can't sleep so instead thinking about this prompt. not exactly a part two but you decide whether this happens between pt 3 & pt 4 of Touch or if it's an alt alt timeline
aaron reaches out first. ofc he does
dennys so angry at him for it. but obviously he knows he has no right to be angry. he just hates that aaron is the kind of person to forgive and forgive and forgive, and that dennys the kind of person that needs constant forgiving
he wants to be like aaron. he never wants to be like Aaron.
his coping strategy is self-punishment except he's really also punishing Aaron. he keeps berating aaron for his "touchiness" even though denny will literally fall apart without it. he brushes off Aaron's hand from his shoulder. he turns away from hugs. this is all public and it's fucking humiliating for aaron but Denny can't help it. some part of him is broken
that is until aaron decides fuck it. he's not gonna let denny torture himself. even if aaron gets hurt
it starts off very private bc aaron knows most of Denny's insecurity comes from others perceiving the touch, not so much the touch itself. denny doesn't want to be seen as weak.
aaron comes over to his house n they fall back into that too-close, no-boundary dynamic. they sleep in the same bed. they eat next to each other at the table. they watch shows damn near in each other's laps.
and then of course they start sleeping together. it's another form of touch, of intimacy, and is not necessarily romantic (if only because denny cannot allow himself to have aaron in that way)
aaron tells himself he's fine with it. but he's not, because he doesn't do hookups. he loves people with his whole chest and Denny knows this. and it breaks Denny even more to pretend he can't see that lovesick adoration in aarons eyes every time they hook up
because of this, denny prefers to hit it from the back because he can pretend that he's pretending that it's not Aaron. he stares at the wall above Aaron's head as he orgasms, as if he doesn't know he's breaking his best friend. as if he doesn't know he's crushing every good thing in this world and taking it down with him.
denny is also insanely jealous/possessive during this time. he hates other people touching aaron and he's very quick to anger. Aaron actually calls him out on this n Denny apologises, but it's another few years until he actually gets his temper under control
the worst incident was when denny and aaron were out drinking. aarons oblivious af and didnt realise the bartender was flirting with him. denny accidentally dropped a glass just to make his life miserable. but the bartender uses it as an opportunity to come around the bar and chat up Aaron even more. Denny gets between them and calls the bartender a creep. he tells the bartender Aaron's not gay n both the bartender and aaron are looking at Denny like wtf??
it's the first time Aaron gets mad at Denny. he thought he'd resigned himself to this arrangement - this weird unspoken fwb - but he hasn't. he really fucking hasn't and Aaron is so angry at the world for making Denny feel like he can't have more than this, and that others can possibly take aaron away from Denny. the raw truth is that no matter who else he meets, his first love will always be Denny
Aaron getting mad at Denny is good for their relationship though. he stops being a doormat and starts shifting things. hes not over at Denny's house all the time. he doesn't come at Denny's beck and call
denny breaks all over again. he's not used to not having Aaron 24/7. to not having Aaron whenever he wants him and going away as he pleases. now Aaron has a schedule. he has friends who aren't Denny.
for like 2 months Denny is plagued with anxiety about Aaron replacing/forgetting him. it gets to the point where he convinces himself he needs to get rid of Aaron entirely (again). for Denny, it's so much worse to watch himself being slowly forgotten than to not have Aaron at all. and he can't say anything about it, because it hurts to watch aaron leave his life but it would kill denny if he told aaron these fears and aaron left anyway. leaving is worse than death. at least then it wouldn't be Aaron's choice.
but aaron doesn't put up w this bullshit. when Denny ghosts his texts he shows up anyway. he's past giving a fuck (not true - he gives so many fucks and Aaron's so scared Denny doesnt want him around anymore but for aaron, it's worse to not have Denny at all than to subsist on the small slivers of attention Denny sends his way)
eventually Denny gets it into his thick skull that he's not being abandoned. he still falls habit into the black and white thinking, and seems to snap sometimes. Aaron rises above it, and Denny eventually learns how to control his emotions. he's still convinced that he's a little broken - that there's something fundamentally flawed within him that makes him always teetering on the edge of a breakdown; something that other people can see is wrong inside him.
but Aaron's touch seems to help. cue lots of cuddle sessions during this time. Denny heals. life gets better.
all this probably takes place before the show, or at least very early days. leading into touch, meeting Kev helps with this
i wrote more than i intended haha oops! sorry it's not an actual fic but i hope this tides y'all over until conclave💕
