Something Happened for the First Time
Title - Something Happened for the First Time
Author - lasadh
Pairing - Cook/Archuleta
Rating - PG13
Author's Notes - This is just a story I think needed to be written, so I wrote it. Because I think David Archuleta probably kicked himself a hundred times for admitting to Seventeen Magazine that he'd never been kissed.
David stared at the anonymous hotel room door, just like his own down the hall, and the dozens and hundreds he'd seen in the past year. It really shouldn't be scary at all. He almost turned away, but then he thought of his interview with WMYX, set for 6:45 the next morning, followed by the local Fox morning news, and then a dozen more; every radio, print, and TV outlet in the greater Milwaukee area.
He knocked. Then he stared at the door, paralyzed and half-wishing no one would answer.
The was a brief fumble on the other side and then David Cook's rumpled head peeked around the edge. He had a toothbrush in his hand and a smear of toothpaste at the corner of his mouth.
"Hey, man, come on in." Cook retreated into the room and David followed. "What's up?"
David waited until the water stopped running and Cook stepped out of the bathroom, wiping his mouth with a scratchy white hand towel. "Um... you know how we have press most of the day tomorrow?"
Cook frowned a little. "Yeah..." He seemed to be waiting for David to say something else. "Do you need to get out of it? I'm sure they can--"
"Will you kiss me? Please?" The words came out in a rush before he could change his mind and make something up.
Cook's eyes went theatrically wide. "What?" He was half laughing, like he was waiting for the punch line.
David wanted to run out the door, jump on Cook, and burst into tears, all at the same time. Cook must have seen some of the panicked misery in his face because he stopped laughing and put a hand on David's arm.
"Okay, easy there, Archie. You want to back up and start over?"
David tried to slow his breathing. Calm down, stupid. Cook's not going to laugh at you. Well okay, he totally is, but he's not going to be mean about it. "It's that interview. With Seventeen."
Cook's face cleared in understanding but started to slide back toward hilarity.
"I am so sick of having to tell everyone in the world over and over again that I've never kissed anyone!" Cook was laughing into his hand but he looked like he was trying not to. Sort of. "Every reporter asks me about it and I have to keep telling them I haven't yet."
"You could lie."
"No, I couldn't," he said glumly. David was a terrible liar. He turned red and stammered even more than usual.
"Yeah, I guess not." Cook snickered again. "So I'm a convenient pair of lips, huh?"
"Oh my gosh, shut up!" David said. "I didn't have to ask you, you know."
"Yeah, that's another thing. How come you're in my room instead of Carly's or Brooke's?"
"Well.. they're married... and they're..."
Girls.
Cook nodded gently, as if David had said it out loud.
"And you said-- in that 'I Never' game you said you had...."
Cook grinned. "Otherwise known as 'the game you never play with David Archuleta unless you want alcohol poisoning.' But yeah. I've made out with a guy or two."
David was silent. Cook was being really nice but this was embarrassing.
"You sure about this? I mean, don't you want your first kiss to be with someone you're actually dating?"
"When is that going to be?" David burst out. "When am I going to meet a-- meet someone my own age? When I'm touring and making albums and hanging out with adults all the time? And even when I'm home, I can't-- my dad wouldn't--"
"Yeah, okay."
David raised his face hopefully.
"One more question and I'll stop interrogating you." Cook smiled. "Are you looking for just enough lip contact to make it official or do you want a real kiss?"
"Oh... well... I mean, if you--"
"I'm okay with it either way, Arch. Just asking."
"I want... I guess I want a... real kiss."
"Okay."
Apparently they were finished talking.
David's heart pounded crazily as Cook stepped in, lips quirking like he still wanted to laugh, and cupped David's head in his big hands and kissed him. His beard scratched softly against David's mouth and chin and David didn't really have to do anything, which was a huge relief. Cook's lips stroked slowly against his and it was really nice, and David's stomach was sort of swooping in this really awesome way and he really liked kissing a lot.
