Tanner loved Keith’s smile and he loved the fact that he said he would heal all of Xena’s victim’s. How amazing this big guy was turning out to be. When he had first seen him in the room, he feared that Keith would be just like all of the other big, jock types he’d known in his life; he’d readied himself for the beginning of a new chapter in cruel bullying. Strange how life can throw you for a loop like that; Keith was the exact opposite. Wanting to see his new roomie smile some more and maybe hear him laugh, Tanner teased him some more, “You know, besides healing her victims, she’s probably be jealous because you look better in the armor and leather skirt thingy”.
Keith wasn’t only handsome, Tanner thought; he was a person of substance. The big guy had good morals and shared a lot of the same beliefs that Tanner held to be true. The blond teen was so happy that the two of them were roommates; this gave them plenty of time to be together and for Tanner to learn more about Keith. “No shame involved with being yourself”, Tanner agreed.
“No fair boomeranging the sweet word back at me”, Tanner chuckled. “Now, you, sir, are so far from cold and remote it’s silly to even entertain it. As for logical, is that supposed to be a bad thing?”. Tanner had made the point he wanted to and, so, he set upon his steak with enthusiasm, while Keith was doing the same. This food was really good, he decided, as he chewed, making him feel like this was a very good evening…good food, good company, good conversation and what looked to be a good future opening up for Tanner.
Tanner had just reached over and taken his last crunchy prawn and stuffed it in his mouth, when Keith had expressed that Tanner would make a better boyfriend than both of his previous ones put together. First he choked a little and then he chewed quickly and drank some water to wash his food down, “Me? Really? You think I would be a good boyfriend, Keith?”. Tanner couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. “Is it strange for two people who have just met to be talking like this already?”, he wondered, out loud, to Keith, “Because, I’ve just met you and I think you’d make perfect boyfriend material too”. His stomach felt all funny after admitting that to Keith and he realized where the expression about ‘butterflies in your stomach’ came from. Tanner realized his cheeks were turning pink again and no wonder; he wasn’t used to all of this talk about relationships, especially with someone he would be very interested in having one with. Looking once more into Keith’s beautiful eyes and then looking away, with a smile, Tanner suddenly became very interested in his steak once more, “This steak is great, how’s yours?”.