Title: Lights of Dakota
Author: Athena2693
Rating: PG (just because some people think anything homoerotic can't be G)
A/N: So, I for some reason or another was downstairs cooking my lunch and found myself thinking "When Virgil's on his disk, he kinda looks like Aladdin on the flying carpet" and this is what I got.
Summary: Virgil Hawkins decides to play Prince Charming. Slash.
Lights of Dakota
Richie sighed dully; bored with studying but knowing he needed to do it. He'd easily pass his science and math midterms at the end of the week, but the history and English ones… He had a good memory, but not good enough to be able to tell the Prussian War of Secession from the Spanish Was of Secession, and he couldn't even remember that revolt in Russia set after Napoleon's downfall. He was so going to fail.
He wished he were over at Virgil's house. They had spent all day, being a rainy Sunday, on Virgil's couch watching every Disney cartoon the Hawkins family owned. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Little Mermaid, Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, you name it, they probably watched it. It had been nice, sitting so close to Virgil for hours at a time, so close to him he could feel the warmth of his skin radiating off him and smell his aftershave. When he fell asleep halfway through The Fox and the Hound, he had awoken to find himself snuggled against Virgil's side, practically lying on top of him. Virgil hadn't wanted to disrupt him, but now he had to get up to change the movie. Richie left a big puddle of spit on Virgil's shoulder. Drooling in his sleep. Oh yeah, that's attractive.
Not that he had to be attractive; it wasn't like he was dating Virgil or anything. Virgil knew he was gay. He knew he had slept with his old boyfriend. He knew Virgil was into anything that he was attracted to. He knew Virgil had had both boyfriends and girlfriends, though as far as he knew, Virgil had only ever been with a female. But they just weren't into each other that way. Okay, he was, but Virgil had never showed a sign that he was.
Wait, did he just miss the entire Scientific Revolution? Annoyed, he flipped back to the beginning of the chapter.
Tick. Tick.
He looked towards the door, but it was open. Nobody could be tapping on it.
Tick. Tick.
There better not be another damn squirrel in the walls.
Tick. Tick.
Finally, he glanced over towards the window. Of course. Why wouldn't Static show up at his window when he was trying to study?
He walked over to the window and threw the window open. Static flew back a bit.
"Go away V, you know I'm busy."
"No, no, please Richie. I need to talk to you."
"You know I have the social midterm Friday. Unlike somebody who dropped out of AP."
"You're very punctual."
"Punctual? What?"
"Beautiful?"
Richie gave Virgil a weird look, not quite understanding what was going on, but getting a sense of déjà vu. Suddenly it clicked. Virgil was quoting, well, misquoting, Aladdin? Why would he do that? Was this boy that bored?
Then he remembered what part of Aladdin he was acting out exactly. How sweet. How hopelessly romantic. How…corny.
"I'm a genius too, you know."
"Yeah." Virgil knew he had caught on to what was happening. The boy carefully stepped through the window and sat down so he had a leg on each side, one dangling on the rooftop, one resting on Richie's bedroom floor. He couldn't quite sit up straight. Richie's window wasn't made to sit in.
"But I'm the son of a bigot." Richie took a step back and smiled a bit shyly.
"I know, it's alright."
"Not exactly the finest prize for a black male."
"Like me." Virgil nodded
"Or half the other guys who have tried to get in my pants at school."
"Well, if you think about me as just another guy trying to get into your pants, I suppose I should go? Leave you to your studying?" He slipped back out onto the rooftop and pulled out his flying disk, zapping it open. Surprisingly, it was almost double the size of his normal one. Richie didn't even know Virgil knew how the thing worked.
"Don't go. Where'd you get that disk?" Richie stopped by the window and dropped to his knees, watching Virgil out on the rooftop.
"I got some help from some students at Dakota U. They were thrilled to work with Static." The teen gifted the blond with that photographic smile.
"It's lovely." Richie blushed a bit as he confessed. He knew what was coming.
"You, uh, don't want to go for a ride with me, do you? We could get out of the neighborhood, see the lights of Dakota."
"Is it safe?"
"If you hang onto me. Do you trust me?" Virgil held out his hand.
