TOMMY FLYNN.
Had this happened before? It felt like such a familiar sensation, to be drawn to Jaylen, though Tommy had never expected it to be in this way. He always wanted to be near him, and most times he was near him he wanted to be close, touching, to make him laugh and have him do the same, but he hadn’t anticipated this feeling to overwhelm him. Now all he wanted to do was kiss him.
Tommy was barely able to consciously register what was going on enough to process it, let alone fight it, so he let the instinct take over. The gap between them slowly closed as Tommy’s lips met Jaylen’s softly, brushing over them at first as if he was testing the waters. Without even thinking about it, his free hand moved to hold the side of Jaylen’s face, as if he was holding him there so he couldn’t move away, though something about the way they were wrapped around each other told him he wasn’t going anywhere.
Then the kiss deepened, and he was surprised to find just how soft the other man’s lips were. Tommy felt like his head was underwater, but instead of needing to pull back, it was Jaylen that was allowing him to breathe. In that moment he felt like he needed him, needed this, and it was plain to see in the way he was now holding him firmly and kissing him hard that perhaps he’d wanted to do this all along.
He’s thought about this. Maybe a few too many times than he’s willing to admit, even to himself. More times than he should have, especially given their just friends. And close friends at that. Close friends aren’t supposed to think about how hard they want to kiss their other close friends... or what it would be like to kiss other places: neck, chest, stomach. But still in every wandering little touch— some tentative, posing the silent questions their mouths had been too cowardly to form, others sure and firm— Jaylen had felt a strange sense of hope rise up in his chest, sparking up and dying with a sharp tug of the wind, leaving only smoke in its wake.
Now he feels the warm, slick press of Tommy’s lips smearing against his, and that flame’s caught onto the space behind his ribs, climbing high up into his cheeks, higher still in the tips of his ears. Ears that are full of sparking sounds, little pops and fizzles that remind Jaylen of firecrackers.
He feels a bit pathetic, coming so easily done by something so irrefutably simple, but he can’t help himself. Maybe it’s the ever-growing anticipation that’s left the barrier around his heart so thin, having grate against it every time it skipped a beat. Maybe it’s Tommy’s hands gripping him, pressing hard enough that all Jaylen can do to ground himself is wrap his arms around Tommy’s neck and invite him closer, the taste on his tongue too sweet to give up now.



















