This wasn't the first time Jim had stormed out of the flat because of a fight with his father. It wasn't the first time they had fought about Jim skipping classes, that had been a discussion since he was 11. He couldn't really help thinking school was boring and dull; he was a genius after all. He had slammed the door shut, cutting his father's angry yells short. He had managed to get outside and even walk almost half a block before realising it was raining cats and dogs. Such a silly saying for pouring rain he had thought to himself as he'd wandered the rainy streets.
His father had gotten a call from the school and a few drinks later, the screaming match had been in full swing. It had been the usual things repeated, how Jim was a bad student, how he was a disappointment to his father and how he never could do something right. Jim had responded with the same kind of fire and suddenly it was all too much, he had to get out. And here he was, in Roundwood Park, on a wet bench, looking like a drenched cat.
Jim didn't know how long he'd been sitting in there when someone stopped in front of him and an umbrella blocked the raindrops. He looked up and recognized the young man in front of him. John Watson, age 17, played rugby but was still kind of smart compared to the others on his team. Jim shared a few of his classes with John, but had never really talked with him before.
"You are soaking wet," John smiled at him.
"I know," Jim stated and the two of them just stared at each other as a thick, uncomfortable silence fell around them.
"May I ask why you are sitting here, getting soaked and probably catching pneumonia?" John asked.
"Why do you care?" Jim was sceptical every time someone seemed to care, because usually they were only doing it to gain something.
"Why shouldn't I?" When John saw Jim's glare he decided to continue. "I've seen you at school sometimes and, well, you seem pretty cool. I mean- I'd like to get to know you, you know? Because you seem cool and-"
"You are rambling." Jim let out a small laugh, making John flush red and mumble a sorry. "It's kind of cute," Jim continued with a small smile.
"And you look nice when you're smiling." Now it was Jim's turn to blush. John sat down next to him on the wet bench, ignoring the icky feeling of sitting in cold water. They sat on the bench in silence, every now and then their eyes met and neither of them could help blushing a bit. Jim cursed his hormones, but was at the same time quite pleased. He had company, nice, good looking company and the umbrella protected them from the everlasting rain.
When Jim started shivering, John took the wise decision to ask Jim if he wanted to come over, get a warm cup of tea and borrow some dry warm clothes. "I'll even lend you the shower if you want. Mum's still on base in Iraq. So you won't have to deal with parents at all."
"You are genuinely nice." Jim just stared at John for a while until another burst of shivers set in. John practically dragged Jim to his place. It was only a 10 minute walk, so they were there in no time at all. On their short walk Jim had learned that John lived alone, kind of at least. His sister, Harry, spent her time at her girlfriend's place closer to their uni and his father was dead, drunk driving. John had shrugged and told Jim he was thinking about getting a cat so it wouldn't be so lonely. Jim had only nodded. He wasn't good at small talk.
Jim was sitting at John's kitchen table, holding a cup of hot tea. He had accepted the shower and some of John's clothes and had finally returned to a normal body temperature. Somehow he ended up staying for hours, talking about pretty much everything, drinking more tea than he'd ever thought a human being could and actually enjoying someone's company. When he realised he actually had to go home John gave him the big green umbrella they had shared with the words 'Give it back on Monday. I'll see you in school, right?'.
"You are not as dull as you might seem, John Watson," Jim said and walked away.
Monday rolled around quite quickly for once. Jim managed to drag himself to school, the prospect of meeting John making him slightly giddy. He would deny it if anyone asked. He walked to the lecture hall and found John sitting in the middle of the room, his rugby mates nowhere to be seen. Jim took a deep breath and walked right over.
"Johnny-boy, Hi!" Jim cursed himself silently; he was supposed to be the uncaring, slightly frightening genius, Jim Moriarty, not some hormonal kid.
"Jim," John smiled at him. "Sit down; you have this class too, right?"
"Yes, but I think this is the first time I'm actually here in time. Or at all."
"Right," John smiled again. "I'm glad you are here, this teacher is… Well, dull might be a good word to use here."
"We could leave," Jim said, shrugging. "I know a great place."
"You are going to drag me over to the dark side aren't you?" John's smile told Jim that he didn't mind at all.
"We have cookies, and geniuses."
"Keep the cookies." John winked at Jim before he quickly collected his things. They managed to get out of the hall before the teacher entered.
"Where are we going?" John laughed as he was dragged behind Jim.
"First the cafeteria," Jim smiled at John. "The old lady likes me, so I'll get us something to munch on."
Jim dragged John from the cafeteria as soon as he had scored them some cinnamon buns and a few sodas. They ran up the stairs and to an abandoned corridor. Jim gave John a smirk before opening the windows, giving the pair a chance to climb on to the roof.
"Welcome to the top of the world," Jim grinned at John. "Climb out Johnny-boy, I know the best place to sit."
John couldn't help the laugh he let out. "Of course you would Jim, you are a genius after all." John climbed on to the roof and followed Jim. They made their way onto one of the highest parts and sat down.
"So this is where you usually are?"
"Either here or at the library," Jim shrugged and handed a soda to John.
"Ta," John smiled at Jim. They munched on their buns and sat in silence, just enjoying the company of someone else. John stretched a bit and rolled his shoulders, he was a bit sore since the rugby game he had played with some friends yesterday.
"Did you know that-" Jim started ranting about his knowledge of muscles, the skeletal structure and how to properly stretch the aching muscles. He hadn't really listened to himself; he was just reciting what he had read ages ago. He didn't realise he had spoken so much, so fast until he looked at John who was staring at him with big blue eyes and a slightly gaping mouth. "Sorry, I'll shut up," He squeaked, cursing himself.
"You are," Jim prepared for the worst, "brilliant. Just brilliant, please keep going. I like listening to you talk. You are very interesting." Jim could only stare at John, a small blush creeping up on his cheeks.
