Sister Before Mister (MxM)

1.2 | The Morning After

-Darren-

A furry black paw, slapping him in the face unceremoniously, woke Darren up. This was definitely not the first time it's happened since adopting his cat, Jay, from the local animal shelter. It had turned into a reliable morning wake up call from his feline overlord. Reminding him it was time to feed him. Darren's eyes shot open and his deep brown eyes connected with Jay's green ones.

"Okay, okay, I'm up", he whispered quietly, so as not to wake up the other person beside him in his bed.

Darren didn't want to end the slumber of the prince charming he met last night at the bar. His mouth stretched out to a wide grin and you could see a burst of happiness surge through his body. Sitting up carefully, he peered over at him. He couldn't believe what had happened the night before. He never brought guys back home after his infrequent outings to bars or parties, but something about this guy seemed... different. Darren couldn't exactly remember his name, though.

"It must have been Liam or Luke, something like that," he mused to himself.

Regardless, he resolved to figure all that out over breakfast. He reached over and picked up his phone on the nightstand beside him to check the time, 6:45 am. The perfect time to go for his morning run. Darren planned to head out for a quick run, then back home to whip up his world famous pancakes and make some coffee. He hopped out of bed with newfound energy, stretching his arms high over his head. He strode over to the desk in his small bedroom.

Although the room was small, he kept it clean. The only things out of place were the many scraps of paper and notebooks bursting with his writing notes and inspirations. He threw on a pair of gray university sweatpants that were hanging over his desk chair and a black t-shirt from his laundry basket on the floor next to his opened closet door. As he made his way towards the door to go out into the hallway, he looked back at Mr. Prince Charming sleeping peacefully in his bed.

Darren couldn't stop himself from thinking how simply adorable this guy was. He stood by the door for a moment, taking in his appearance. He admired his wild mass of copper brown hair with a tapered cut. His curls remained long on top, falling over to cover his eyes. The cut complimented his round, kind looking face. He had a splash of freckles across his nose that accented his pale bronze complexion perfectly. His full, rosy lips had caught Darren's attention last night. He could remember how his light brown eyes had drawn him in, like deep pools of dark honey he could just sink into forever.

"Right, time for that run", Darren reminded himself.

He turned back around to the door out of his room and opened it, but first glanced back for one last look. Jay was cuddled up half way beneath the duvet with just his black tail poking out. He looked absolutely perfect next to the sleeping prince and couldn't help but think that he could get used to that view. He finally shut the door and tread through the living room to the entryway, searching for his running sneakers along the way. The apartment that he shared with his roommate wasn't large by any means, so they couldn't have gotten far. He had gotten a great deal with his roommate, Gideon, on the apartment since it was a little further out from the center of the city. Darren didn't care much, since going out drinking wasn't really his scene.

While slipping on and tying his sneakers, after finding them in the living room, he reminisced about meeting Gideon when he was just 18. It was 6 years ago during their freshman orientation at Springfield State University, Darren's alma mater.

It was the first day of orientation for the incoming freshman at Springfield State. They had divvied up all the incoming computer science majors into groups to get to know each other with icebreakers. Darren dreaded activities like these. Growing up, he had always been a quiet, bookish kid, but after getting bullied in highschool he became even more withdrawn and introverted. As they went around the room introducing themselves with two truths and a lie, he began nervously tapping his foot. He had no clue what his two truths, and a lie were going to be. He had momentarily considered using this moment to come out as gay to his classmates and just get it over with, like ripping off a band-aid. But bitter memories of being bullied for his perceived sexuality began to surface, along with sickening waves of overwhelming anxiety.

Looking up to try and distract himself from the impending doom that would be his turn to share his truths and a lie, Darren's eyes locked onto the person sitting across from him. They were sitting in a large circle of 30 or so new students, taking in the faces that they would be around frequently for the next 4 years as they pursued their undergraduate degrees in computer science.

Darren looked the guy up and down appreciatively, noting his clear, ice-blue eyes contrasting with his perfectly coiffed blond hair and sun-kissed wheat complexion. His long legs were crossed gracefully covered in a tight fitting pair of dark jeans that he paired with a showy button-up shirt. The top three buttons of the black patterned shirt were undone, showing anyone that cared to look a glimpse of his smooth, broad chest. To say Darren was intrigued was an understatement. He would have continued his teenaged, lustful journey across the unknown man's body, but he was distracted by piercing blue eyes settling on him. Before Darren could read further into the curious look on the guy's face, he abruptly broke eye contact and looked away.

Though Darren was technically out as gay to those close to him, he was apprehensive to begin shamelessly checking guys out. Though, noticing beautiful guys wasn't something he was new to. That was how he got into all that trouble in highschool. He was once again brought out of the painful memories from his past by the young man across from him. It was his turn to introduce himself, and Darren's head shot up at full attention. He wanted to know more about this guy.

"Hi, my name is Gideon. No, you may not call me Gid, Giddy, or any other nickname.", His voice was deep but gentle, which contrasted with his defiant words.

"I'm a semi-professional ballet dancer, I have travelled to over 100 countries, and I'm gay.", He said with finality.

Darren could feel the awkwardness build among the group as what he said registered with all of them. He looked around at the faces in the group to gauge their reactions. The expressions on their faces ranged from boredom to interest and curiosity to a few of disgust. He was glad to see that there were so few looks of disgust, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

A pretty strawberry blonde girl off to his right raised her hand to answer. She looked like she was probably a cheerleader in highschool and her boyfriend would have beat him to a pulp. She was a bit of a strange sight to see in computer science. This major was more known for geeky, socially awkward guys. For that matter, Gideon was out of place as well.

"Yes?", Gideon said in a questioning voice.

"Hi, I'm Natalie and you haven't been to 100 countries!", The girl stated confidently.

"I have.", He said boredly.

Her hand slowly lowered, like a balloon losing all of its air, sad and deflated.

The gears of Darren's brain turned, weighing the remaining options. Gay or Ballet. He took another look at his body, seeing that he was decently tall, but definitely shorter than his towering 6'3". He was clearly slender but lithe, with well-built muscle hiding just below the surface of his clothing. But his clothing...he was suspiciously well dressed and clearly had a skin routine. A long, angular face clear of any acne or blemishes was evidence of that. Darren admitted that was stereotypical of him to assume his sexuality based on how well he took care of himself. He knew little about being gay, but what he did know was from overheard conversations while growing up in a close-knit, but conservative, community in New Jersey.

Darren raised his hand, deciding that he knew the right answer.

"Did you figure it out?", Gideon said with a small smile.

"Uh, I think so?", Darren said, unsure of himself.

"Hey... I'm Darren. And you aren't a ballet dancer?"

Gideon smiled brightly, looked directly into Darren's eyes, and said, "Correct. I have traveled to over 100 countries and I am gay."

Darren locked eyes with him and smiled right back. He was excited to get to know Giddeon better.

Edited 10/21/2021