Tuesday morning was hectic for the two boys as they struggled to stay awake and make it to their 7 am flight on time, beating the crowds and getting home early.
Luckily, due to their early departure time they didn't run into much paparazzi or too many fans, and before they knew it they were in the sky and then landing in San Francisco.
Darren had left his car in overnight parking so after fighting their way through a bit more photographers after word got out of sightings from departures in LA, they were able to drive themselves home in peace.
It was just before 9 and Darren wasn't sure if Chris wanted him hanging around all day, "So, I know we were planning to watch the interview together with your mom, but it doesn't come on till 4" Darren said looking over at Chris as he held the younger boy's hand over the center console "do you want me to go back to the apartment and just come over to watch it later?"
Chris looked drained, even after his 3 cups of coffee and briefly falling asleep on Darren's shoulder during the flight.
"No, that doesn't make sense" Chris mumbled "Just stay at my house… we can nap before it comes on"
Darren smiled to himself as he squeezed his boyfriend's hand. Even though he had spent the past two nights sleeping next to Chris, he couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of cuddling up with him for a few more hours.
When they pulled up to Chris' house they were a few seconds away from passing out right on the front steps; Chris exhausted from never dealing with the crazy schedule of a tv star and Darren trying to get himself back into the routine.
They left their bags in the car in favor of stumbling into the house and up the stairs towards Chris' bedroom, ignoring his mother's questions and insistence on hugs with a wave of a hand and a mumbled "later, sleep". Thank God Karyn liked Darren or he assumed she wouldn't be quite so accepting about her greeting.
They both collapsed onto the bed, a tangle of limbs and a few kisses pressed to whatever skin they could reach before falling peacefully into a deep sleep.
The boys don't wake up until hours later when Chris' door bursts open and someone's singing They Don't know about us at the top of their lungs.
"They don't know what we do best. That's between me and you our little secret. But I wanna tell 'em.
I wanna tell the world that your mine boyyyyy"
Darren jolted awake in time to see Chris burry his head under all the pillows and groan something that sounded suspiciously like "fuck off Ashley". Looking around Darren realized exactly why when his eyes fell on Ashley sitting on Chris' desk chair, a large smile on her face, still humming the tune but thankfully not screaming.
"What time is it?" Darren asks, plopping back into bed and trying to pull Chris back into his side before realizing the boy wasn't going to move.
"It's 3, you guys have apparently been out cold for six hours… Ellen's going to come on soon and Karyn made you guys lunch so you better hurry up and get your cute little bottoms downstairs" She responds but makes no moves to leave.
"Fine, just let me get him up and we'll be down" Darren says, turning to try to shake Chris and tell him it's safe to come out, the singing has stopped.
Ashley just smiles at him and still doesn't get up "Oh no Criss, I'm staying for this. I've been creeping on pictures of you over the past two days dying over how freaking adorable you two are together, I want to see this for myself"
Darren rolls his eyes and continues whispering and shaking Chris. The younger boy finally pulls his head out from under the pillows but still pulls the blankets up over his eyes mumbling about sleep and killing his friend.
Pulling the covers down, and ignoring Chris' protests, Darren starts peppering the boy's face in gentle kisses, completely forgetting Ashley is sitting across the room, focusing instead on Chris' sleepy giggles and attempts to stay sleeping.
"Chris, honey, come on I'm hungry and I know you are too"
Chris sighs deeply and whacks Darren on the arm for laughing at him before sitting up in bed stretching his body from being cuddled up for so long. "I am hungry" he turns to look at Ashley "But I don't forgive you for waking me up"
Darren continues to giggle as Ashley looks at them unapologetic "You love me. Now let's eat and you can tell me about the trip"
By the time Chris makes his way into the kitchen, after insisting on a shower first, he realizes just how hungry he was.
Darren has already started eating, his mother moving closely around him like she's worried he'll die from starvation any second, as Ashley pulls up pictures the paparazzi got of them during their trip.
Chris grabs a plate of food and goes to stand behind them, placing a gentle hand on Darren's shoulder and smiling down at him, and look at the photos as well. He feels a small smile play on his lips and a warm feeling flood into his chest as he looks over all the moments the paparazzi had captured. Chris looked seriously frightened in ones from when they first landed, and then there were the ones where he looked nervous but Darren looked happier than ever as they walked hand in hand at the Grove. There were a few from when they were leaving dinner and Chris looked confused but Darren looked manic and Chris couldn't help but laugh as he thought about what Darren had been thinking about. In every one though you could see the pure affection in both boys' eyes.
They decided not to read any of the comments because Ashley said it was mostly just speculation about the relationship and they knew that it would all be settled in a little less than thirty minutes so there was no need to get worked up about what people were saying.
Chris' mom must have given him 10 hugs and asked him and Darren every detail of the trip—looking particularly moved when they revealed how Darren had a whole surprise day planned— before she finally allowed everyone to move to the living room and get ready to watch the interview. She just kept saying how much she missed him and how proud she was and Chris just kept responding with "I know" and "Thank you" praying she wouldn't start crying.
Finally they all piled onto the couch together, Darren practically in Chris' lap and bouncing with excitement, ready to watch Darren "come out". Which is a phrase that is banned after Ashley uses it because "I'm not coming out, I was never in the closet".
Ashley is just about to argue that he did say he was straight at one point in time so technically…. When Chris squeals next to her.
"Shut up! My boyfriend's on tv talking about me!"
