Double Dare

5

Benji grins across the breakfast table at Beau, who is looking significantly flustered. Their mother is munching on a strip of bacon, bewildered. Beau has a friend over. And, he isn't cleaning the tables, or organizing the spices; he is just sitting, having a quiet conversation. She's astounded.

Benji, on the other hand, is perfectly pleased that he's sitting directly across from Danny. He is mildly certain that Danny is holding Beau's hand underneath the table, but this does nothing to discourage him. "So, Danny, how are the pancakes?"

Danny, eyebrow raised, places his fork down. "They're really good, with the syrup."

"Mm, know what else would be good covered in syrup?" Benji runs the tip of his tongue over his lips, and Beau chokes on his pancakes.

Under the table, Danny releases Beau's hand to push his hair out of his face. "P-please don't, uh... Do that." He hides his blush by looking down at his lap, and Beau's fingers tremble alone.

"Benji, cut it out," Beau pouts. Pouts. Benji grins, pleased at himself for drawing a reaction out of his usually stoic brother.

"Um, B-beau?"

"Yes, b-" Beau blinks at himself. The word baby had almost slipped out of his mouth. He shakes his head. "Yeah?"

"Uh." Danny runs his hand through his hair, knee jiggling around under the table. "Would you like to- I mean. Maybe, if you wouldn't hate it, we could go to the art museum?" The boy hyper focuses on playing with his fingers. "I mean, I was thinking, maybe a movie would just be gross and, like, annoying? So, the museum might be nicer."

Beau listens to this short speech with an increasingly fond smile on his face. He nods enthusiastically, heart thrumming. "Of course. We can leave right after breakfast."

"Enthusiastic much?" Benji mumbles through a chuckle, rolling his eyes. Though they are running a bet, he is a bit pleased to see his brother so smitten with someone else.

"Hush." Beau slowly reaches for Danny's hand underneath the checkered tablecloth. Their fingers collide, clumsily, then lace together with an extra squeeze from Danny. "Ready?"

Danny nods, scooping up one last bite of pancake. "Yup! Let's go."

"Great!" Beau stands too suddenly, an awkward knee smacking against the underside of the table. He flushes. "Sorry. Um, I'll grab my coat." He hurries out of the room, mumbling to himself under his breath.

"Hey." Benji leans across the table, motioning Danny forward. Seeing the boy's hesitation, he rolls his eyes. "C'mon, I'm not gonna try anything funny, just a little chat."

Danny leans in close enough for Benji to speak without being overheard. "What?"

"Now, listen. You better treat him right, you hear? He may seem a little chilly on the outside, but he's fragile. The good Lord knows that I want you for myself, but... I've never seen him like this over anyone. So, I'm rooting for you, but if you mess this up... I'll lose my shit, to be frank. Got it?"

Danny blinks in surprise, then a sunrise smile breaks onto his face. He sticks a hand out to shake. "I give you my word, no messing up. I'll be careful."

Beau pokes his head into the door, wrapped in his shiny, too big windbreaker, grin almost too bright to look at. "Ready?" His cheeks are flushed a bit pink, and he bounces on his toes. Danny can see a portable Lysol wipe package poking out of his pocket, and he smiles.

"Yup! I'm coming!" He turns back to Benji. "Don't worry. I'll be real careful with him, I swear."

Benji gives a solemn nod, folds his arms. "You better."

Danny smiles at Benji and jogs up the stairs to catch up to Beau. The boy smiles, reaches for Danny's hand. Halfway through, though, he stops, swallowing uneasily.

Danny, noticing this, looks up at Beau. "We can, ah, link pinkies? W-would that be better?"

Beau's cheeks turn pink, and he slips his hand next to Danny's, nudging it gently. "Y-yeah."

Danny grins, hooking his pinky around Beau's and skipping cheerfully out of the door.

***

"Profound." Danny places his hand on his chin.

"Oh, yes. Very. Lots of emotion." Beau nods stoically, fighting a smile. He folds his arms over his chest and looks at Danny out of the corner of his eye. The younger boy bursts out laughing, hand covering his mouth to muffle the sound.

The two of them stand shoulder to shoulder in front of an abstract art piece consisting mainly of messy splatters and wild slashes of acryllic paint. Danny thinks it a bit ugly; Beau agrees.

"Let's look at the old, renaissance-y, French art," Danny suggests. "That stuff is kinda funny, and it makes more sense." Beau nods, then makes his slow way across the tiles; walking between the cracks is hard on squares this small. Danny walks beside him, waltzing along with his hands behind his back. Beau can feel Danny's warmth through his coat, and he shivers. He glances at the boy.

Danny's tongue is held tight between his teeth as he wobbles on one foot, trying to keep his balance. He hops along the tile floor, hair flopping in and out of his eyes, occasionally putting his arms out to keep his balance, trying his best to respect Beau's space.

He's so cute. Beau, startled by the wave of affection, looks away towards the floor with a peach colored blush dusting along his cheekbones. "Are you hungry?"

Danny looks up, shrugging. "Oh, a little, I guess. Not really, though."

Beau nods, biting the inside of his bottom lip and wishing he was better at small talk. "Do you, um. Do you like the art museum?" He dips his fingers into his pocket and touches the sanitary wipes lightly.

Humming, Danny looks around. "Yeah, I come here sometimes for the quiet. And the pop art is kinda cool. They have installation pieces, too, and those are cool to look at..." He trails off, easy smile bleeding into apprehension. "But, I'm really sorry if you think it's b-boring. Most people don't really like th-the art museum-"

"No! No, it's lovely." Beau smiles. "If you're having fun, I'm having fun. It's perfect. Very empty, very clean." A hint of humor creeps into his tone. "I don't have to worry about people putting their grubby hands on things, it's good."

Danny snorts. "Yeah, true. A virtually germ-free space." He swings his arms back and forth, making a swishing sound against his coat.

"Aren't you hot?"

"Mm?" Danny glances down at himself. "Oh. I mean, a little, but it's okay. I don't really wanna carry my coat," he laughs.

Reaching into his pocket, Beau shakes his head. "Don't be nonsensical. I'll carry it." He wipes the zipper with a sanitary wipe, tosses it into a garbage can, and unzips Danny's coat. He then carefully folds it over his left arm, on top of his own, sure not to touch anything but the zipper. He glances at Danny, and, after a bit of hesitation, leans over and pops the top button of the boy's shirt.

"Y-you looked really hot," Beau stutters, trying not to let his hand sit on Danny's neck for too long.

Danny, flustered, grasps for a distraction. "Oh, yeah, it is pretty hot in here. Must be you." Oh, swell job, Danny boy. Swell. Danny's eyes widen at himself. Beau's eyes also widen, down at his shoes.

"L-let's pretend I d-didn't say that," Danny blurts, face burning bright red. "Um, let's j-just... Just go to the next exhibit."

He walks ahead as quickly as he can, slowing immediately when Beau reaches for his hand. Beau stares at their linked pinkies and looks away in embarrassment.

He prays that he'll survive this date.

A/N:

Oh, guys, I'm so sorry for the wait. I had quite a few of you say that you were excited about this story, and that helped me get back on track. I had a hard time writing this when I started, but it fell into the flow soon enough.
I'll try and update semi-regularly, maybe weekly or biweekly. Thank you for your patience! The date will continue next chapter :)
Love you!
AJ