TWENTY

It was two months later, and the culture shock was pretty incredible. For a whole year, Darien had been on top of the world, it seemed. Everyone had adored him, or at least, everyone who had interacted with him had certainly seemed to.

Back in the academic world, though, it was a different matter. The few people who recognized him seemed to be somewhere on the spectrum between amused and disgusted by Darien’s stint into the wonderful world of pop. Of course, it had only been a week or so of school being in session, but Darien hadn’t acclimatized.

It was little things, mostly. The way people didn’t look at him with stars in their eyes. The way people spoke, just like they would speak to anyone. No one was giving him a rough time, not really, but it was still very strange to him to be just a regular person.

With a groan, Darien flopped back on his couch, resting his aching head against the back of it. His brain wasn’t used to this sort of thing, either, and he shot a hopeful look over at Noah, who was sitting in the armchair with his feet propped up on the coffee table, laptop firmly ensconced in his lap as he diligently applied himself to his homework.

Or was it homework? The truth was, in spite of all of his bluster, Lester had ended up not firing Noah. He was still managing the social media accounts for the rest of the band, and it was sort of funny, in a way, that Noah had more to do with the band now than Darien did.

His boyfriend still had a tendency toward overworking, and Darien shook his head, smiling a bit wryly. The truth was, he’d fallen in love with Noah for who he was, and part of it was that super serious, studious thing. It was sexy as hell.

Still, part of Darien’s job was to make sure that his lover stopped sometimes. So quietly, Darien got up and made a snack for both of them, then brought the tray of cheese, crackers, apple slices, and fruit over to the coffee table.

“Okay. That’s enough studying,” Darien announced, making Noah glance up at him with a flash of startled, big blue eyes. Noah still tended to get absorbed in what he was doing, but for Darien, he was willing to step back for a second and pull himself away from his work.

“Come watch some brainless TV with me,” Darien coaxed, with his most winning smile. He patted the seat beside him, tilting his head as he beckoned Noah over. “You haven’t paid attention to me all day.”

With Noah, he’d learned, it was far better to say outright what he wanted, what he needed. Noah could be oblivious to hints, so it was important for Darien just to ask if he needed something.

“Oh yeah? What about your homework?” Noah was clearly tempted, glancing at the space that Darien offered, then looking up into his eyes.

“All finished,” Darien announced cheerfully. When Noah shut his laptop and walked over to him, he couldn’t hold back the bubbly, warm feeling that filled him, nor the grin on his lips.

It wasn’t for just anyone that Noah would turn away from work. Darien knew that. Actually, as far as Darien knew, he was the only one that could get Noah to do that, which honestly made him feel pretty damn amazing.

“Cartoon?” Darien asked, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to win that one. Noah gave him a bit of a look, and Darien smirked. “Okay, okay. A movie of some sort?”

Noah gave an incredibly small, but sexy little smirk, and curled his legs up onto the couch, snuggling up to Darien and resting his head against his chest. The difference in size made it work perfectly, and Darien smiled as he wrapped an arm around those slender shoulders.

“There’s a documentary on bees,” Noah suggested, and Darien laughed, considering briefly. Why not? It wasn’t like he was excited about it, but he didn’t mind the idea, and obviously, Noah wanted to watch it.

“Okay. Bees it is,” Darien said, then selected the show and settled back to watch.

Really, he’d learned that it didn’t matter much what they were watching, as long as they were doing it together. Oh, for sure Darien would insist on some action movies, or even, from time to time, some ridiculously overwrought cartoons, but it was about compromise, about making it work for both of them.

Smiling, cuddling close to his boyfriend, his lover, the man that had quickly come to mean everything in the world to Darien, they watched the television and shamelessly basked in each other’s presence. And it worked. Despite everything, it all worked flawlessly.

“I love you,” Darien admitted, and he was rewarded when Noah turned to look at him, and he grinned, and his eyes lit up, and his whole face seemed transformed. Darien had always found Noah beautiful, but at that moment, he took his breath away.

“I love you, too,” Noah said and then curled up, practically in Darien’s lap, as they watched together.