When the interview was over Karyn spent a good fifteen minutes hugging everyone in the room, especially Darren, until he got a phone call from his own parents.
His whole face lights up when he sees his parents' picture pop up, "Mama!"
"Darling, Your father and I just watched your interview; you were fantastic, we are so proud of you."
"Thank you, I miss you both" he feels his chest tighten with longing. He had wanted to visit while he was in LA but his mother was afraid it might be too much for Chris to take in at one time, and Darren had to agree. He wanted Chris to meet his family, but not during a rushed visit.
"We miss you too dear, you must come back soon so I can meet Christopher for myself!"
Darren smiles to himself, happy that his family is so accepting and loving.
"Okay mom we'll visit soon, but I'm actually with him now so I'll call you later tonight okay?"
"Okay, Mahal kita baby"
"Mahal Kita"
Darren hangs up and turns back to the living room to see that Karyn has disappeared and Chris and Ashley are fighting over the remote while Ashley also not so quietly asks about their sex life.
Shaking his head he walks back over to the couch and leans down to press a kiss to Chris' forehead.
"Honey," Chris blushes, not used to Darren's affectionate names outside of sex or sleep, but Darren just continues "I better get going, Joey will be home from class soon and he'll want to watch the show with me again and interrogate me…plus we both have homework"
Chris pouts adorably, but he does have homework… and he does owe some quality time with Ashley, no matter how inappropriate she is, he's just been spoiled the past few days with Darren constantly with him.
"Okay, I'll see you in school tomorrow?"
"I'll be there, but I'll text or call you before then" He leans back down to place an upside down kiss to Chris' lips, laughing as he pulls away at Ashley's gagging noises "You too have fun. Ashley be nice, Chris don't kill her." And with that he's out the door, already missing Chris' smile.
Throughout the whole interview Chris couldn't help but stare at Darren proudly. He really had handled himself well and to hear himself being called Darren's "boyfriend" on national television was something he couldn't really wrap his mind around.
He kept an adoring look on his face until the moment Darren walked out the door—even through Ashley's vulgar questioning— reflecting on how lucky he was.
The second Darren was through the front door though Ashley spoke back up "So have you told him yet?"
Chris was lost, before Darren got off the phone Ashley was asking about Darren's penis, and quote "Does he have an enormous dick for being such a tiny guy?", so what was she asking? If Chris had told Darren he had an enormous dick? Because well ,he was hung.
Chris gives up and just decides to ask "Tell him what Ash?" as he turns to take a sip of his diet coke before it goes warm.
"That you're in love with him" and she says it so matter of factly, completely throwing Chris off guard, that he spits his soda out all over himself.
"Excuse me, what?"
Ashley just rolls her eyes "Come on Chris, you guys spent three days together…alone… and I will find out what happened in that hotel room. The pictures of you are like sickeningly cute and you both look so happy to just be holding hands. When I busted in your room you were so wrapped around each other you looked like one person and when he was waking you up I seriously for the first time in my life felt like I was invading on something way too personal. You're using pet names for each other all of a sudden and you can't take your eyes off him for more than two minutes. You stare at him like he's the god damn sun and you need him to live."
Chris' mouth hangs open; Ashley was a lot more perceptive than she liked to come off as. "You got all of that from some pictures and being around us for two hours?"
"You're my best friend Chris, of course I did"
Chris doesn't know what to do, he had almost let slip that he loved Darren back in LA but when he woke up the next morning he was glad he didn't. Should he confide in his best friend or play it off?
"Don't lie to me Christopher" okay confide it is.
"No, I haven't told him" Ashley looks upset and like she's about to cut in but Chris lifts a hand to stop her and continues "I almost did, before we fell asleep last night, but I didn't. Before we went to sleep we were—uh – fooling around and all these feelings just rushed over me. I knew I loved him in that second, but I'm glad he fell asleep before I could say anything. We haven't been together that long and Darren is under a lot of pressure with us just going publicly…literally like an hour ago…. I don't want to put any more pressure on him to feel something he might not yet"
Ashley looks confused, like half of her understands and the other half thinks he's an idiot. "So you're just afraid?" surprisingly she asks it as a question for once, not just assuming.
"Well of course I'm scared. I've been dating Darren for what, less than a month if you really think about it, and all of a sudden I realize I love him. I'm not scared that Darren doesn't have feelings for me but I know it takes him a while to…process, things. I don't want to rush him and I don't want to rush us. So really I'd be enternally grateful if you let me tell him in my own time"
His friend looks genuinely hurt at the statement. "Chris, I know I'm a total obnoxious bitch" Chris laughs at the correct description "But I would never tell Darren something like that. I understand where you're coming from and why you don't want to just blurt it out and I won't push you on the topic"
Chris smiles at her, grateful that no matter how many times he threatens to kill Ashley she is honestly the best friend he could ask for "I love you Ash" he says hugging her tightly.
"Love you too baby boy, at least you're not afraid to admit your feelings for me" Chris giggles into her shoulder, slapping her back lightly before pulling away "Now tell me what happened in that hotel room."
Chris gets a mischeivious glint in his eye "Sex. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Sex"
Ashley's jaw drops and he bursts out laughing before she collects herself "Oh my god, who tops? Tell me you took advantage of Darren's amazing ass"
Chris' plan backfired immediately as his friend wanted to know details and he blushed deeply because okay not that kind of sex. "Ashley no—just—oh my god no."