“Arthur?” Todd asked, looking up at his friend. They were lounging in Todd’s room at the Harrington House, mostly because, as middle schoolers, the older kids had quarantined them to the upstairs. Sometimes it sucked being thirteen, but at least Todd got to spend some time with his best friend.
“What?” Arthur asked, looking up from his history book. Todd stared at him for a long moment and Arthur only blinked. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Todd opened his mouth to ask his question and only ended up squeaking. Arthur snapped his book shut and sat up on the floor before he pushed himself up and moved over to the bed.
“What, Todd?” Arthur demanded gently, putting his hand on Todd’s shoulder.
“Haveyouhadyourfirstkiss?” Todd blurted out, his face heating up as he dropped his gaze from his best friend.
Arthur was silent for a moment. “No,” he finally admitted. “I never had anyone I wanted to kiss.”
“Oh…” Todd mumbled to their laps.
“Have you had your first kiss?” Arthur asked. Todd’s face heated up more, if at all possible. “Hey. Look at me.” Todd shyly tipped his head back so he was looking at Arthur. “Now you have.”
Before Todd could ask what he meant, Arthur leaned in and brushed their lips together just barely and pulled away.
“That’s um… Um, um, um… Ummmmm. That’s not how they do it in the movies,” Todd stuttered out and Arthur shoved him off the bed.
Prompt: officialtadspencer said: toddthur for 2
2. childhood best friends au
"Okay, okay," Todd began, draping his legs across Arthur's lap. Donovan eyed Todd for a second with an unreadable expression before his attention was drawn away by a sudden lap full of Patrick Smith. "Donny, remember that time Arthur thought it would be funny," Arthur groaned and Todd only slapped his arm, "To fill Mr. and Mrs. Madison's beds with toads? Because he thought it would help their sex life?"
Arthur groaned again and jerked the vodka out of Todd's hands and shook his head as he took a swig. "I thought it would help their bed bounce," Arthur tried to defend himself. "I was six!" Todd took the vodka back and passed it to Donovan who took a sip before it was taken by the man on his lap.
"I can't believe you fucking remember that," Donovan remarked, eyes on Paddy's throat as the cowboy drank an unholy amount of vodka. Todd was ninety-nine percent sure Donovan's eyes were dilated and Paddy was on his lap more than just to be on his lap.
"I remember a lot," he declared, playfully shoving Arthur who slapped his thighs. "I remember all the stupid shit Arthur has done since we were kids!"
Paddy finally stopped drinking and passed the bottle back to Todd, adding on, "Even the time Arthur said he was going to marry you?" as he did so.
Todd choked on the drink of vodka he'd taken and Arthur was quick to slap him on the back. Across from them, Paddy was outright cackling and Donovan was frowning, though his eyes were slightly amused.
When Todd could finally breathe again, he stammered out, "I-I'm not sure that, uh, that actually happened..."
And Arthur flashed him a blinding grin and said, "No, it did." And Todd's blush sent Paddy into another fit of howling laughter that caused him to fall over, taking the youngest Harrington down with him.
Arthur couldn’t look at the brunet in front of him. It hurt his heart to see that helpless, teary look on the Harrington boy’s face. The face that was always a little to babyish, never really filling out, dwarfed by his ears. The face Arthur had been used to waking up next to since they were thirteen. If he looked at that face, Arthur knew his resolve would break and both his and Todd’s parents would be livid.
“You can’t be serious,” Todd finally spoke, his voice little more than a watery whimper. Arthur snapped his head around but didn’t bring his gaze up from the ground. “Arthur,” he breathed shakily. “Te-tell me you’re not… not serious?”
Arthur nodded once, very slowly. “I am.”
“No,” Todd retorted, but his voice wasn’t strong or sure. His voice trembled with vulnerability and Arthur wanted to scream that no, he wasn’t serious and that yes, Todd would never have to go or want for anything. “I don’t believe you, Arthur.”
It was Arthur’s turn to be shaky. “Please,” he breathed. “Please don’t… Don’t argue, Todd. Don’t argue.”