"Really? You don't mind me rambling about things?" Jim's heart leaped. He was nervous, and hated every second of it. He was not supposed to be nervous, he should be above this. He was better than all of the others at this silly little school.
"'Course not," John grinned at Jim. "Now, how was I supposed to stretch this part?" Jim let out a relieved sigh and continued to talk, a small smile on his lips.
Soon enough Jim and John became inseparable, they went to most of their classes together, they skipped a few every now and then and every time it rained they walked closely together under the big green umbrella. The only time they weren't together was during John's rugby practises; Jim usually spent those in the library, catching up on some reading. Thanks to John's friendship, Jim and his father fought less than ever.
Jim was happy. He had realised that a few nights ago, when he was up and doing a few experiments. He was honestly happy. Thanks to John. It was odd, having to rely on another person to feel happy and satisfied with life. He had decided to show John exactly how happy he made Jim, the only question was how.
The opportunity to do something for John showed itself a few days later. John had fallen badly during the last rugby match and sprained his left wrist pretty badly. Jim knew exactly what to do.
Later that evening he knocked on John's door, two extra-large pizzas in his hand and a six pack of coke. He also knew John had the whole box-set of James Bond movies; it would be a pretty nice evening. John opened the door and his face practically lit up when he saw Jim, then the pizzas.
"You are the best friend ever!" John let Jim in.
"I try sometimes." Jim followed John to the living room and put down the pizzas, the coke and fell down in the sofa.
"You succeed," John took out his Bond-box. "Is Bond okay?"
"Of course, Johnny-boy." Jim couldn't help smiling.
John had fallen to sleep half way into the second movie,it didn't take long before he had leaned against Jim. When he snuggled closer, Jim put his arm around the sleeping boy. He watched the end of the movie by himself, enjoying having John so close to him. He knew that he wanted more than friendship, way more if he was honest with himself. Jim wanted John to be his.
John woke up when the credits started to roll. He sat up and stretched. "Sorry," he grinned sheepishly.
"No problem Johnny-boy," Jim smiled. Then he did the stupidest thing he ever would do. He leaned over and kissed John. It was quick. John had no chance to react before Jim moved of the couch, looking shocked. He blushed, mumbled a sorry and ran out from John's house. He ran all the way home.
Jim stayed away from school, he refused to even look at his phone. He spent his time avoiding pretty much everyone. He fell into his old patterns easily, skipping school, finding better things to do. Days turned to weeks. Jim refused to talk to John every time he called. Jim knew better than to regret his friendship with John, but it was easier to regret the whole thing than remind himself if his failure.
Jim and his father had started to fight again. This fight was the worst in a long time. Once again they screamed at each other and soon Jim had slammed the door. Once again he had forgotten his coat, but he didn't care. It didn't rain this time though. He walked to the park, found a bench and sat down. It was the one where he had met John. That thought set of a whole other bunch of feelings and thoughts. He cursed himself yet again. He was so full of self pity that he completely missed that someone sat down next to him.
"We have to stop meeting like this," Jim almost fell off the bench when John spoke. He was prepared to jump up and rush away but John grabbed his arm. "I've missed you, Jim."
"You missed me?" Jim couldn't believe his ears.
"'Corse I have, I like you Jim. Like, like you." John was blushing, badly. "I was just shocked when you kissed me. If you hadn't rushed of would have kissed you."
"Y-you?"
"Yes!" John stared into Jim's eyes. "If you wanted it if course. I just thought-"
"Yes," Jim said loudly. "I mean, I'd like that. A lot."
"But you ran away," John mumbled.
"I thought I had destroyed everything."
John smiled at him, then he was wrapped in John's arms. They sat on the bench, hugging for quite a while. When John finally let go, Jim decided to be stupid again and leaned in to kiss John. The big difference was that this time John was in on it and kissed back.
"It's snowing," John mumbled against Jim's cheek. "How about going to my place, drink tea and watch some stupid rom-com. It's the perfect weather for love actually."
"Sounds like a good plan," Jim smiled. "Let's get going, Johnny-boy."
They practically ran home, holding hands, stopping every now and then to kiss some more. It took them almost twenty minutes. They finally made it inside, never had Jim or John had so much trouble to open a door. Giggling, they managed to get to the kitchen and start the boiler.
"Still up for Love Actually?" John asked with a smile.
"Sure," Jim shrugged. "Might be good."
"You haven't seen it?" John sounded scandalised. Jim shook his head. "Best Christmas movie ever, if you don't count Die Hard. Or a bunch of others, but it is nice." John finished the tea and they walked to the living room.
They started the movie, snuggled together and sat there in silence. They laughed at some funny and embarrassing moments. They enjoyed the tea and the company. Every now and then they kissed.
"So, are we like, together?" John asked suddenly, as they watched the kid running through the airport.
"If you want, then yeah." Jim felt slightly awkward, he had never been comfortable talking about emotions. He wanted John, in every way John let him.
"Yeah, I want. I have since, well, since you took me out on the roof." John smiled.
"That's good," Jim pulled John in for a small kiss. "Maybe I'll take you there for our first date."
"Really?" John looked slightly shocked.
"Of course," Jim nodded. "I shall make it the best date ever," he added with a wink.
John let out a laugh that filled Jim with hope. "You do that Jim and I'll do the best I can to beat you."
They fell into a comfortable silence as the movie rolled closer to the end. Jim was happy, he had found John. Well, John found him first but it was okay. Jim never thought he would find anyone. He realised that John was the best thing that ever happened to him. He would never lose him again, he would keep John.
The pair snuggled closer to each other as the last scene started. This was happiness, and love was actually for everyone. Thank god for rain and green umbrellas.