But there was more. He knew there was more. He might never have kissed anyone before but he wasn't blind or stupid and he knew that kissing also involved tongues. As if he'd heard that thought, Cook brushed his tongue teasingly along David's lips. David didn't wait for more coaxing but immediately opened his mouth wide.
It got wet and sort of messy then, because Cook's mouth wasn't open very far at all and it was suddenly like David was trying to swallow him whole. Cook chuckled into David's mouth and opened his own wider and his tongue plunged smoothly inside. David made an embarrassing, whimpery sort of a sound and he clutched tight handfuls of Cook's T-shirt. Cook tasted like toothpaste and his tongue stroked in and out of David's mouth, licking the inside of his teeth, and David's stomach flipped and he stood on his toes to press harder into the kiss.
Cook sort of hesitated, David could feel it, and 'no, no, don't stop yet' started yammering through his brain, but then Cook slid his arms around David's ribcage and took some of the weight off his toes and the kiss got really deep and hot and Cook even used his teeth a little, and David got sort of dizzy because it wasn't as easy as he would have thought to breathe through his nose.
He didn't really care, though, because Cook was pushing almost roughly with his mouth and a flush of heat spiked through David as he realized he was hard in his jeans and gosh, this wasn't just a kiss, this was, like, the kind of thing that led to sex, David could just tell.
But of course Cook wouldn't actually want to have sex with him, and David couldn't decide whether he was disappointed or relieved about that, and even as he thought it Cook started to ease things off, kissing David more gently, loosening his arms. David didn't try to keep it going because that would be sort of rude and it would make Cook uncomfortable, but he tried desperately to pay attention, even though that was sort of crazy, but he really wanted to be able to remember this later.
Their lips parted. David couldn't help straining up for one more kiss, which Cook returned with a soft stroke of his tongue. They stood close together and David's eyes were closed and his heart was beating crazy fast and he was breathing hard, but Cook was breathing hard, too, and David felt weirdly proud about that.
"So," Cook sounded a little hoarse, and cleared his throat.
David opened his eyes and Cook was still standing right up against him and then he realized with a rush of embarrassment that his arms were wound around Cook's neck, even though he didn't remember putting them there, and he quickly released him. Cook squeezed his shoulders once and stepped back.
"That probably..." Cook cleared his throat again. "That probably got a little more... intense... than it needed to."
"Oh... sorry." David felt his face flush red. His mouth felt sensitive and sort of swollen.
"No, I didn't mean--" Cook laughed a little. "You didn't do anything wrong. But whoever you end up kissing on a regular basis is gonna be very lucky."
David flushed even more, but he was sort of smiling now, even though he couldn't look at Cook.
"Hey. Archuleta. Look at me."
How did he do that? The guy was a mind-reader or something. He looked up and Cook looked all amused again, but he wasn't laughing. "We're not going to be weird now, are we?"
"Oh, no," David said automatically, although he thought they probably were, a little bit. "Thanks. Thanks a lot for... helping me out."
"I've done far less pleasant things in the name of friendship."
David didn't know what to say to that, but his smile wouldn't go away.
"So, you realize that the reporters are going to ask who you kissed, right?"
"Yeah, but I can just tell them I won't talk about that."
"Good. Very gentlemanly. Especially seeing as how I could get arrested for what just happened."
David smile disappeared and his stomach dropped. "But... but I asked you--"
"Relax. I'm not really worried about it. But... let's make sure your dad never hears about this, okay?"
"Yes! I mean, no. He won't."
"We're good, then."
"Okay, so... I guess I'll see you in the morning." He fumbled with the doorknob.
"Hey, Dave."
David turned back and Cook was hugging him and David squeezed his eyes shut in gratitude and hugged him back tightly, because Cook's hugs were, like, one of the most awesome things about him and David would hate to think that the kiss would make them stop. And having those arms back around him was making his stomach all swoopy again, but Cook didn't have to know that.
Cook smacked a noisy kiss against David's temple. "Get to bed, Archie. See you tomorrow."
David was almost out the door when Cook said, "And hey." He had an evil smirk on his face. "If a reporter asks if you've had sex yet, just refuse to answer the question, huh?"
"Cook!"