AN: All right. I have to give you two disclaimers. The first is your standard "I don't own Jason, Calvin, Hobbes, or any of their family/friends from their comics." The second is a bit more unconventional.

I don't even own the foundation of this story. That belongs to Amaretto who wrote a story called Geniuses which I just fell in love with. The pairing was perfect, the characterizations were spot on, and the concept was just so damn intriguing to me. My brain would not shut off, thinking about what would happen next for these two in this story.

It seems Geniuses was just a one shot as there have been no updates since 2005. And I tried to contact Amaretto to see if s/he would mind if I did a continuation, but I didn't get a response. So I decided to post this and just do my best to give Amaretto his/her due credit. I sincerely hope that this is taken as a tribute to his/her great story rather than as a rip off.

Not only do I highly recommend reading Geniuses for its own awesomeness, but it's the set up for this story so it'll make more sense if you do.

Here we go!

"You can pick out something to watch, if you want," Jason said as he set up the pizza and plates on the coffee table. He pointed to the cabinet under the TV.

Calvin sat down and opened the door, tilting his head to the side to read the titles. "You have some of the original Godzilla movies?" he said with surprise.

"Yeah…" Jason answered hesitantly.

"I love these! My mom would never let me watch them, much less own them, since I stomped around the house like a dinosaur enough as it was."

Jason's face relaxed into a relieved smile. "Go ahead and grab one."

The two boys cheered as the rubbery beasts fought on screen with wonderfully terrible special effects. Calvin tented the empty pizza box and trampled it while making horrible snarling faces. Jason joined in, extending his arms like a pterodactyl. They sparred with exaggerated slow motion hits until they collapsed on the couch in a fit of laughter.

Calvin ran a hand through his ruffled hair. "Man, I forgot how much fun that is."

"I get packages from my mom all the time. I can save the boxes and we can tear down a whole village sometime."

"Okay." He grinned at his new friend … boyfriend? … date? … Calvin's smile faltered, unsure of what Jason's earlier kiss meant now.

Jason looked at his watch. "I should turn in, though. Early classes."

"Yeah, me too."

Jason nodded, double checking he'd set out enough bedding. "Well, g'night," he said awkwardly on his way out of the room.

"G'night."

Calvin shook out the blanket and threw it over the couch. He tossed the pillow on one end, kicked off his shoes, and stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers. When he lay down, he pulled the half of the blanket that was draped on the back of the couch over him and laced his fingers behind his head.

He stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a few moments. Then he turned his head toward the recliner with a jerk. "Yeah?"

Calvin dropped his gaze from his old friend and shrugged. "Maybe. I mean, I liked it so I guess I am."

He rolled his eyes at Hobbes' response. "Because I don't really know. I don't know if I even want to be gay. I have enough going against me as it is. Do I really want to add this on top of it?"

Calvin threw the cover off and sat up to scowl at the tiger. "Maybe what I want does matter. Don't act like you know what to make of this any better than I do!" he growled. He shot to his feet and hurried down the hall to Jason's room before Hobbes could make any further counter arguments.

"Yeah, come in," Jason's voice said through the door in response to the two soft knocks.

Calvin opened the door and immediately forgot the reason for his visit. His eyes took in the MC Escher posters, the cork board covered in pages of intimidating equations, and all the amazing pictures of different corners of the galaxy. Various Star Wars and Star Trek figurines lined the bookshelves where words like "Unix" and "Space" leapt off the nearby spines.

His gaze finally fell on Jason, who was lying in his bed propped up on one elbow with his glasses back on. Jason audibly swallowed and said, "So, what's up?"

Calvin lowered his eyes to the floor, remembering why he was there. He hesitantly stepped forward and knelt by the bed. "So … You're gay?"

Jason squirmed, looking like he was preparing for the worst. "As far as I know. I'm usually too engrossed in my own little world to really notice other people that way, but so far I've only been attracted to guys."

"And your family. Do they know?"

"Yeah. I mean, I haven't directly talked about it with my dad, but since my mom knows I assume he does."

"And they're okay with it."

"Paige and Peter weren't surprised at all," Jason said with a nervous laugh. "So yeah, I guess they're okay with it. I know my mom is. I think she just worries about me more, is all."

Calvin nodded, then prepared himself for the real question he needed to ask. "And how did you … know?"

Jason smiled sadly at him and shook his head. "I'm no guru, Calvin. There isn't a checklist or anything – trust me, I wish there were. I just knew that whoever made those snowmen had to be cool, and when I met you I was sure I'd been proven right. And when you smile my brain shorts out, and when you walk into my room like that I have to remind myself to breathe."

Calvin looked down to assess himself and was suddenly self conscious of his attire.

"Look, if you're not sure then maybe you're straight. And that's okay," Jason assured him with unmasked disappointment.

He raised his head and met Jason's gaze. "I don't know. I know I think you're really cool, too. And I … liked the kiss."

A soft laugh escaped Jason's lips. "If you keep talking like that, I'll do it again," he warned.

Calvin leaned his elbows on the edge of the bed and whispered more confidently, "I liked the kiss."

The other boy stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. The next thing he knew, Jason's hand was fisted in his t-shirt, pulling him in for a much less tentative kiss. Unlike the previous instances where Calvin sat frozen in shock, this time he did his best to keep up and return the kiss.

His hand reached up and encircled Jason's wrist. Jason's fingers relaxed, releasing the bunched up fabric, and laid against Calvin's hammering chest. Their lips parted between kisses, allowing their warm breaths to mix together.

When Jason's tongue swept past his own, Calvin flinched in surprise.

The invading appendage retreated and Jason hastily whispered, "Sorry."

Calvin shook his head and dipped his tongue into Jason's mouth, hoping he was doing it right. The moan that escaped Jason's lips was all the reassurance he needed.

A few minutes later, Calvin suddenly pulled away, releasing Jason's wrist like it burned.

"What?" Jason asked.

"Nothing. It's just … late and if we keep this up it'll get later."

Jason nodded dejectedly. "Yeah. You're right."

"G'night … again," Calvin said. He pivoted on his knees before he stood up and walked away from Jason.

"Calvin?"

He stopped in the doorway without turning around.

"Are we okay?"

Calvin looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Yeah, we're okay."

After he closed the door, Calvin scuttled down the hall, thanking god Jason didn't have housemates. He dove onto the couch quickly to avoid having Hobbes see his embarrassing condition. Calvin arranged the blanket around him once more and allowed a few minutes of silence to pass before he whispered, "Well, I don't have to guess anymore."

AN: So yeah, there you have it :) I don't have plans for more chapters, so I won't make any promises I can't keep, but I'm not opposed to the idea either.