Chapter Text
San Jose Airport
"Trissyy... come here!" Tris had been leaning against the opposite wall, checking on social media, but when he heard Brad calling for him, he instantly looked up and flashed the brunette, who sat in one of these comfy massage chairs, a little smile. They´d been waiting for their flight to be announced for around an hour now and it seemed like Brad´s got finally bored. He was impatiently patting the seat next to him for Tristan to come over.
As Tris dumped down on the chair, the younger boy immediately turned to look at him with his beautiful hazel brown eyes, which were glimmering with joy as always. The blonde found himself wondering again, how young and innocent Brad looked, which he wasn't as Tris knew. Behind his childish, ingenious mask, there was a cheeky little monkey. But that was exactly what the drummer loved about this boy.
"Trisss... I'm bored. Do something!" Brad cried out, voice frustrated and a little bit sulky. But before the older boy could even think of something to do, Brad started tweaking his hair slightly what confused Tris for a moment and then made him chuckle gratified. He always loved it when brad touched him and leaned in a little bit. But soon just tweaking and ruffling randomly became boring for the curly haired boy and he started braiding the short strands of Tristan's Hair.
"Brad, what are you doing?" Tristan exclaimed bewildered, running a hand through his hair. "hey, hands off!" Bradley said touchy and smacked the blonde's fingers. "`m making you beautiful." he then added laughing gently and examining his masterpiece. "C´mon! I´m always beautiful!" The taller boy argued and felt a sudden flutter in his belly when his band mate agreed with a little smirk on his lips, saying: "well... you´re right." With that, he let go of Tristan´s hair and plopped back into his seat.
Tristan pulled out his phone then, opening the front camera to have a look on his braided hair. As horrible as it looked, he decided to take a pic and post it for fun, captioning it with: Stuck at the airport. Brad´s got bored and decided to make me beautiful.
He smiled to himself, knowing that there´d be soon a lot of comments telling him the same as Brad told him before; that he didn´t need his hair braided to be beautiful. But, as much as he loved their fans, all those comments didn't count for him. The only opinion he really cared about was Bradley´s, who was now looking around for any kind of entertainment and was watching the people passing by.
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Tris was tieing his bandana when Brad spoke again. He´d decided that his hair was a complete mess after Brad´s treatment and that only a bandana would be able to save what is still be to salvaged.
"Triss c´mon let´s get some Ice cream" with that Brad stood, holding out a hand for Tris to take, who quickly finished tieing his bandana and then took the hand to be pulled out of the chair. As soon as they were standing next to each other, Tris casually put his arm around Brad's shoulder and drew him closer secretly enjoying their closeness too much. Of course, he knew that Brad liked being tight to the drummer but it was not the same Tris felt. At the beginning, he´d been really upset about that but with time he´d learned to deal with it. Little kisses on the cheek, hugs, and squeezes wherever they were, even holding hands; Brad´s become used to affectionate gestures from Tris as signs of their friendship and that was what made it work for Tristan.
Later that day, Hotel room, Redmond
Tris was so tired. They'd been waiting for their flight for more than 3 hours and while flying he´d just been dozing because he couldn't fall asleep. Touring around had influenced his sleep patterns. He really loved playing live, being with their fans and on stage yet it was not only physically exhausting but also mentally.
They were all suffering being away from their homes and families, however, in those past years they´ve grown very close to each other what made it bearable. They did so much idiotic stuff, sometimes they even acted like they were mentally defective or something but they did have fun and it was distracting them from being homesick.
And with Brad Tris had found himself, somebody, to talk to about almost everything. There was only this tiny little detail he could never tell Brad, the reason why Tris was still single.
He loved Brad.
He´d been in love with him for almost 3 years now yet he would never say that out loudly. He hasn't even had his coming out and to be honest with himself he was too afraid to admit he liked boys. What if his bandmates wouldn't want him in their Band then?
There had been moments where he´d been on the verge of revealing his feelings for Brad but in the end, different things had always stopped him.
After all the most grievous times were those when he was completely alone with that annoying voice in his head and his aching chest, just like right now. Con, James, and Brad had decided to have a little drink at the hotel bar. They had asked Tris to join them but after he felt like he´d been literally awake all night he had chosen to stay in his and Brad´s room.
