A Touch of Courage (Troyler AU)

Chapter 22: Slip

Tyler's POV

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense 

-Billy Joel  

A cheery blue festival sign greeted them as they traveled down a steep road towards the center of the action, ducking their heads against the gently falling snow; passing kiosks, street performers and restaurants wafting delicious scents into the air.  They neared the entrance of the carnival and the group followed Zoe as she dragged her boyfriend, Alfie, forward.  

They stopped at a water gun carnival game.  The bell rung and Zoe's eyes bounced with excitement when the guns shot narrow streams of water towards their targets.  A little girl with braided pigtails started shrieking by her father's side, and Tyler watched as Troye's eyes were drawn to them.  The father wasted several seconds aiming too high and had no chance of winning.  The girl kept shrieking anyway, possibly just to test her lungs.

Alfie shoved his way closer to Troye and Tyler watched him wince, an expression which seemed to fly over Alfie's head.

"Wanna play, Troye?"

Troye glanced at him wearily before shifting his gaze to Zoe nodding subtly, almost pleadingly, behind Alfie's back.

"Uh, sure."

They took a seat on the stools.  Troye narrowed his eyes as he aimed his gun, and when the game began, he already had the water stream trained exactly on the bull's eye.  Tyler wasn't really surprised when he won, but Alfie congratulated him enthusiastically.

Troye gave him a polite nod, turning away as the game operator tossed him a pink, stuffed bear as his prize.  Troye turned with a faint smile towards Tyler, until the girl with the pigtails started to sniffle.  Before she could start crying again, Troye walked over and handed her the toy wordlessly.

She squealed in delight, hugging it to her chest as the father thanked him profusely.  Troye gave an embarrassed shrug of his shoulders, murmuring an awkward "your welcome" as he backed away quickly. 

"Sweet guy, isn't he?"  Caspar whispered to Tyler as the father and daughter dissolved back into the crowd.

"Sweet guy,"  Tyler agreed quietly, watching as Troye retreated back to Zoe.

They moved forward but Caspar crooked his head, signaling for Tyler to fall back.  Tyler slowed his steps, allowing the others to walk some distance in front of them.  Caspar sighed and turned to stare at Tyler, expression frank.

"So, are you sure nothing's happening with you two?  'Cause you guys kind of seem..." 

Tyler didn't answer right away. Because the truth was, whatever was between him and Troye did feel like a relationship. It'd felt like a relationship for a while now. Things had changed irrevocably between them and he couldn't pinpoint exactly when it had happened. After Caspar's dinner? Maybe it had been the relief of finally telling someone he was gay, but Troye had had a freedom after that which seemed to affect all his interactions with Tyler. He had stopped cutting to silence as quickly and, for someone who had previously seemed so serious, had settled into a lighter mood; had begun to display what Tyler came to understand was a wicked sense of humor. The entire thing had taken on a speed he hadn't anticipated and, ever since learning that Troye was gay and had apparently had a boyfriend, it had only gotten worse. Trying to picture collected and expressionless Troye without any of his inhibitions had somehow morphed into picturing Troye losing those inhibitions with him. It had only gotten worse from there. All at once, it was too intense, being near each other, and they orbited around one another, keeping large objects between them.