Title: The First Confrontation

Characters/Pairing: Tallahassee/Columbus

Disclaimer: It doesn't belong to me.

It was cold, and Columbus was very aware of that fact. Cold, in Zombieland, wasn't just your run-of-the-mill chill, it was a cold that went deep down into your bones. It was cold, with sharp wind digging into your skin, and the moaning and screeching of the undead adding its own octave to the chill. The cold could send a man to his own insanity. It took a lot to get used to this cold.

Columbus mused on this cold, said screeching and moaning not more than two yards from him as he sat in the middle of an abandoned house, the warm figure of Tallahassee next to him. His arms were wrapped around himself, and he thought that maybe they could find a jacket at a store or something, if they happened to get out any time soon. Somehow, sitting next to the very aggravated gun-wielder didn't help the situation.

"Tallahassee…" His voice cracked and he coughed. He couldn't let the man know that he was barely covering his fear, "Do you think…"

The other man didn't even let him finish, turning to him and placing a warm and comforting hand on his shoulder. Columbus leaned closer, just a bit, desperately seeking out the warmth of the other man, even if his actions were unintentional. Tallahassee looked at the other, his eyes full of something that the other couldn't identify, "No. Don't say anything about that. We're going to be fine, okay?"

Columbus nodded, looking away and down, waiting for the hand to leave. The hand was going to leave, and they warmth would be taken with him, and the silence would return. The cold would return. Columbus was almost frightened.

"Columbus…" The boy looked at Tallahassee, his eyes showing question. Tallahassee cleared his throat, glancing around nervously, then finally back at the other, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you…"

Was the man…no, he couldn't be. He caught the man's eye, nodding nervously when the man didn't go on immediately. Tallahassee looked nervous, his hand clenching and unclenching on Columbus's shoulder. Columbus couldn't even believe it. Was the word 'nervous' even in Tallahassee's vocabulary? Anything the man had a chance of being nervous about was quickly eradicated with the shot of a gun.

"Seeing…Seeing as certain circumstances have made us…in this situation…" He gulped. It was true. They were almost literally trapped, with the two sisters half way across the country by now. It had been an underlying feeling with both Columbus and Tallahassee to not trust the two, but with one flash of those big eyes, and they were caught. If they ever caught up with the sisters again, Tallahassee would have a hard time not putting bullets in their heads. One wrong move, and the sisters were running away in their only mode of transportation with most of their ammunition.

And thus, their situation was born. So much for finding a safe-house that might have a few guns in it.

Tallahassee cleared his throat again, trying not to shift under Columbus's strong curious gaze, "I…"

He couldn't do it. His hand slipped off Columbus's shoulder, and he looked away, leaving the boy with some odd feeling of disappointment. Whatever the man was about to tell him, he knew it was important. Something that could change both of their lives.

He was about to ask the man about it, and he was even opening his mouth to do so, when his lips were suddenly preoccupied.

His body felt as though an explosion was coursing through it, heat coursing through his veins, heart beating faster and faster, as though it were going to skip. With Tallahassee's lips pressed up against his, he lost all recollection of all thought and feeling. He'd never felt this before. It was as though he could get lost and he wouldn't even care. He'd never let himself get lost in a feeling before, the trials of Zombieland being the reasoning, but this was so…involuntary. He couldn't hold back his total loss of all reason and his body growing in passion and everything all at once.

When the older man slowly pulled away, he looked into his eyes, smoldering and pure, so full and…Columbus could get lost. Appreciation, concern, worry…and…could it be? No, Columbus couldn't believe it…Love?

"I like you….a lot." The words slipped out of Columbus's mouth before he could hold them back. His face erupted, a massive blush going over his cheeks, his eyes wide, mind in disbelief. Pulling away quickly, he looked away, not brave enough to look at the other's eyes. He could only imagine the look Tallahassee was wearing, one of disbelief, horror … disgust? How could he have said that!

He was waiting for the rude words, the harsh tone the strange insulting name calling, then the stomping footsteps to go and search for some guns.