He´d planned to go to sleep early but instead, he was lying in their double bed, his eyes closed and the TV turned on to distract him. It didn´t work. His mind was running wild. He felt his brain was on the brink to explode and he wouldn´t mind if that just happened.
"Hey T." Tris was suddenly roused from his thoughts when he heard Brad´s cheerful voice. He´d been so lost in his own little world that he hadn´t notice Brad accessing their room. He sat up startled but when he saw his curly haired boy he immediately calmed down and smiled sleepily.
"Hey, Braderz."
Brad groaned "Tris, c´mon. You know I don´t like that name."
Tris just smirked. What he got in response was a sassy snore and with that Brad went to the Bathroom.
Only a few minutes later he came back missing his hat and his shoes. He dropped down on the bed next to Tristan and started watching what was on TV. Tris didn't. The telly had been turned on for more than an hour now but the blonde boy has not been giving any attention to it the entire time. And momentarily he had only eyes for Brad who was smiling about something on TV.
In that second Tris felt a sudden necessity to cuddle with the other boy. Without any words, he moved and was soon laid up on Brad´s abdomen, his hands around the younger boy´s waist, feeling his steady heart beat in unison with his own.
"Tris, you okay?" Brad seemed to sense that the drummer was washed-out. The silence between the two of them was nothing special, but this time it was not as peaceful as usually.
"Hm-hm." Tris hummed. "just fucking tired."
"You grumpy? Because of the hair?" the brunette asked teasingly, trying to lift the mood. Tris puffed and chuckled lightly, which Brad took as a success. He started moving his hands up and down the drummer´s back, caressing him gently just as Tris answered with muffled voice because he had his face pressed against Brad´s tummy inhaling the familiar scent of his aftershave.
"Oh yeah. It was horrible, looked so ugly" The smirk in his voice was not to be overthrown. But Brad joined in and acted like he didn't notice. "Hey there, careful. Are you bullying me for my braiding abilities?!" He cried out jokingly. "Nah, I wouldn´t dare!" This time Tris couldn´t hold back the laughter, but rather than ending their little game Brad went on.
"You are a jerk." He stated upset and tried to shove Tris away. "Go! Away! I´m hurt." Brad pushed harder but couldn't unravel himself from Tris´ now tight grip. The blonde snuggled up closer to his Boy, lacing their legs together to steady his firm hold.
"Oh, I´m sorry, babee. You´re braiding abilities are awesome." Tris was still playing their game, feeling a little bit guilty. He didn't look that disgusting, to be honest, and he did do enjoy Brad´s fingers in his hair. He started circling his thumb at the place where his hand was grasping Brad´s waist apologizingly but when the younger boy neither answered nor tried to push him away anymore Tris unfixed himself a little from Brad and looked up. The brown-haired looked like he was frozen or in shock and was completely mute but when Tris´ brows furrowed in confusion a second later a lot of things happened very fast at once.
In a split second, Brad reached for Tris and rolled them over. Brad was now on top of Tris, caging the older one with his knees next to Tris´ waist and his hands holding Tris´ wrist down. An evil grin was on his face as he murmured with a threatening voice. "You´re still making fun of me, aren´t you, Tristan."
But Tris just stared wide eyed and open mouthed back at him. He could fell Brad´s hot breath on his face, his body warmth. He could smell his scent, but he couldn't focus on what that beautiful voice was saying. "Uuuuhm, what?" he squawked back perplexed.
Suddenly Brad started laughing, a soft, sweet and gentle laugh and buried his head in the pillow next to the blond hair of Tristan. "Gotcha!" he whispered in Tristan's ear.
The next things Tris felt was Brad lips on his own, but instead of kissing his boy back he made a squeaking noise. He hadn´t expected anything like that, everything went so fast and all he could do was lay there frozen with his mind running wild, trying to process what was happening.
Was this even real? Or was it just one of his dreams? Maybe he had fallen asleep without noticing.
"Tris. come on." he suddenly heard a gruff voice, feeling the movement of Brad´s lips against his.
Ohh-kay. This was real. This was fucking real! Brad was kissing him. Realization hit him like cold water. He snapped for air, releasing the breath he didn´t notice holding and then relaxed and melted into the kiss, moving his lips with Brads and smiling slightly while doing so. He´d been wanting to kiss this boy for so long but never thought it possible to ever happen.
The kiss broke much too early, both of them had to breathe. Brad, still lying on top of Tris, beamed at the drummer who was happy as hell but still a little bit puzzled.
