Social Norms (Synacky)

Chapter Seventeen

The next day, Zacky invited Brian to his house. His parents were out taking his brother to Anaheim, and his sister said she didn’t mind if he came over.

Brian was a little nervous as he rang the doorbell. He was curious as to what the inside of the house looked like. The outside looked so normal, but he couldn’t help but imagining it to look like some evil dungeon out of one of those fantasy books he read when he was a kid. Zacky, the young hero, forced to spend his days trapped in the lair of oppression, with only the Brian and the park for his saviors. Day by day he was tormented by his cruel siblings and witches of parents, who mocked him and tortured him for his sexuality.

So, he was surprised when his sister opened the door. His normal sister, with hair that was brown, not flaming, and a normal smile on her normal face.

“Hey, you Zack’s boyfriend?”  She asked in an incredibly normal, girly voice.

“Um, uh, yeah I’m Brian.” He stuck out a hand for her to shake, still trying to grasp the fact that she wasn’t some sort of demon, and she shook it tentatively.

“Zina. Come on in, I’ll get him.” Zina opened the door wider so Brian could step in, and he marveled at the perfectly normal house. Everything was clean and well kept, there were no lava pits, no cages filled with monsters. Pictures of a happy family hung on the walls, and Brian did notice that Zacky was absent from most of them.

“Zack! Your fuck buddy’s here!” Zina called out, causing Brian to blush slightly, and he heard a door upstairs open and a pair of feet flew lightly down the stairs.

Zacky smiled at Brian, and Brian smiled back, noticing instantly he didn’t have his snakebites in, and he was wearing green socks.

Zina retreated upstairs, and Zacky took Brian’s hand, leading him through the house and into a kitchen. “Do you want to make cupcakes?” he asked, going to a cupboard and fishing around for a box of cake mix.

“Um… sure…” Brian replied hesitantly. Making cupcakes wasn’t exactly how he imagined spending this day. He thought they’d go up to Zacky’s room, make out, maybe fool around in his bed. But he should’ve known better, Zacky was responsible as hell.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to…” Zacky trailed off, looking up at Brian. “We could do something different, I just like eating cupcakes and figured we might as well make some.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” Brian said. He had to remember he was trying this out Zacky’s way. “Let’s get started.”

It wasn’t hard making the cupcakes. All it required was some eggs and oil and water and then they put them in the oven. Zacky somehow managed to get cake batter on his cheek, which Brian didn’t mind helping lick off.

“You know, you’re adorable.” Brian murmured in Zacky’s ear as he kissed his cheek, causing a light shade of pink to dust across Zacky’s cheeks. He smiled softly, turning to kiss Brian gently, and Brian grinned, resting his hands on Zacky’s waist.

“I don’t think ‘adorable’ is quite the word…” Zacky mumbled, and Brian walked him backwards so the back of his legs pressed against the countertop.

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” he replied, lifting Zacky up onto the counter and settling himself between his legs. “You’re beautiful.”

And he meant it. Zacky was beautiful. So beautiful that it took his breath away. Brian watched Zacky’s expression, watched his jasper eyes waver over Brian with uncertainty, before he cupped Zacky’s face in his hands and kissed him.

Zacky made another one of those soft sounds, a barely audible noise that let Brian know he was doing something right. He swept his tongue over Zacky’s bottom lip, feeling where his snakebites ought to be, and Zacky returned the kiss, tentatively spreading his fingers out against Brian’s chest. Brian pulled away and looked down at him. “You’re beautiful.” he whispered again, and Zacky placed his lips against his.

Brian was surprised to feel a slick tongue run over his lip, and he gasped as Zacky’s tongue slid into his mouth.

So this was it.

He was making out with Zacky.

It was better than he imagined it would be. Zacky’s tongue was hesitant and timid, tasting of spearmint and cake. The kiss was shy, but experienced and Zacky’s hands slipped up to grip Brian’s hair, tugging on it gently. It was all so soft and slow, but it was sensual and exciting, and honestly one of the best kisses Brian ever had. He slid his hands up to cup Zacky’s face, keeping him there, thumbs tracing a line on Zacky’s cheeks. Zacky pulled a little harder on his hair, and he couldn’t help but groan softly, letting his eyes slip closed and then-

The timer for the cupcakes went off, and Zacky jerked away from him, startled. Brian chuckled as Zacky reached out to fumble with the timer on the oven, searching for a button to turn it off.

Brian moved so Zacky could grab a mitt and get the cupcakes out. “I-I…” Zacky began, stumbling over his words as he set the cupcakes down on the stove. He turned around to look at Brian and said, “Let’s try that again.”

~*~

So, they built a fort.

Zacky brought some chairs and blankets into the living room, and they made a tent to hide out in and eat their cupcakes. At first Brian thought it was childish, but it was fun and they ended up kissing some more anyway.

“So how’s the album coming along?” Brian asked. They were lying down in a mess of blankets under their fort, and Zacky had tucked himself close to Brian’s side. He shrugged, burying his face in Brian’s neck.

“I dunno.” He replied in a muffled voice. “It’s coming. I’ve written the solo for Matt’s song. I’ll show it to you later if you want.”

“I’d love to hear it.” Brian replied, “But not now.”

Zacky agreed, looking up at Brian sleepily and kissing the corner of his mouth. “Do you sing, Brian?”

“No.” Brian replied quickly. “I don’t.”

“Why not?” Zacky closed his eyes again. “You should sing a lullaby.”

“I don’t know any lullabies. And I don’t sing.” Brian ran his fingers through Zacky’s hair. “Sorry.”

Zacky sighed softly at Brian’s touch. “Well, you don’t have to sing a lullaby. Sing some Metallica. Sing some Beatles. Do you listen to The Beatles?”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to sing…”

“Please?”

Brian sighed. “Fine. But don’t laugh.”

So Brian began humming Eleanor Rigby, and eventually he picked up the courage to form the words. Zacky smiled softly, relaxing against him, and soon his breathing slowed and evened out. Brian smiled softly, tucking a strand of hair behind Zacky’s ear.

“You sleepy, Zacky?” he whispered, kissing his temple.

He heard a door open and close, and a voice called out, “Zack, Zina, we’re back!”

Fuck.