For a moment, Todd didn’t reply and Arthur panicked at the thought of him just leaving like this. And then, “Fuck you. Fuck you Arthur Madison! Fuck you and your new fucking money and your time wasting stupid mannerisms and your shitty smile and your shitty dorm room and your shitty cologne! Fuck you! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”
Arthur flinched at every bitter, trembling word, but didn’t say anything. He was sure that the entire Harrington House could hear Todd’s words. Arthur knew he deserved the hurt Todd’s words inflicted on him, and he knew everyone deserved to hear his humiliation. He swallowed and didn’t look up.
“You can’t even look at me?” Todd spoke, his voice lowered again. “Look me in the eye and say you don’t want me around anymore? You can’t look me in the eye and kick me out?”
It was easy to shake his head quickly several times until his vision became blurry with the force.
“Fine…” Todd’s voice was completely weak again, like he’d just completely given up. His voice sounded like how Arthur felt. “Fine…”
Arthur couldn’t help it; he looked up and locked eyes with Todd Harrington and he couldn’t stop the flood of tears that broke through at the sight of that tired, broken face. Arthur was helpless to stop Todd walking out the door then, and even more helpless to stop the hurricane of tears that fell from his eyes.
It wasn’t every day the Jocks threw a party. They invited all the students, including the jocks that weren’t part of the main clique, the ones that lived on the bottom floors of the Harrington house that Arthur and Todd couldn’t be bothered to know. Everyone showed up. Even the Losers that Arthur gladly turned a blind eye to. For a party, anything went.
Just like it wasn’t every day a party at the Harrington house happened, it wasn’t every day quality liquor got snuck on campus. Arthur had a sneaking suspicion that Patrick Smith had something to do with that, but without proof, he didn’t pursue it. With quality liquor came copious amounts of drinking, the kind that Arthur did not stoop to. He was New Money, and he had an image to uphold at parties as the gracious yet rich host. In Arthur’s stead, Todd sampled the various drinks that only Patrick Smith could have smuggled in at all.
Arthur made sure Todd didn’t drink too much, but there was only so much he could control on one front when he had practically the entire school to take care of too. So when Arthur finally cleared out the dorm of everyone but the Jocks, it was hard to say, exactly, how much Todd had drank.
Arthur tucked everyone in, like a good Leader, and made his way to his room once everything was calmed down and organized, Todd and his drinking the last thing on Arthur’s mind. Even though he hadn’t seen Todd since clearing everyone out. Arthur hoped he went to bed by himself and brushed Todd from his mind for the night. Worrying over his friend would only lose Arthur sleep at this point.
He hardly needed to worry. When he swung his dorm room door open, Todd Harrington was stripped down to his briefs and lounging suggestively on Arthur’s bed. For a moment, Arthur’s heart stopped in sheer terror at someone being in his room. And then his body kick started and he easily categorized Todd as a non-threat.
“What are you doing here, Todd?” Arthur asked, his tone more stern than he’d have liked.
Todd leered, yes leered, at him. “Waiting for you of course!” Arthur sighed, because of course Todd was drunk. Well maybe not drunk, because he was able to form a complete sentence. But intoxicated somewhat.
“Can I take you to your room?” Arthur asked instead of replying to Todd’s uncomfortable statement.
“You can take me in your room if you like,” Todd suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. Arthur took a deep breath. It would be very bad if he beat the living crap out of Todd Harrington, the oldest son of Derby Harrington, the man who funded Harrington House and was also close friends with Arthur’s father, who was, in fact, New Money.
“Todd,” he stated, using the voice he only ever used on those lesser than him, like Price. “This is not okay. Either behave, or I’m taking you to your room.”
A pout spread across Todd’s face. “Are you gonna punish me, Daddy?”
Arthur clenched his teeth, a vein bulging out on his temple. “Harrington,” he ground out. “Enough.”
“Is that the safe word, Daddy?” The shit eating grin that replaced Todd’s pout was the final straw for Arthur Madison.
No one would question the next day why Todd Harrington had a black eye and a broken nose, and everyone especially avoided asking about Arthur’s broken hand and the ice pack Arthur carried around all day pressed to his temple.