"Yes." He took Virgil's hand and allowed himself to be pulled out the window onto the rooftop. He stepped carefully up onto the disk and wrapped his arms around Virgil's neck. The taller teen put his arms around Richie's waist. Richie had never really rode with Virgil before and to be truthful, he was a bit frightened he would fall. But the disk was much larger, obviously built for two. The rose into the bright Dakota sky. It seemed less like night when you could see all the lights in the near distance.
The late autumn wind was cool and he was only wearing his pajamas, a pair of sweatpants and a wifebeater. Virgil must have felt him shiver. He smiled down at Richie, looking right into his eyes, and then leaned down to place a soft on one of Richie's pale shoulders.
"Aren't you supposed to be singing to me?"
"What should I sing? Jay-Z?"
"Don't be silly. What're we doing, V?"
"I thought I was showing you the world?"
"I mean, why? What is this?"
"What do you think it is?" Virgil brought the disk down, nearer the tall buildings of Dakota University. The lights were very dim here. Most of the staff and students alike had gone home until the spring semester began. They were close enough to the city to see all the bright lights, but far enough away to see the stars. Virgil landed them safely a top of one of the buildings.
They were in a roof garden. Not just a roof garden, but an extremely beautiful one.
"What is this?" Richie questioned, stepping onto the rough brick in his bare feet. He walked down the path, gazing around him at the flowers and plants and the pretty golden birdcages where the feathered creatures had already settled down for the night. He stopped at a large, round fountain. Static stopped also, taking a seat on the ledge to watch the large gold fish in the pound, glimmering beneath the moonlight with the matching copper pennies.
"It's a meditation garden. The Zen Club has been working on it a few years now. Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful." Richie turned back to look at Virgil, then joined him at the fountain, sitting across from him on the cold stone.
"Wait a moment," Virgil frowned, climbing back to his feet. He removed his Static coat and carefully hung it over Richie's shoulders. His warmth radiated from it. "I should've told you to put on a coat."
"It's alright. I'd rather wear yours anyway," Richie chuckled a little and adjusted to slip his arms into the sleeves. "It's very warm."
"I thought it was about time to change into my winter uniform. Richie, I know this all seems very cliché, but I always had this plan of how this would happen and I had to make it as close as possible."
"Make what happen?"
"How I would tell my soul mate I loved them," he explained, then attempted a smile, though he failed. He was too nervous to pull it off. Richie started at him, stunned. Virgil was chewing on his bottom lip, waiting for a response.
Richie never would've thought this was what was going to happen. He thought Virgil was going to try to kiss him, maybe make out with him, suggest they start dating. But out and out confess his love for him? Never.
"I, I know I never even let you know I liked you. I was just, I guess-"
"It's alright. I understand." Richie took Virgil's hands in his own. They were only slightly larger, unnoticeable unless they were lying against each other, but just as cool as his own. "I never let you know either. But I can't, I, how am I supposed to respond to this?"
"Well," Virgil coughed a bit, then reached his hand down, as if to take something out of his coat pocket, but of course, he no longer had his coat on. "Er, can you take something out of your pocket?"
"This pocket?" Richie reached in the right hand pocket.
"No, the other one."
He felt something fuzzy and almost square except it had rounded edges, and froze. He knew that feeling. He pulled out the box, attempted to speak, closed his mouth, then opened it again.
"Virgil, we've never even kissed. I can't just-"
"It's not a proposal," the other boy cut in quickly, "I mean, not that I wouldn't love to marry you, but, I'm only seventeen! It's, it's a promise ring." He opened the box himself and took out a gold band. "I mean, it doesn't mean you have to promise to marry me or anything. Take it as you want. Promise to love; promise to always be best buds, whatever. Pretend it's The One Ring if you wish."
"Is it real?"
"It's not very high quality," he apologized, taking Richie's hand in his own. Richie allowed him to, so he carefully slipped the finger on Richie's hand. "There, I knew you were the same size as me."
"How am I going to explain this to my father," Richie laughed lightly. "Oh, no Dad, I didn't propose to a girl. Virgil asked me to be his lover."
"Say whatever you want," Virgil grinned, "You will then? Be my lover? I'm still a virgin to the male species, after all."
"Hmm, somebody has to teach you how to please a man. After all, you see to believe I'm a princess, and I'm not even a queen," Richie gave in, leaning over to kiss his best friend a kiss. At least he knew he wouldn't have to teach him how to use his tongue.