Title: Caught
Author: veiledndarkness
Pairing: Reid/Tyler
Rating: PG-13
Summary: It's all in the chase.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no profit made, no harm intended
xx
It took several weeks for them to notice, not that any of them would have suspected a deception of that level, a cleverness none would have expected from Tyler, not Tyler, the baby of the group, their little 'brother'. It took longer than Tyler had dared hope for and now...he swallowed nervously, his fingers twisting in the shiny fabric of his hardly there shirt, squirming under the stares of his brothers.
This was embarrassing, very much so.
Earlier...
"C'mon Tyler, you haven't come to any of the movies in like, a month at least. You can't keep begging off like this," Reid's voice echoed in the room, bouncing off the expensively paneled walls.
Tyler rolled his eyes, a liner pencil clutched in his hand. "I told you, I don't feel that good tonight, I'm gonna stay home and relax." He glanced guiltily at the cell phone, the speakers blaring with Reid's disapproving snort. He exhaled and continued lining one eye carefully, smudging the dark color with his pinky finger.
"If you're feelin' sick, say so and we'll come over, help you feel better. Caleb's cook swears by her chicken soup, apparently it fixes broken bones or some shit like that."
"No!" Tyler dropped the eyeliner, startled. "I uh...no, I feel like shit, honest, I'm probably contagious. You don't wanna catch this cold. You know how bitchy you get when you're sick."
Reid sighed. "Ty..."
Tyler groped for the pencil, nodding. "I promise, next week, I'll be there for movie night, ok? Next week for sure."
"Uh huh, that's what you said last week. I'm calling you on this bluff, Ty. You're not sick, you're avoiding us."
He winced. Ah, there was the guilt right there. He lined his left eye, his hand shaking a little. "I am not, God, can't I have any alone time?"
"Fine," Reid huffed and Tyler winced again. "Have all the alone time you damn well want!" And with that, he clicked his phone off, a sharp beep that made Tyler flinch.
He looked at his reflection, his fingers toying with the strands of hair that fell over his forehead, so different from how he wore it during the days, around his family and friends. He nodded once; satisfied with the way the strands fell over his face. He reached for the various containers, finishing his routine.
Tyler smiled a secret smile. He couldn't wait to be away from his house, away from everything he knew, to lose himself in the rhythm of a dance beat, to blend with the masses around him, lost in the frenetic beat of everything that wasn't him.
xx
"So, how much longer are you planning on pouting? Cause, I think both me an' Caleb are done listening to you bitch about it."
Reid sniffed and looked out the window. "I am not pouting. I'm pissed. There's a difference."
Caleb and Pogue exchanged eye rolls. Reid was pouting, he'd never admit to it.
"Maybe he really is sick," Pogue continued. "He's always catching colds and shit like that. It's not his fault."
"If you guys honestly thought he was sick, you know Caleb would have been first in line to rush over there and make sure he was ok," Reid snapped. He grabbed Caleb's keys from the side table. "C'mon, we're goin' over now."
"Reid..."
Reid glared at both of them over his shoulder. "Don't 'Reid' me; if he's got something better to do then hang out with us, I wanna know what it is."
"He has a right to privacy, y' know," Caleb held his hand out, wiggling his fingers expectantly, "Keys."
"I don't care, I'm going even if I have to walk over," Reid sent the keys floating over to Caleb and stomped out the door, his eyes narrowed in anger.
Pogue snickered in the corner. "He's got it so bad and he doesn't even know."
Caleb sighed. "C'mon, before he has a complete meltdown. If they would stop this one step forward, two steps back dance, we'd have more peaceful nights."
"Now where's the fun in that?"
xx
"Look, we've been over this before. He's obviously not out and about, roaming the streets."
Reid rubbed his thumb along his palm, feeling the familiar grooves of the well worn leather on his hand. "And he's not at home, so very, very sick. Tell me, Caleb, where in the hell is he?"
Caleb gritted his teeth and pulled over by a parking meter amidst the flow of people on the streets. "I don't know. I'm sure he's fine wherever he is."
"Terribly reassuring, thanks," Reid muttered. There was a catch in Caleb's voice, one that spoke of his growing worry.
Pogue glanced at his cell phone. "If he's downtown, the clubs'll be shutting down soon. And if he's down here, he'd be wherever most of the crowds are."
"A club…" Caleb mused. "I don't know about that, Ty's not exactly the 'clubbing' type. He doesn't even like dance music. And he hates big crowds…"
Pogue undid his seatbelt and stepped out of the car. "Don't know about you guys, but I'm starved. Pizza sound good?"
Reid rolled his eyes as he and Caleb exited the car. "When aren't you hungry? Stop thinking with your stomach for once, huh?"
"Don't make me separate the two of you," Caleb drawled. He walked between the two of them, the scent of pizza in the air.
Reid pushed the glass door to the pizza parlor open, his response dying on his lips. "Guys…" he whispered, nodding to the boy in front of them, a boy leaning over the counter, flirting with the cashier, scantily dressed and glimmering under the light, "God, would you look at the ass on that…Tyler?!"
Tyler stiffened at the sound of a horribly familiar voice. He gulped and turned his head, his eyes widening comically at the sight of three shocked faces staring back at him. "Shit," he whispered feebly.
Pogue swallowed, his throat working rapidly. "Tyler…what the…hell are you wearing?"
