Sweet Little Birds (BxB Romance, Completed)

Bonus Chapter: Snack Spread

So this is just a scene that I've been wanting to write out but I couldn't fit it into the story as it had to be told from Tyler's POV. I won't spoil exactly what it entails, but it's a scene that is crucial for the events to play out as they did.

The Liverpool game was just about to start. Tyler was all prepared for an evening of cheering and shouting with a spread of snacks; chips, cheese puffs, and pretzels. His cousin Lance had joined him on the couch, as this was his house after all. Lance wasn't a huge soccer fan--he was more into biking and running--but he'd volunteered to be Tyler's game buddy, probably as a way to distract his younger cousin from the real reason he was visiting: to visit the hospital in the city and get his prosthetic leg fitted.

Just as the red-clad home team walked onto the turf, Tyler felt a buzz in his pocket. Hoping it was Robin, he pulled out the phone to answer. Hearing Robin's voice--stuttering, nervous, and endearing--was definitely worth missing a few minutes of a soccer game for. Even if they currently weren't on the best of terms.

But the display didn't show Robin's name. Instead, it said Des. Tyler frowned, wondering what his boyfriend's best friend wanted. Maybe something had happened to Robin.

Signaling to Lance to mute the game so that he could take the call, Tyler pressed the answer-button. If he had two working legs, he would have left the room, but balancing both phone and crutches seemed like a daunting task. Luckily, his cousin could read the situation and rose from the couch, excusing himself to run an errand in the other room.

"Hello," Tyler answered cautiously.

"What's your problem?" Des pounced right away. It seemed like he'd walked into the claws of a lioness in attack mode.

"I-I don't know," he stuttered, startled by the attack. "I only have one leg, I guess. That's a bit... problematic."

Des groaned. "That's not what I mean, Tyler. I'm wondering why you're being such a shitty boyfriend to Robin?"

"What?" he exclaimed, taken aback by the accusation. "Robin and I agreed to take a break while I went here for my fitting and he sorted some out stuff with his mom. I'm not being shitty. I'm doing what I said I would do, while he's apparently running around with his ex-boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend?" Des sounded confused. "Robin doesn't have an ex-boyfriend. Trust me, Ty, the only person he even kissed before you was me and we both agreed that was a bad idea."

"But what about... I heard him talking to this guy he knew from high school while at work. Turd-something." Tyler knew very well that was not the guy's name.

Des sighed. "You mean Tristan? Robin might have been a bit googly eyes about Tristan at one point but he's absolutely smitten with you, dummy. Besides, I follow Tristan on Instagram and I'm quite sure he has a girlfriend. Apparently, they met during a chess tournament. He's quite a bore if you ask me. Never stops talking about board games."

"Oh." Tyler realized he had perhaps overreacted after this last conversation with Robin. Although Robin would probably like conversations about board games. Perhaps Tyler should raid his aunt and uncle's basement to see if he could find something for them to play together. Even if Tristan was taken, Tyler didn't want Robin to get bored with him. "I just... got worried I guess. I mean, he never even told me he was getting a job. So I thought maybe it was just to get close to... that guy." Tyler still refused to take the name of the nerdy board game adonis in his mouth.

"Robin didn't tell you why he got the job at the cinema?"

"Nope."

"Oh." It seemed it was Des' turn to realize she had overreacted. "So he didn't tell you what his mom did either then?" Her voice was softer now, no longer on the prowl.

"No, he just said she found out about us being together but that he would figure everything out."

"Well, Liza cut him off. She won't pay his tuition anymore next semester. So unless he can get a scholarship, he may have to go back home. That's why he got the job, to get some money on his own."

"What!?" Tyler almost dropped the phone from shock. "He didn't tell me any of that!"

"That's why I called you," Des explained. "I wondered why you weren't coming tomorrow. He has to hold a big presentation to hopefully receive a scholarship. Poor thing is so nervous that he can barely remember to feed himself. I just forced him to eat pizza and then tucked him into bed. I'll check in on him in a bit, to make sure he's not up all night rehearsing."

Tyler covered his face in his hands. He did feel like a shitty boyfriend now. Robin was suffering and Tyler wasn't there to assure him that everything would be alright with sweet words, gentle hugs, and affirming kisses. "When's the presentation?" he asked.

"Ten a.m tomorrow, in the big auditorium."

"I'll be there," Tyler decided then and there. "Thank you for telling me, Des. I'll see you tomorrow. Please take care of Robin for me until then."

"I will," she promised. "Sorry for yelling at you..."

After hanging up, Tyler took a deep breath, trying to process everything he'd just heard. The soccer game that had started on the TV no longer seemed alluring.

"Lance!" he yelled out toward the kitchen, where his cousin had disappeared. "Can you drive me back to Port Vale tomorrow morning? I have to be there."

Author's Note: I may take this chapter down at some point, as I'm toying with writing a novella featuring Ty's side of the story during the events of Sweet Little Birds and this scene could then be included there. Would you read such a story? (I'm also planning an actual sequel to this story down the line, set right after the boys' graduation.)