I Don't Believe You. (A Troyler One-Shot)

Los Angeles. One of the most iconic cities in the world. The ideal image was beautiful palms swaying in the slight breeze, Pacific waters gently rippling in the wind, warm sand underneath your toes, and gorgeous people passing by.

But in reality, it's just hot as fuck.

Tyler and Troye were desperately trying to cool off. They had positioned themselves next to the radiator that was currently blasting icy air from its vents. Laptops, for once, were on the floor in front of them in an attempt to keep the blazing undersides of them away. Styled hair was out of the question. Both of them were sweating so much their hair was completely soaked in sweat.

The radiator shuddered and popped before going silent.

"No," Tyler insisted. "No, no, no."

He twisted himself around so he could investigate. There was no way in hell he was going to sit here in the middle of the fiery heat without air conditioner. He fiddled with the on/off switch for a second. Immediately he progressed to hitting it angrily. Of all days, it had to fail him now?

"Tyler - " Troye was cut off by a deafening bang. "Jesus Christ, Tyler! Stop!"

Tyler ignored him and continued to get more and more vexed by the lifeless machine. Troye continued to try and tell him to knock it off, but he wouldn't listen. He leapt forward and pinned Tyler's wrists to his sides.

"Tyler," he began again, quietly now, "calm down. You're not getting anywhere. Tell me how we can solve this problem."

The man huffed at Troye's undeniable logic. "Well, we should call to get it fixed. But I'm not sitting here in the heat until then!"

"Okay, then what should we do?"

They both stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly Tyler's eyes lit up like an LED lights display. "Food! Let's go get some."

Troye grinned. "You call someone to fix this while I call a cab."

They both set to their phones faster than they ever had. Minutes later they were both on their way to a fifties-style diner. Tyler began to bounce up and down in his seat with excitement. Troye laughed at him. "Control yourself."

"We both know I'm no good at that."

He winked at the younger boy, who in turn blushed. Phrases like that made everything awkward.

Tyler was determined to push past it. Before he could say anything, though, the cab pulled up to the diner. "Tilly, I'll pay."

"Nope. Too slow," he answered, handing a twenty to the driver. Troye rolled his eyes but didn't argue. He could manage to pay for lunch. 

In the few seconds it took to walk over the sidewalk that wavered with heat, they were both sweating again from the noontime sun. It was a relief for the brisk air inside the diner to rush over them when they opened the door.

"Table for two?" the chirpy waitress asked. Tyler nodded and smiled at Troye. She led them to a booth. "What would you like to drink?"

"Coke, please," Troye requested.

"Coke for me, as well," Tyler said, never taking his eyes off of Troye. The waitress left them and Troye laughed at him. "What?"

"Why do you like it here so much? You look about five right now."

Tyler gasped and shoved his arm lightly. "Rude!"

Troye was relieved he was back to his joking personality. The whole day, he had been acting kind of off, but now they could just hang out until the repairman Tyler had called was finished. The waitress returned with their drinks and told them it would be a minute until she could take their order. Tyler, though, didn't look at his menu, he simply smiled at his friend. Troye asked, "What?"

"You're kind of adorable, you know that?"

Troye looked down and blushed all the way up to his ears. "Whatever."

"I'm serious!"

"Sure, Ty - "

"Can I get your orders now?" The waitress - Sally, her name tag read - interrupted their conversation. Tyler was confused, now. Didn't Troye believe him?

"Yes, please, I'll have a half-pound cheeseburger. Well done, mustard and mayo, everything on it, please."

Sally turned to Tyler expectantly and he realized he had no idea what to order. "I - um - same as him, please."

"Alright, those will be right out for you. If there's anything else you need just holler!"

Troye glanced at Tyler, but couldn't hold his gaze. He forced himself to look away and out the window instead. The awkwardness had returned.

"Troye. I was serious."

"To be honest, I don't believe you."

This took Tyler so completely off-guard he needed a minute before he could reply. "Why not?"

"How can I believe you without any proof?" Troye asked innocently, glancing up at Tyler from under his lashes. 

Tyler's breath caught in his throat. Was Troye doing what he thought he was? Flirting back? He composed himself and teasingly replied, "I wonder what it would take to convince you."

Troye only shrugged. He surreptitiously sipped his soda, looking anywhere but at him. Tyler scooted closer to Troye, around the hemispheric booth. He stared at Troye relentlessly, but Troye refused to back down. Tyler sighed, "I suppose I'll never know."

The younger man watched as his face slowly slipped into a clearly overdramatic pout. Troye rolled his eyes at his foolishness and, so quickly you could blink and miss it, leaned in to peck Tyler on the lips.

Tyler's face was coated in shock. Troye couldn't help but giggle. "What?" he asked. "I wanted to cheer you up."

And then, despite the fact they were in a diner primarily occupied by elderly couples, Tyler brought his hand to the back of Troye's neck and dragged him in for another kiss. A real one, this time. Troye's heart thudded loudly, and his stomach flooded with butterflies. He inhaled sharply, surprised, but wrapped his arms around Tyler's waist and yanked him closer.

Tyler broke the kiss with a laugh. His eyes sparkled as he asked, "Convinced?"

"... I don't know," Troye replied, smiling downwards. "Not completely ..."

"We'll have to see what we can do about that."

And before Troye could reply, Tyler was kissing him again. He smiled against Tyler's lips and closed his eyes. 

Los Angeles was full of gorgeous people, but he knew the most gorgeous of them all was right here in front of him.

A/N: Hi, y'all. I know I promised an update on Sick Day, and it's coming! I just am not inspired to write currently and don't want to try and write without inspiration because it will just end up awful. In the meantime ... what do you think of this? Comment, please :)

Dedicated to colour-me-troyler because her incredible fanfiction inspired me to write this! Go check out her writing!

       - PersistentlyDreaming