Tyler twisted his fingers in the shiny material of his shirt. "Uh…I…" he stared at the tiled floor, overwhelmingly aware of how he looked then, in a slip of a shirt, one shoulder exposed, tight, impossibly tight pants that gleamed in the store lights, glitter dusting his face, shoulders and neck, eyes heavily rimmed, lips glossed just so.
"Feeling better, are we?" Reid looked Tyler over, a hunger in his eyes that made Tyler want to turn his neck to the side and beg shamelessly.
Caleb was the first to break out of the trance, yanking his coat off with furious movements. "Jesus, Tyler, what the hell were thinking!" he crossed the distance to him, wrapping his coat around Tyler's shoulders. "Cover up! We're downtown, you're lucky you didn't get raped," he ranted quietly.
"Caleb…Caleb, stop!" Tyler hissed, his face turning a lovely shade of pink. "You're embarrassing me!" He squirmed under Caleb's fussing, the glitter on his skin rubbing off on Caleb's hands. "Serves him right," he muttered under his breath.
"Damn it…" Caleb grimaced and wiped his hand down the length of his jeans clad thigh. "What the hell, you're wearing glitter?"
Reid smirked. "You look like you blew a clown there, Ty."
Tyler felt his face burn, completely mortified. "Shut up!" He pushed away from Caleb, who was still trying to cover him with his coat. "All of you….shut the hell up!" And with that, he summoned whatever dignity he still had and stomped out of the pizza store.
"I'm still hungry," Pogue murmured distractedly, his eyes on Tyler's ass as he walked out.
xx
Tyler made it as far as Caleb's car, and hadn't he known that sooner or later he'd have to explain…everything? He crossed his arms over his chest and burrowed deeper into Caleb's warm wool jacket. He sighed, sniffing the faint spicy scent that lingered on the fabric.
"I don't wanna talk about it," he said, his back to the approaching footsteps.
"Tyler…"
"No!" he glanced at them, verging on a pout. "You're gonna tease the shit outta me, yeah, I know that. But I don't have to explain myself."
Reid leaned in against him, his lips skimming Tyler's neck. "Don't talk then," he nipped the nape of Tyler's neck. "Don't say a thing, but more."
Tyler turned his head to the side, shivering under the feel of Reid's lips, keenly aware of Caleb and Pogue nearby. "Reid…Reid, don't," he exhaled, shuddering.
Caleb cleared his throat. "Reid…Tyler, in the car?"
Reid chuckled and slipped away from Tyler's side, his lips shimmering in the dark, remnants of Tyler's glitter lingering. Tyler shivered harder and followed him into the car, staring out the window as Caleb started the car.
xx
The ride home was a silent one and for that, Tyler was extremely grateful. He left Caleb's coat on the backseat, smirking a little at the amount of glitter that clung to the coat and to Caleb's hands.
"You think one of us should, y' know, go up and make sure he's gonna be ok?" Pogue broke the silence; the three of them watching Tyler walk up his driveway.
Reid was already undoing his seatbelt. "Yeah, that's gonna be me. Don't wait up fellas."
Caleb grinned. "Never doubted that for a second," he said. "Go on, I can hear Pogue's stomach from here."
"Hey!"
Reid was up and out of the car in a blink, hurrying after Tyler. "C'mon, baby boy, wait up."
Tyler scowled at the ground while he searched for the spare key on the front porch. "Go home, Reid."
"Pfft, like that's going to happen. So…when did you decide that being a twinkly bottom club go-er was for you?"
"Shut up, Reid! God, for once, shut up," Tyler dug the key out from under the potted plant at the far end of the porch, his face very pink in the darkness. He paused then, his eyes narrowed. "Hey! Who says I'm a bottom?"
Reid arched one eyebrow at him, his lips curling up in amusement. "How many big, tough tops are out in clubs right now, covered in glitter?"
"There could be," Tyler sniffed. "You think you know so much. You don't know shit."
"I know that you look damn hot like this," Reid closed the distance between them, looming near Tyler.
"I…what…" Tyler backed up nervously, his shirt rubbing against the brick wall near the door.
Reid planted one gloved hand on either side of Tyler, trapping him in place. "Ty…"
Tyler blinked at him, licking his lips. "I go…I go cause I can be me…dance, that's all I do. I dance and, and I can do that without thinking about secrets, or…family or…" he trailed off, his chest hitching. The look in Reid's eyes…
"I get it," Reid murmured. "I get it, but I don't want anyone else getting you."
Tyler sucked in a sharp breath. "Reid…"
"Aren't you tired of being chased yet?"
Tyler smiled then, a small shy grin. "Maybe," he whispered. "Maybe I like being pursued."
Reid chuckled lowly, one hand cupping Tyler's cheek. "I see that. Well…does this count as catching you yet?"
Tyler pressed his lips to Reid's, the slightly chapped lips parting under his touch. The kiss was slow, tentative and just right. Tyler made a soft sound in his throat, one hand coming up to grip Reid's shoulder, dizzy with the feel of his lips, he felt like he was falling, and that made him smile into the kiss.
They parted a moment later, quiet breaths echoing between them. "No," Tyler murmured. He used a little to push the door open and slipped away from his grip, laughing at the look on Reid's face.
"I'm not caught yet."
xx