After This | The Station Lobby | Work-Safe (just kisses)
Today was the day, the day that almost a month worth of scheming and planning had gone into. He hadn’t done it all by himself naturally, Alexis and Kitty had been pretty invaluable for the mission to succeed. He’d been an anxious sort of excited all day, and had maybe skipped a few of his later period classes to make sure that everything went through flawlessly (he would explain to Allison later, much easier to deal with it after the fact than get a request denied and do it anyway). He’d gone in with the premise that he was doing some prep work for Kitty’s show, and that wasn’t all that unusual for him. All he had to do was wait until the room was mostly busy with other things, so that they wouldn’t notice when he accidentally put in the wrong time slot value. He’d been working there long enough that no one would really go back to double check his work anymore, but hey, typos happened right? After all, he was just a high school intern.
Dylan had left with enough time to make it home before the music would play, because he really wanted to experience it that way and make sure that as many radios were playing their song as he possibly could. He had just hoped they really liked it, and weren’t disappointed that he’d technically stolen their music. But the reaction was worth it, the buzz from all of them was nearly intoxicating but as much as he liked the other members of the band, there was one person he was really, really excited to hear from.
And to get flowers and a kiss? Dylan had been recovering from a lot of mental and physical issues when he’d gotten there, and they had both been solidifying their new strange lives, that their relationship hadn’t been… a quick moving thing. Dylan had no complaints at all, and they’d been on dates and spent time together, but they had sort of been in that area of not-quite taking that plunge. But Dylan was… excited for the prospect.
He didn’t want to seem too eager, but he was waiting for Alex in the lobby. He’d been playing on his phone to pass the time, but he kept looking up at the doors expectantly. When he finally saw Alex getting out of a car, he stood and he smiled. “So, you liked it then?” He asked playfully.
"Love it," Alex was barely able to get out breathlessly, since he'd literally run from the car and into the lobby. All it had taken was for his driver to ask how he was doing today for Alex to launch into how amazing it felt to hear his band on the radio, and yes, he really recommended the guy to check them out ("Sunrise on Eighteen, tell your friends!") and they had a really cool sound and it was okay if he didn't like them, but maybe other people in his life would. The Uber guy merely smiled bemusedly at him when he leapt from the car, but he was already out of Alex's head, because he could see Dylan and that was all that mattered.
His hand shot out with a bunch of California roses. "I got you flowers, and I really meant what I said about wanting to kiss you if you're still down for it?"
Dylan practically melted at the sight of Alex holding out the handful of roses. It was preposterous and adorable and everything Dylan could want in that moment. He took the flowers from Alex. "You guys have worked so hard, you deserve it." He smiled, "But I definitely won't say no to a thank you kiss."
Dylan awkwardly tried to shuffle the flowers around, before he moved to put them down on one of the lobby tables for a moment. "I just really wanted to impress this guy I like." He grinned, and he placed his right hand gently on Alex's cheek. He wasn't sure how experienced the other man was, and he was happy just to follow Alex's lead with what he was comfortable with.
The giddiness suffusing this moment far outweighed the tiny spike of anxiety at watching his meager offering be fumbled, because really Alex should have known better. Or thought better. Or taken Dylan's situation into consideration. Next time, maybe he'd make him a flower crown instead. One for each of them, even if it was silly. But it didn't really matter in the end, because it looked like he liked them (and Alex swore to himself that he'd plant more seeds in the bed outside the studio, which he'd hastily grabbed them from) and Dylan's hand was on his face and… and… oh.
Yes, this was happening.
Butterflies were moshing in his stomach, but that didn't keep him from leaning in, closing his eyes at the last instant, and brushing his lips against Dylan's.
While not his first kiss, this was the first time he'd had one with someone he had no doubt liked him, and whom he liked in return. It really made all the difference. Alex took another half step in and put one arm around Dylan's waist, his other hand touching Dylan's face and then slipping back into his hair. He went in for another kiss, this time deeper, longer, more certain. On the back of it, he admitted, "I've wanted to do that for a long time."
Dylan still struggled with his identity after losing his arm, and struggled still with feeling like a normal person deserving of love instead of a deformed mess of a person. But the way that Alex looked at him, the way he moved so lovingly and gently, it was easy to forget about his own insecurities.
Dylan leaned up on to his toes and pressed his lips against Alex’s, a small happy noise sliding from the back of his throat at their kiss. He pulled back just slightly, his hand still on his face as he gazed up at him. It wasn’t Dylan’s first kiss, but he was pretty sure that it was the first kiss that meant anything more than thinking the other person was hot. “If you had told me that I had to put you on the radio to get a kiss, I would have done it sooner.” He teased him with a wink.
