Alan Pratchett / Various 1 / 001; Beginnings
Title: Day Four
Prompt Set: Various 1
Prompt: 001; Beginnings
Rating/Warnings: PG, with references to homosexual sex.
Author's Notes: Alan and Danny's fourth-or-possibly-second date, with a nice summary of how they met hidden inside. Because there's already 19000 words written on it and it's hard to condense. As the stories about Alan (and Danny) take place over the course of eight years and I don't plan on writing in chronological order, this story and future stories will all be dated ^_^
***
March 21, 1998
***
"So," Alan said once Danny had cycled through the television channels for the fourth time. "Do you think this counts as our second, third, or fourth date?" He and Danny were still in bed despite it being almost one o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. They had, in fact, been in bed for more than twelve hours. Most of it was spent sleeping, too, which was something that surprised them both.
"It's been what, like five days since our first date?" Danny asked. He settled on a Law and Order rerun and put the remote back on the bedside table, rolling onto his side to better look at Alan.
"Four," Alan said. "Wednesday was our first date and that one is pretty, you know, clear. But then Thursday night I came over here and stayed the night, figuring you wouldn't want to deal with me Friday. Friday you showed up at the school with a dinner invitation, which led us back here before I even got a chance to go to my apartment, which leads us to now. So, it's Saturday morning. Are we on date four, or is this just an extension of date two, or was date two one thing and is this an extension of date three?" Danny raised an eyebrow, which Alan thought was rather cute.
"It's Saturday afternoon, actually," Danny said finally. "Also... I can't believe you counted all that."
"Well I was bored after you surfed past Martha Stewart for the fifth time, insisting there was something good on some channel somewhere," Alan said. "A magical channel that we could only find if we went through the other channels two dozen times." It may have come off as a little defensive. In fact, he knew it came off defensive, especially once Danny shot him a glare.
"Does it really matter what date we're on?" Danny asked. "I mean, really? Are there special privileges on the fifth date that I'm not getting right now?" Danny poked Alan's side. When he squirmed, Danny wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Alan and pulling him closer, smiling against his temple.
"Who knows?" Alan said, struggling half-heartedly against Danny, mostly as an excuse to wiggle against him. "If you stick around, maybe I'll let you kiss me on the mouth." His lips quirked upward slightly in challenge, so he wasn't surprised when Danny leaned over and kissed him gently.
Four dates - or possibly two - and already Alan knew he was in way over his head. He knew it the moment that he kissed Danny Stevens in the boys' rest room. He knew it after one dinner, after one date, after one night together, really. What was it that Danny had said over that first dinner? 'You know perfectly well that this was never meant to be a one time thing.' It was true. There was something... something had happened between them, even before dinner, before the kiss in the boys' room that afternoon. There was a spark from the moment Danny was introduced to him. Standing there in the centennial Middle School gymnasium, with half the eighth grade running around painting signs and the other teachers standing fifteen feet away, Alan felt something run through him. He still couldn't believe that Danny felt it too.
"We need to get out of bed eventually," Alan said, once the kissing had come to a regrettable end. "I can't believe I slept for more than twelve hours. Christ. You must think I'm the laziest guy in the world."
"Nah," Danny said, playing with the sleeve of the borrowed t-shirt Alan was wearing. "It's mostly my fault. You said it yourself when I picked you up at the school - it was pep rally day and you just wanted to go home and sleep. I'm the one that tuckered you out. Dragging you to the grocery store and then we went out for dinner and then to the video store and then we went for coffee and then came home and had sex... I'm surprised you didn't pass out in the middle of Hannaford's at four in the afternoon, to be honest. I mean, the pep rally alone sounds exhausting."
"It's actually not a pep rally," Alan said. Off of Danny's confused look, he elaborated. "It's not actually supporting any sports teams, it's just a day to put the kids in the gym and make them scream a lot and bond as a class. So it's a Spirit Day. Which is exactly like a pep rally, except without sports." He shrugged. "It's a middle school thing. Nothing is what it seems. Like, I don't actually teach chemistry."
