fly | madderton

ONE

"Here we are, boys. Eight vodka shots."

Charlie's eyes widened at the waiter's words, his head snapping to look towards Taron. "Eight!"

"Yeah, and?" Taron grinned, glancing up at the waiter as he moved the last glass off of the tray and onto the table. "Thanks, mate."

Richard waited for him to leave before turning to Taron with a laugh. "Really, T?"

It was almost eye-roll worthy. Almost.

"Come on, guys. We're out for some fun. It's my birthday. I'll have every single one to myself, if you guys are gonna be boring."

"Absolutely not, T." Jamie laughed, moving some of the glasses away. "You're not having eight to yourself. I'll have two. You guys?"

"No, thanks. I'm happy with my pint."  Richard laughed, having a sip from his glass as if to prove his point. Taron couldn't help but roll his eyes, moving two in front of Richard anyway before picking up one of his own and touching it against Charlie and Jamie's glasses. Richard watched as the three other boys had their shots, the corners of his lips creeping up into a smile at the sight in front of him.

It was the first time they'd seen Jamie and Charlie in what felt like forever. It was certainly the first time since Taron and Richard had told the pair that they were officially a couple, which had to have been over a year ago. They'd done a decent job of keeping it secret up until then, and nobody other than them two knew. All of them having moved onto work meant they hardly had any communal free time to arrange a meeting, so this was a rare weekend where they were all simultaneously free, and it coincided with Taron's birthday. Of course, their entertainment for the night was sitting in a karaoke bar and getting absolutely wasted.

Charlie just had the one shot, coughing as he set the glass back down and quickly having a sip of his beer. Jamie and Taron, on the other hand, were nightmares.

"Who's coming up with me?" Taron asked, grinning as he glanced between the confused faces staring back at him, "Oh come on. You didn't actually think we could come out here and not sing, right? I can't go up on my own."

"Why not?" Charlie asked, "You are a performer, no?"

"I'm an actor, idiot. I'm as much a singer as you are. Come on, please?"

Charlie shook his head. Taron turned to look at Jamie, giving his best pleading eyes.

"Absolutely not." Jamie laughed, "You couldn't get me up there if you tried. I wonder if you've got any other performer friends you could ask?"

He was right. Taron was quick to look over at Richard, a grin tearing across his face. He couldn't say no, surely?

"Not happening." Richard laughed, having to glance around the bar as he took another sip of his drink. He knew he wouldn't be able to resist that gaze, should he lock onto it.

"Please, Dicky. Please? Pretty, pretty please?"

Richard  didn't even have to look at Taron to fall victim to his charm. He felt his reluctance simply melt away at the sound of Taron's voice, and he was practically forced to look over at his boyfriend. Knowing Richard couldn't resist his pleading, Taron was already sliding out of the booth and standing up beside the table. Richard wasn't a singer, but he also wasn't about to disappoint his boyfriend for the sake of his pride.

That said, he needed some help. He swiftly knocked both shots down his throat before sliding out of the booth and following Taron through the crowd, and over towards the stage. The room was far, far too loud to hear Taron talk to the DJ, even though he was yelling. Not that Richard had to hear the name of the song. As soon as he'd been dragged on stage and heard the first few notes of the song, he knew exactly what Taron had chosen.

"Well I guess it would be nice, if I could touch your body,"

"I know not everybody, has got a body like you.."

———

It was about half two by the time Richard had finally put Taron to bed. He'd been a nightmare to get up to the flat from the cab, and an even bigger nightmare to get changed. He hadn't meant to be difficult, he was just struggling to walk, and found his soft, incoherent mumblings to himself far too funny. Richard could handle the giggling, but practically having to carry Taron around when he wasn't exactly the most sober was certainly a task.

But finally, Taron was tucked up under the covers in front of Richard, having had a drink of water and something to eat. Apparently the power nap he'd had between the cab and bed had woken him up, and he was starting to sober up a little. His index finger was gently trailing shapes over Richard's chest, and his murmurings becoming more coherent with each passing moment.

The four of them had gone their separate ways after leaving the final club of the night. Jamie and Charlie had headed off to their hotel, a little further away from the city. Taron and Richard had gone back to their flat.

They'd moved into it after finishing school. It was a little nicer than the last one, and more central in the city. It was simply a better location for them both to find work, and what felt a million times more expensive because of the location. Work had been coming to them, though. They'd secured some extra work, each, and both had semi-regular jobs in the local theatres. It was enough money to get them by, but it would be nice to have some bigger roles, and not have to worry about the rent.

"Have you had a good birthday, baby?" Richard whispered, gently pushing Taron's hair back off of his damp forehead. He was gross, but a shower was definitely off the cards in that moment.

Taron nodded a little, his eyes slipping shut as Richard ran his fingertips along Taron's scalp. His boyfriend couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him, knowing full well that Taron had always been a sucker for having his hair played with.

"Good... I love you."

There was a soft sigh and a moment of silence between them, before Taron murmured it back.

"Uh-huh, I love you.."

happy birthday t x

welcome back! how is everyone?

ops please as always <3