Alex tilted his head back to laugh, his grin fit to burst. The sound echoed through the lobby, and he distantly wondered if any of their neighbors heard. Maybe it was early enough for the adults not to be home, but also maybe they would understand. "I'm never going to hear the end of it from Julie and the guys. Totally worth it, even though I'm pretty sure I would have kissed you without the surprise radio play."
He did it again, just a small peck to the tip of Dylan's nose and both cheeks, just because he could. It was a thing they could do now, if they wanted.
All the energy he'd kept pent up at the studio and the car ride home (still a little weird that this was home) was now threatening to vibrate him through the floor. "Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, we were just on the radio! How did you pull this magic off? Or are you the type that won't reveal your trick?"
“Talk a lot about me with the others, then?” Dylan asked with a laugh, but he couldn’t help the slightest tint of pink that covered his cheeks when he thought about it. It had to be good things right? The other members of the band seemed to really like him, at least he thought they did anyway. Dylan linked his arm through Alex’s and tugged him over towards one of the comfy couches that sat against the wall in the lobby. He carefully put his flowers down on the small table before he sat so that he could hold Alex’s hand as they sat.
“I’m so proud of the work you guys have been doing.” He said honestly, he had sat in on a practice or two when he was invited, and he loved watching them work and vibe. “And Luke and Julie agreed to let me be the fan club President, so, you know, I have that going now.” He grinned.
“I had a lot of help from people. Alexis got me the recording, Matt helped me go over things so that we could make sure everything was legal and not going to mess you guys up somehow, and then Kitty gave me her access key, and because I’m an intern there, no one really questioned why I was tinkering with things.” He was actually pretty happy that it had all worked out like planned.
Alex ducked his head with a chuckle that was both shy and revealing, his cheeks growing even warmer, if that was possible. "Some, yeah," he admitted as he was pulled over to the lobby seating area all too willingly and set himself close enough to not only curl his fingers around Dylan's, but also put their knees firmly together. It helped with the jittery feeling of abject joy running rampant through him. He really had talked about Dylan to the guys, but not nearly as much as he'd wanted to. They'd been in this start-and-stop pattern, and Alex hadn't wanted to be the guy who talked about someone he liked while the other two didn't have that. It just wasn't who they were as a band. At this point, however, after what Dylan had done, there was a better than good chance that Alex wouldn't be able to stop himself from singing his guy's praises for a long while to come. "All good things, promise."
He grinned and squeezed at Dylan's hand. It filled his chest to bursting to hear someone talk about the band with such glowing praise, but it meant ten times as much when it came from someone he cared about. Not to mention someone whose passion was radio. Sure, they were well past the day and age when a hit on the radio could make or break a band; SO18 would still have to make a dent in the streaming world to truly make themselves into the Next Big Thing. But hearing their song on the actual airwaves? There was absolutely nothing like it. "We'll make up a rad t-shirt for you to wear. Or a dorky one. Or a hoodie! I think as club president you get final say on the design. And regardless of what it winds up looking like, you'll totally rock it. And look cute doing so."
All the people who helped Dylan pull this off… It blew Alex's mind. He already had a list going of all the people he'd want to thank if they ever won a Grammy. When. When. "Dang, dude, that's some mad orchestration to get us a radio play!" Alex sat up straighter and saluted with his free hand. "Your bravery and willingness to risk your job is both commendable and worthy of more kisses. If, uh, if you want them? And dinner! Yeah, dinner. Maybe this weekend? Or whenever you want. We all owe you big time, but this? This I want to do just because I want to date you."
Dylan couldn’t help but grin when Alex reassured him that it was nothing but good things. Everything just felt so normal, and he wasn’t sure that he’d ever feel that way again after everything that happened, but here they were. Dylan’s hand squeezed back.
“Maybe a whole line of things, shirts and hoodies. I know that most people in the Station would buy them, and then once everyone else realizes how great you are then you’ll like definitely be able to sell them.” And he was serious. He would live in SO18 memorabilia if he thought that it would help the band in anyway. He was still a shy, dorky kid and didn’t have many friends outside of them.
“I really wanted to do something special for you,” Dylan told him, “Well, all of you, but especially you.” He was completely falling for the teen in front of him. “I want to date you too,” Dylan told him with a grin, “And I will take as many of the kisses as you want to give me. I’m really, really into you, Alex.” He promised, and he leaned forward, capturing Alex’s lips with his own again. He was pretty sure he would never get tired of the way it felt.
"I'm gonna cover you in so much of our swag—once we get it designed and printed." Alex laughed, but was utterly sincere. He kind of wanted to bundle Dylan away right then and there, but also didn't want to move too fast. It felt incredible to get to have this, to get to hold someone's hand, to watch the color fill his cheeks and feel it in his own. He was the happiest he could remember being in a long time.
He swiped his thumb against Dylan's jaw and let out a quiet, happy sound of agreement. Yeah… he was fully gonna date the heck out of this awesome, thoughtful guy.