"I thought you did teach chemistry," Danny said, brow furrowed. "Don't tell me our whole four day relationship has been a lie."
Alan rolled his eyes. "No, no... technically I teach 'Science 8,' which is exactly like chemistry in everything but name. But if you were to say to a student or even one of the other teachers, 'Who teaches chemistry?' they'd look at you like you had two heads." Danny didn't say anything, but he did keep staring at Alan, which just made him more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. He hoped, desperately, that he hadn't babbled on for too long. He knew he had a tendency to do that, to get started on a subject and say more about it than anyone really cared to know. He could only imagine how irritating it was to listen to him, and he bit his lip anxiously, still waiting for Danny to speak.
"I really like you," Danny said finally. He smiled as Alan's face went bright red. "I mean it. I'm just... I'm shocked because I really like you a lot. I've been dating these guys recently... I haven't actually liked any of them. But you... I like you a lot, Alan."
Alan could tell. It was felt good to have that knowledge.
"I like you too," he said finally, eyes cast downward, smile creeping onto his face. "But I do have, you know, papers to grade. And I should go back to my apartment at some point this week." He resolved, firmly, to make an effort to get out of bed and get things done. He hadn't even known Danny a week, it really wasn't normal for him to already have a tooth brush at Danny's house. Plus, if he was going to be paying the ridiculously expensive rent for his ridiculously trashy apartment, he damn well was going to actually spend some time there. He sat up in bed, just as Danny began to sigh dramatically and roll onto his back.
"Fine, fine..." Danny said, climbing out of bed with exaggerated reluctance. "We'll get decent if you insist."
"It's just that I'm sure I have at least five messages from my family on my answering machine," Alan said. He pushed the covers back and turned to look at Danny, who was peeling off his t-shirt. "And... uh... I have, you know..." Danny really was very attractive. "...papers! I have lab reports to grade and I promised the kids I would... uh..." Danny was very deliberately walking around the bedroom and tidying things up. He was doing it very deliberately and very shirtlessly. "...I promised them I would have their reports sometime this... how much time do you spend at the gym?" Although Danny didn't look at him, Alan had a very nice view of him in profile and caught the indulgent smile. "Seriously. I've known you for four days, and unless you're sneaking out after I fall asleep, you don't seem to have much time for it." Alan managed to get to his feet and stretch out his arms, all of which he did without taking his eyes off of Danny.
"I find time," Danny said. He turned away from his dresser and crossed the room, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips. He came to a stop right in front of Alan and tugged at the hem of the t-shirt he was wearing. "I'll be needing my shirt back."
Any lingering plans about going home to work on papers pretty much evaporated at that point.
"I like this shirt," Alan said, glancing down at the worn cotton. "New York University Class of 1984." He looked back up at Danny. "You know how old I was in 1984?" he asked.
Danny's fingers tightened around the edge of the t-shirt and pulled Alan just a little bit closer. "No, I really don't."
"I was fourteen," Alan said. Danny tugged again.
"And I was graduating from college," Danny said. "Give me my shirt." Alan slipped it off, but didn't let go when Danny tried to take it from his hand.
"What do I get for giving you the shirt?" he asked. He could feel, suddenly, a nervous, excited lump forming in his throat, the same one that took up residence every time Danny looked at him like that - eyes bright, lashes lowered, tongue wetting his lips. Danny was gorgeous as it was; his eyes alone stopped Alan in his tracks even when Danny was doing something as mundane as reading a menu. Danny was gorgeous, but seductive Danny... well, that fell into another category all together.
"What do you get?" Danny asked innocently as he used the t-shirt to pull Alan the final few feet forward. "I'm sure I can think of something." It was one of the most cliché things that Danny could have come up with, but somehow he managed to make it unbearably sexy. Alan couldn't even formulate a way to tease him for his lack of originality. Any blood left in his brain was suddenly in transit to parts south.
"I can grade papers tomorrow," he said breathlessly. He dropped his hold on the t-shirt and pulled Danny forward.
So began Day Four. Alan had a feeling that it could be the beginning of something bigger than he dared admit.
