Hermitcraft Drabbles

Who Needs Prom? (Retho)

I'm going to be completely blunt; I wrote this rare-pair out of spite and now I really like it lmao

I want to do more rare-pair writing it's a lot of fun

Ren held open the passenger door to his red '69 impala, the excitement cemented on his face. Hoping his smile didn't look too forced, Etho slid in. He fiddled with his hands in his lap as Ren climbed into the driver's seat. Reaching over, he took one of his hands and laced their fingers together, pulling it towards him to kiss the back. "You ready?" he asked.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"We don't have to go y'know. At the end of the day, it's just a school dance."

"Ren, I know you've been looking forward to this. We're going," he insisted.

The brunette kissed his hand once more before letting go and putting the car into drive.

-

The closer they got to the school, the more nervous Etho felt. He genuinely didn't want to go. Dancing is scary. Dancing with everyone watching is even scarier. Not to mention the gym will probably smell like sweat and there's no way the food will be good. Most schools like to rent out venues for prom, but not theirs. Since their school was new (it was built two years ago) and was top of the line, the board didn't see why they couldn't use the gym.

But no matter how nice a school is, a high school gym is a high school gym.

"We're here," Ren announced, pulling into the parking lot.

Etho's anxiety began to skyrocket as he saw the groups of students heading into the gym, in outfits far nicer than his three-piece black suit and muted green tie. Ren has been looking forward to this since freshman year. Pull yourself together, he scolded himself.

He stepped out of the red car and onto the sidewalk. Ren joined him and took his hand once again. Etho squeezed it in hopes to stop his light shaking.

But then Ren began to walk.

He tried to follow, but his feet were rooted to the pavement.

"Babe?" Ren softly asked.

"S-Sorry, I'm just- maybe you should go without me," he mumbled.

Creasing his brow, his partner moved to stand in front of him and held his face. "Etho, I'm not going without you. If you don't want to go then we can just leave," he whispered.

Etho looked up at him and bit his lip. "But- you've been so excited about this! I can't do that to you. Besides it's not that I don't want to go, it's-"

"Etho."

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath and remembered what they've talked about. "Ren, I don't want to go to the dance. Please take me home."

A smile formed on his face as he kissed his forehead. "You got it."

-

The ride back to Etho's was silent, but it was a comfortable quiet. Eventually, Ren pulled into his driveway. He leaned over and softly kissed his cheek. "Have a goodnight, Etho," he said with a warm smile.

He furrowed his brow. "What? No, you should stay. I said I didn't want to go to the dance, I never said anything about not wanting to spend time with you," he pouted.

Snorting, Ren unbuckled his seatbelt and turned off the ignition. "Then stay I shall."

Both now out of the car, Etho unlocked his door and let them in. His parents - who were under the assumption he'd be at a dance - were out on a little date of their own. "What do you want to do now?" he asked, looking back at Ren.

With a warm smile, he gently took his hand and guided him over to the living room. Although he was confused, he followed and watched as Ren pulled up something on his phone. He turned up the volume and set it on the table.

The moment the slow music started up, he realized what was going on. Ren pulled him close, placing his free hand on his waist. Etho's face flushed as his hand lightly gripped his shoulder. The two slowly danced around the living room. Ren kept glancing at their feet, causing him to giggle.

Dancing was still scary, but something about the two seniors awkwardly dancing in his house was sweet. Etho slid his hand down from his shoulder to his tie and pulled him closer to press a kiss to his lips.

"Love you too," the brunette grinned when they parted, leaning his head on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, Etho leaned his head into his. He began to step on Ren's foot but quickly corrected himself as they continued to dance.

Arguably, this was much better than if they went to prom. No overhearing people laughing, worrying if eyes were on him or if people were talking about him. Just him and Ren in his living room, and the music being interrupted by a Spotify ad.