"Columbus." His name was spoken, but he didn't look. He was too scared, the look evident in his eyes.

Tallahassee sighed, scooting and closing the distance between them, placing both of his hands on the other's shoulders. Gently grabbing Columbus's chin, soft callused fingers pressing into his skin, turning his head so that their eyes were forced to meet. Tallahassee chuckled a bit, leaning forward a bit.

"You didn't let me finish before you freaked out." A soft laugh escaped again, and he only continued to stare for a moment, taking in the look of the other. He said the words before he could stop them, "Me too, okay? Me too."

Columbus could only gape for a minute, eyes wide and slightly questioning. Tallahassee…was he telling the truth? They kept eye contact, and Columbus had never seen Tallahassee's eyes so clear, and…

A smile broke out on his face, stretching to its limits. Leaning forward, he sighed and brushed their lips together, letting his eyes search the other's. Tallahassee let his lips twitch to a grin, his arms going under the others to wrap around his chest, "I just wish it didn't take a near-death situation for me to tell you."

Pressing his lips harshly to Columbus's, he held the boy's body tighter to his own, hands searching his back and one moving to grip his hair. Columbus gasped, letting his eyes slip closed, hands grasping the front of the other's shirt. He pulled, as if the simple action would cause less space between their chests. He lifted himself onto Tallahassee's lap, giggling (no, laughing, laughing, he did not giggle) as the man's hand that wasn't in his hair went to cup his bottom, helping him to hoist himself up. Tongues battled between the two, and Columbus couldn't hold back the moan, sending Tallahassee nearly over the edge. He pushed harder against the boy, trying to gain even more contact, eventually winning the battle in their mouths and pushing the boy onto his back, smirking at the small surprised yelp it drew from Columbus. The heat between them grew, smoldering and covering, completely hiding the cold that had been so bothersome before.

Tallahassee shifted as the heat grew in a particular spot, and every shift of the boy under him sent waves of pleasure down his spine. Pressing slowly against the boy, he lowered his hands, slipping them under the waist of Columbus's pants, cupping that soft skin of the boy's bottom.

"Columbus…" Tallahassee looked up at the boy, his eyes questioning, but shrouded with unrestrained love, "Do you…I…we…"

"I don't know…" Columbus hunched his body down, fitting perfectly in Tallahassee's arms, his face pressing into the man's neck, "I've wanted too…I mean…with you…but I don't…."

Tallahassee nearly groaned, having to bite his lip. How could the boy look so sexy when he was saying that? God….what this boy did to him, "I know…but I don't want to do it here. Not here."

Columbus looked up at the other, the nervous blush fading softly from his cheeks, "Huh?"

"Call me old fashioned," Tallahassee chucked, running a hand through the other's hair and allowed the other the withdrawal of his hand from his pants, "But I like the first time in a bed, not on the ground of some grungy shack with zombies outside. I want to do this – more specifically, you – proper."

Columbus blushed again, nodding and pressing closer to the other, "I…thank you."

"But don't get me wrong, after the first time, hell. We'll be doing it against walls, against the truck, against a tree, anything."

"Fuck."

Tallahassee sighed and ran his hands over his head, trying to forget what had just happened. Talk about being caught up in the moment…what had he done? He couldn't even look at the sleeping form next to him, without feeling a soft pang of regret as he looked at that soft face. How had he done something like this? Moments after he'd let the boy slide off his lap and onto the floor next to him, Columbus had fallen into a soft sleep against his shoulder.

"Fuck." He murmured again, sighing and looking up toward the ceiling, his mind swirling, "What the fuck am I doing? This…"

When Tallahassee first started looking at the boy near him as more of a friend, a feeling of regret had gone through him. He couldn't fuck up another relationship, not this one, not Columbus. This relationship would go nowhere. There would be nothing between them. This was a one-time thing that maybe would repeat once in a while, but they would stop. Nothing would happen with this relationship.

Tallahassee wasn't even close to knowing how wrong he was.