the twink in black tights - hank x connor

Searching For The Ugliest Shirt They Sell

SUMMARY: Connor goes to the mall on his lunch break to get a gift for Hank. Hank arrives for private lessons, and they do a lot less yoga and a lot more talking as they get to know each other better.

Connor realized after Hank's visit to the cafe that he had yet to get the older man a present. He scrambled to plan what he'd get for Hank as he brought out orders and hours passed until he had his lunch break. For once, he used his break to leave the cafe and he hurriedly waved at Jerry 3 as he ran out the back door.

He frustratedly remembered he'd taken his car to be repaired that morning and called a taxi the second time that day. He got into the cab and greeted the driver with a small smile as he got into the passenger side.

"Hi, I'm Leila." The woman driving greeted him, flashing a smile.

"Connor," Connor introduced himself, grateful that the driver seemed friendly as they started towards the shopping mall.

"Last minute Christmas shopping?" Leila asked, probably having noticed Connor's slightly panicked expression.

"Ah- yes," Connor laughed breathlessly. He turned to look at Leila. She was aesthetically pleasing, auburn hair framing her face nicely and hardly going past her shoulders. Connor found himself comparing her to Hank in his head and scolded himself. He didn't like the way that everything somehow led to Hank in his brain. Connor decided to speak more, not enjoying the silence that overcame the cab. "I still have no idea what to get him, honestly."

"Well, what does he like?" She asked, tilting her head as she glanced at him.

"Ahm- he likes heavy metal, but he also likes jazz," Connor told her, the first thing coming to mind being his music taste.

"That's some variety," She chuckled.

"Yes, it is," Connor agreed. "He also has... questionable fashion taste."

"How do you mean?" She countered, and Connor gave it some thought, making sure to put it lightly.

"Well... He often wears things that would normally be considered tacky," Connor said carefully. "But in all honesty, I think it suits him really well." He finished his words smiling to himself as he thought about Hank and his obnoxious shirts that he wore under his coat.

"He must be something special, huh?" Leila was smirking at him knowingly.

"I mean... yeah..." Connor trailed off, grinning uncontrollably wide.

"Maybe get him one of those ugly shirts he loves," Leila suggested with a shrug as they pulled into the mall parking lot.

"Yeah, maybe I will," Connor said thoughtfully, although he hardly had any other ideas so he figured it'd probably be best to take her suggestion. "Thank you, Leila."

"Of course, you have a good holiday, Connor," She said with a smile. "Go woo your man!" She added with a wink, and Connor giggled as he left the car.

He grabbed himself a pretzel from the food court and rushed past all the people into a clothing store he didn't catch the name of. He only had about ten minutes left of his break, and he knew he wouldn't make it back in time, so he stopped where it was less crowded and took out his phone. He smiled at his wallpaper, which was a picture of Hank. Hank had taken the picture to show off his trimmed hair, piercings on display. Connor remembered laughing fondly at Hank's pride that he didn't mess up his hair.

He didn't even bother to text- he usually didn't- and went straight to calling Jerry 2.

"Connor?" Jerry's cheery voice came through the line, and Connor could hear the familiar bustle in the background of the call.

"Hi, Jerry," Connor said breathlessly. "Is there any way I can get more time for my lunch break? I still need to get Hank's present and the traffic is really bad..." Connor trailed off.

"Hmm..." Jerry seemed to think about it for a moment. "You should be okay, although you know it's busy today, so try to come back as soon as you can. I'll cover you."

"Ah- thank you- I'll be quick, I promise," Connor said gratefully and wasted no more time, hanging up the phone and beginning to look around the clothing store. Some cologne caught his eye, but he realized he liked the cologne Hank already used far too much to buy him another.

He found the men's department and looked around, and a particularly vibrant shirt caught his eye. It certainly looked like something Hank would wear and it was almost comparable to a Hawaiian shirt, although it had long sleeves and the colors didn't quite compare. Connor gave it a long look before grabbing it, knowing he had very little time to decide. He brought it to self check-out and hurried out of the mall, gripping the bag the shirt was in tightly as he wound his way around people in just as much of a rush as he was.

He made it out of the mall and clambered into a taxi, although the driver was comparably less friendly. The drive seemed to take years, and he was extremely grateful to be out of the awkward silence of the car and back at work, shedding his layers when he entered. He thanked Jerry 2 for covering for him and hurried back to work, and the rest of the day passed surprisingly quickly. It was extremely busy, as it normally was during the cold weather. Connor was grateful for the business though. Christmas was always rough for money for all of the employees, and no one really complained despite having to run around frantically all day.

Connor wasn't too upset to leave the chaos when his shift was over though, and he took another taxi to the building where he held his yoga lessons. He finally calmed down when he was in the building, not having to worry about being late anymore, and he hung up his jacket on the coatrack he had in his room while he waited.

He dawdled on his phone until he heard a knock at the door and his heart immediately sped up, knowing who it was before his brain did. He looked at the clock on his phone. Only Hank came this early, and sure enough, the door opened to reveal Hank, covered in a thin layer of snow. Hank waved and Connor smiled at him. "Hi, Hank," Connor said giddily.

"Hey, Connor," Hank returned and hung up his coat. Hank laid out his mat and faced Connor, looking almost shy.

They talked for a while, Connor learning more small things about Hank, and Hank learning more small things about Connor. They didn't talk about Connor's kiss on the cheek this morning, and Connor was somewhat glad they avoided talking about it. He wouldn't really know how to explain it.

"What did you want to be when you were younger?" Connor had asked, laying on his yoga mat and staring at the barren, plaster ceiling. Hank was sitting next to him on the floor and he had shed his many layers of clothing, in the clothes they usually wore for yoga.

"Fireman," Hank had said reflectively after a bit of thinking.

"Hm, wanted to be everyone's hero?" Connor hummed, although it wasn't really a question. "I wanted to be a track star."

"What happened?"

"Never even had the time to join the track team," Connor confessed. "Plus, my parents were a lot more interested in how I did academically. Not like that matters now, anyway."

"Why doesn't it matter?" Hank asked, tone concerned.

"They kicked me out when I was seventeen," Connor mumbled.

"Ah. Fuck em, though, I bet you can probably run like hell anyway," Hank remarked.

"I suppose," Connor said, giving it little thought. There was a knock on the door. Simon waved from the doorway. Chloe was behind him with her hair in its usual lazy bun, as it always was for the yoga classes. People slowly filled the classroom.