It was a good feeling.
Prompt Set: Various 1
Prompt: 001; Beginnings
Rating/Warnings: PG, with references to homosexual sex.
Author's Notes: Alan and Danny's fourth-or-possibly-second date, with a nice summary of how they met hidden inside. Because there's already 19000 words written on it and it's hard to condense. As the stories about Alan (and Danny) take place over the course of eight years and I don't plan on writing in chronological order, this story and future stories will all be dated ^_^
***
March 21, 1998
***
"So," Alan said once Danny had cycled through the television channels for the fourth time. "Do you think this counts as our second, third, or fourth date?" He and Danny were still in bed despite it being almost one o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. They had, in fact, been in bed for more than twelve hours. Most of it was spent sleeping, too, which was something that surprised them both.
"It's been what, like five days since our first date?" Danny asked. He settled on a Law and Order rerun and put the remote back on the bedside table, rolling onto his side to better look at Alan.
"Four," Alan said. "Wednesday was our first date and that one is pretty, you know, clear. But then Thursday night I came over here and stayed the night, figuring you wouldn't want to deal with me Friday. Friday you showed up at the school with a dinner invitation, which led us back here before I even got a chance to go to my apartment, which leads us to now. So, it's Saturday morning. Are we on date four, or is this just an extension of date two, or was date two one thing and is this an extension of date three?" Danny raised an eyebrow, which Alan thought was rather cute.
"It's Saturday afternoon, actually," Danny said finally. "Also... I can't believe you counted all that."
"Well I was bored after you surfed past Martha Stewart for the fifth time, insisting there was something good on some channel somewhere," Alan said. "A magical channel that we could only find if we went through the other channels two dozen times." It may have come off as a little defensive. In fact, he knew it came off defensive, especially once Danny shot him a glare.
"Does it really matter what date we're on?" Danny asked. "I mean, really? Are there special privileges on the fifth date that I'm not getting right now?" Danny poked Alan's side. When he squirmed, Danny wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Alan and pulling him closer, smiling against his temple.
"Who knows?" Alan said, struggling half-heartedly against Danny, mostly as an excuse to wiggle against him. "If you stick around, maybe I'll let you kiss me on the mouth." His lips quirked upward slightly in challenge, so he wasn't surprised when Danny leaned over and kissed him gently.
Four dates - or possibly two - and already Alan knew he was in way over his head. He knew it the moment that he kissed Danny Stevens in the boys' rest room. He knew it after one dinner, after one date, after one night together, really. What was it that Danny had said over that first dinner? 'You know perfectly well that this was never meant to be a one time thing.' It was true. There was something... something had happened between them, even before dinner, before the kiss in the boys' room that afternoon. There was a spark from the moment Danny was introduced to him. Standing there in the centennial Middle School gymnasium, with half the eighth grade running around painting signs and the other teachers standing fifteen feet away, Alan felt something run through him. He still couldn't believe that Danny felt it too.
"We need to get out of bed eventually," Alan said, once the kissing had come to a regrettable end. "I can't believe I slept for more than twelve hours. Christ. You must think I'm the laziest guy in the world."
"Nah," Danny said, playing with the sleeve of the borrowed t-shirt Alan was wearing. "It's mostly my fault. You said it yourself when I picked you up at the school - it was pep rally day and you just wanted to go home and sleep. I'm the one that tuckered you out. Dragging you to the grocery store and then we went out for dinner and then to the video store and then we went for coffee and then came home and had sex... I'm surprised you didn't pass out in the middle of Hannaford's at four in the afternoon, to be honest. I mean, the pep rally alone sounds exhausting."
"It's actually not a pep rally," Alan said. Off of Danny's confused look, he elaborated. "It's not actually supporting any sports teams, it's just a day to put the kids in the gym and make them scream a lot and bond as a class. So it's a Spirit Day. Which is exactly like a pep rally, except without sports." He shrugged. "It's a middle school thing. Nothing is what it seems. Like, I don't actually teach chemistry."
"I thought you did teach chemistry," Danny said, brow furrowed. "Don't tell me our whole four day relationship has been a lie."
