Lawson sat up, eyes wide, and Sean took the seat next to him, still holding his hand. "Okay?" He asked, shifting nervously since he honestly had no clue what he was about to say.
"So... you know how I told you that I'm still friends with my ex-boyfriend?" Sean asked, his eyes on his blank television screen. Lawson nodded, nerves growing. "Well, I don't know if this is important, but we still like... talk".
"Well he's your friend, so I figured you would," Lawson claimed, and Sean just squinted a little, still staring ahead.
"Right, and I only see him that way, but the thing is... well, at first when I can't to school here, even though we weren't together and even though I knew he didn't have feelings for me I still... well, I kinda still had feelings for him. I mean, I didn't love him anymore because we had officially broken up over a year ago, but I still liked him like... a lot, but then I met you, and you were honestly all I could think about. And then when he called me I wasn't really excited anymore and I wasn't upset when he didn't call me and I stopped thinking about him like he was still my boyfriend. Really. I swear. He's just a friend to me now and I don't even think about him anymore it's just, we still talk sometimes and like he calls me once and awhile and I wanted to tell you because... well, I know it's weird". It was quiet as Lawson processed this information, and finally Sean turned his head to look at him. There was clear panic on his face. "Say something".
"I, Uh-" his voice was dry so he cleared his throat. "I don't know what to say".
With a grimace, Sean asked, "Are you mad?"
Lawson shrugged. "Not really," he admitted, and the boy next to him visibly relaxed. "I mean, you only like me right? You know, romantically".
"Yeah," Sean confirmed with a warm smile. "I only like you in a romantic way".
"Then I guess I don't see what the problem is if you talk to your friend on the phone every once and awhile". Before Lawson could even smile reassuringly Sean's mouth was on his, once again for just a second.
"Thank you," Sean said. "Thank you for understanding and being... fucking amazing".
"You can repay me by being my blanket and showing me some of those shitty movies that you promised," Lawson said, leaning back against the couch again, though he was unable to pull his legs up with Sean sitting there.
The other boy just looked at him a moment longer, expression extremely fond, and then he flopped down on Lawson's chest and reached out for the remote. "Can do".
A/N Communication. Is. Key.