"Brad..." he tried "how...why?"
"Oh, I just felt like kissing you," Brad answer casually, "You think I´m that stupid? Like, I wouldn´t notice?"
"Eh-hm, but then... why diii... uh" Tris was interrupted by Brad´s lips which were kissing him wildly yet gently. The blonde haired boy quit thinking, closed his eyes and lost himself in the kiss. Brad was with him, they were kissing, everything was perfect and that was all that mattered in the moment.
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The kiss started innocently and gently but it didn´t take long till Brad deepened the kiss. He let his tongue slip out and glide over Tristan´s lips asking him for access. The blonde boy not longer in control of himself and his body let him slide in. They explored each other, played and started a little fight that Brad won. As they kissed little noises escaped their mouths becoming louder and louder the more the kiss grew hotter.
Soon their lips were crashing roughly together, their breaths became more fitfully, their voices croaky and on the Telly, some random women was speaking about the tea collection of the queen. Sometimes Brad would groan things into Tristan mouth that directly walked their way into deeper areas. "Trizz. God, Tris. You´re so .... hot!" But all the older boy could do was humming in appreciation because his brain was completely turned off. His body, however, seemed very turned on. Brad had started moving his hips, rocking wildly into Tristan´s crotch. The heat that had emerged between them felt tangible and it was all Tristan´s ever wanted.
But somehow there was something that bothered him that he couldn't identify. Something was wrong. Were they going too fast?
A tiny voice in his head kept screaming "STOP" and it grew louder the more passionate their kiss became because it knew what was wrong.
But Tris didn´t realize till it was almost too late. Brad´s hands that had been ruffling Tris´s hair and caressing his face suddenly were trying to unbuckle Tris belt. In that moment one part of the drummer´s brain switched on again. And in that instant he finally was able to identify what was bothering him.
It was the pungent taste of alcohol.
The older one immediately tried to grab the brummie´s hands to stop him, but when Brad didn't quit even as Tris started to shove him away he saw no other way then biting the beloved lips of the brunette. "Aouw, Tris, God. Do that again!"
"No. Brad! Wait. Stop. Please! Stop!!“With strained sounding voice he ruined the moment that could have been so perfect. He cleared his throat once, twice before he spoke again more solid and determined now "Brad. Stop!"
Finally, there was a little bit of space between them, a break from their make out session both really enjoyed.
"What isit Trissy?" Brad sounded clearly unpleased. His tone reminded Tris of a child that had just been forbidden to play with his favorite toy. Normally that would be hilarious but right now the older boy stayed completely serious and looked sternly up to Brad.
"Brad, are you drunk?"
"Uh, well...maybe. Doesn´t matter. `m so horny. Trizz C´mon." The younger tried to capture Tris lips again to keep him from opposing but this time the skinny boy turned away from Brad, freed himself and crawled out of the bed to get as much distance between them as possible.
"I´m not doing this, Bradley", he stated hurt.
"But, you kissed me back? Why don´t you..?"
"Because I´m not a whore or something."
"But why did you kiss me back then?"
"...."
"Because I like you." And there it was; the confession that could change everything about them. But in his drunken state Brad would probably not remember anything about what was happening.
"Oh." and a pair of shocked, wide brown eyes staring at him was all he got as an answer.
He waited a few minutes, hoping Brad would say more but after he didn´t Tris sighed, went back to the bed and pushed the younger boy gently down, covered him with the blankets and told him to sleep. While doing so he tried to ignore that piercing ache in his chest but it was so strong that he felt like his heart was beeing ripped and shred inside him.
Brad fell asleep very fast. When Tris came out of the bathroom ready for bed and a little bit less damaged he heard little snores from under the blanket. He smiled sadly at Brad´s cute and peaceful sleeping face and then lied down next to him facing the wall and with as much space as possible between them.
That night Tris fell asleep crying. The tears came and he couldn´t do anything to stop them. Too much happened in too less time and there was so much in his mind he felt like he´d explode. The biggest question, however, was how he´d treat Bradley from now on. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep the relationship they had before this night, but maybe he had to try.
That night Brad had a dream that felt extremely real. He was kissing Tris and it felt awesome. They didn´t share words, but they didn´t need to because both boys knew that they loved each other and that they needed each other. That night Brad realized he´d fallen in love with Tristan Evans.
- The End, Cheers!