Alan rolled his eyes. "No, no... technically I teach 'Science 8,' which is exactly like chemistry in everything but name. But if you were to say to a student or even one of the other teachers, 'Who teaches chemistry?' they'd look at you like you had two heads." Danny didn't say anything, but he did keep staring at Alan, which just made him more and more nervous as the seconds ticked by. He hoped, desperately, that he hadn't babbled on for too long. He knew he had a tendency to do that, to get started on a subject and say more about it than anyone really cared to know. He could only imagine how irritating it was to listen to him, and he bit his lip anxiously, still waiting for Danny to speak.
"I really like you," Danny said finally. He smiled as Alan's face went bright red. "I mean it. I'm just... I'm shocked because I really like you a lot. I've been dating these guys recently... I haven't actually liked any of them. But you... I like you a lot, Alan."
Alan could tell. It was felt good to have that knowledge.
"I like you too," he said finally, eyes cast downward, smile creeping onto his face. "But I do have, you know, papers to grade. And I should go back to my apartment at some point this week." He resolved, firmly, to make an effort to get out of bed and get things done. He hadn't even known Danny a week, it really wasn't normal for him to already have a tooth brush at Danny's house. Plus, if he was going to be paying the ridiculously expensive rent for his ridiculously trashy apartment, he damn well was going to actually spend some time there. He sat up in bed, just as Danny began to sigh dramatically and roll onto his back.
"Fine, fine..." Danny said, climbing out of bed with exaggerated reluctance. "We'll get decent if you insist."
"It's just that I'm sure I have at least five messages from my family on my answering machine," Alan said. He pushed the covers back and turned to look at Danny, who was peeling off his t-shirt. "And... uh... I have, you know..." Danny really was very attractive. "...papers! I have lab reports to grade and I promised the kids I would... uh..." Danny was very deliberately walking around the bedroom and tidying things up. He was doing it very deliberately and very shirtlessly. "...I promised them I would have their reports sometime this... how much time do you spend at the gym?" Although Danny didn't look at him, Alan had a very nice view of him in profile and caught the indulgent smile. "Seriously. I've known you for four days, and unless you're sneaking out after I fall asleep, you don't seem to have much time for it." Alan managed to get to his feet and stretch out his arms, all of which he did without taking his eyes off of Danny.
"I find time," Danny said. He turned away from his dresser and crossed the room, a ghost of a smile playing across his lips. He came to a stop right in front of Alan and tugged at the hem of the t-shirt he was wearing. "I'll be needing my shirt back."
Any lingering plans about going home to work on papers pretty much evaporated at that point.
"I like this shirt," Alan said, glancing down at the worn cotton. "New York University Class of 1984." He looked back up at Danny. "You know how old I was in 1984?" he asked.
Danny's fingers tightened around the edge of the t-shirt and pulled Alan just a little bit closer. "No, I really don't."
"I was fourteen," Alan said. Danny tugged again.
"And I was graduating from college," Danny said. "Give me my shirt." Alan slipped it off, but didn't let go when Danny tried to take it from his hand.
"What do I get for giving you the shirt?" he asked. He could feel, suddenly, a nervous, excited lump forming in his throat, the same one that took up residence every time Danny looked at him like that - eyes bright, lashes lowered, tongue wetting his lips. Danny was gorgeous as it was; his eyes alone stopped Alan in his tracks even when Danny was doing something as mundane as reading a menu. Danny was gorgeous, but seductive Danny... well, that fell into another category all together.
"What do you get?" Danny asked innocently as he used the t-shirt to pull Alan the final few feet forward. "I'm sure I can think of something." It was one of the most cliché things that Danny could have come up with, but somehow he managed to make it unbearably sexy. Alan couldn't even formulate a way to tease him for his lack of originality. Any blood left in his brain was suddenly in transit to parts south.
"I can grade papers tomorrow," he said breathlessly. He dropped his hold on the t-shirt and pulled Danny forward.
So began Day Four. Alan had a feeling that it could be the beginning of something bigger than he dared admit.
It was a good feeling.