Painted On

Just This Once

Troye

Everything had gone much, much better than he'd expected. Connor was just... well, more than he deserved. As they made their way down the walkway to the plane, he couldn't help but steal a few glances at Connor. Connor caught him in the act just as they reached the plane doors.

"Looking at something?" Connor asked, an amused smile on his face. Troye blushed and looked back down, watching his feet as he followed Connor down the plane's isle.

"You," he said. He still wasn't sure what Connor wanted him to be, or how he should act. He was nervous that if he said something out of line that this would all just crumble away.

"Tro, there's no need to be embarrassed," Connor said. "I only caught you because I was doing it too."

Troye was pretty sure he was about to faint on the spot. Connor was suddenly confident, suddenly flirty with Troye. He wasn't used to it. Although, he wasn't really complaining either.

"Right," Troye said. He looked up, suddenly realizing where they were on the plane. "This is my seat," he added. "I'm in the isle." There was a young woman in the middle seat, texting someone.

"Excuse me," Connor said to the woman, as Troye put Connor's bag in the overhead. He didn't have a bag himself, he'd left in too much of a rush, so he'd just have to make do. "Would you mind switching with me so I can sit next to my friend? I've got a window seat a few rows up."

"We'd both really appreciate it," Troye added. The woman smiled at them.

"I don't mind at all. In fact, you're giving me a better seat," she said with a shrug. "Sounds good to me."

"Thank you," Connor said. She picked up her backpack from the floor in front of her. "My seat number is 11A."

"Thank you again," Troye interjected.

"It's no problem at all," she said with a nod, walking away from the two of them. Connor sat in the middle seat, gesturing for Troye to sit next to him. There was a middle-aged man already asleep next to Connor.

"I could take the middle if you want," Troye offered.

"Please," Connor said, chuckling slightly. "Just sit."

Troye complied, fastening his seat belt as he did so.

"The flight attendants should be doing that safety demonstration thing any moment," Connor said. "As soon as everyone gets on the plane. We can talk after that."

"Okay," Troye replied. Connor pulled out his phone and did a few things on it before turning it off and putting it away. Troye just sat there nervously, watching. He was unsure why he was so nervous. Wasn't he supposed to be the confident one?

Once the flight attendants were done with their presentation, Troye spoke up quietly, knowing that only Connor would be able to hear him at the volume he was using. "You were going to... er... tell me something?"

This was so different from normal for him. For once, he was actually looking forward to the prospect of possibly being with someone, rather than being completely terrified. Although, he was slightly scared. But that was to be expected, wasn't it?

"I was," Connor replied with a soft smile. He took Troye's hand in his, squeezing it gently. "I mean, you already know," he said.

Troye nodded, fidgeting slightly as he waited for Connor to continue.

"But anyway," Connor said. "Troye, what I wanted to tell you is that I love you."

Troye's heart fluttered at the words. "I love you too," he replied quietly.