Second date continuation

I was suddenly inspired to write this recently. Set after the events of episode 7218, this is my idea of how Nate and Aaron end their second date.

Aaron smiled as his kiss with Nate ended, "Bet you've never been in a fight that's ended like that before" he murmured as he loosened his grip on the taller man

Nate shook his head, "No, I haven't" he admitted, "And I haven't been in many play-fights either"

Aaron looked offended, "Hey, it felt pretty real to me!"

Nate grinned, "So you haven't been in many real fights then?" he teased

Aaron pulled a face at him and stepped away, "It doesn't matter anyway because if I ever am, you'll be there as my 'Nate in shining armour' to rescue me". Noticing Nate's confused expression, Aaron elaborated, "That's what Josh called you after I told him that you were the one who saved me from being attacked"

Nate considered this, "'Nate in shining armour'" he repeated, "Yeah, I quite like that"

Aaron narrowed his eyes at him, "Really? More than 'eyebrows'?"

Nate rolled his eyes, "Anything's better than 'eyebrows'"

Aaron laughed, "Well tough, because I'm not going to stop calling you that"

Nate suddenly pulled Aaron into a rough kiss, "What about now?" he asked against his lips

Aaron paused as if to mull this over, "Hmmm, nope"

"Well, I tried" he shrugged

Aaron chuckled, "And I enjoyed that attempt" he retorted as Nate wrapped an arm around him to lead him away.

xxx

As the couple made their way back to Ramsay Street, Nate was suddenly struck with an idea, "Hey, I was thinking that we should get together for the footy finals. You know, order in some food and have a few beers, just the two of us" he suggested to the shorter man

Aaron hesitated and grimaced, "That sounds really cool, but I kind of have a confession to make"

Nate glanced at him, "What?"

"I actually couldn't care less about football" he revealed, "I just brought it up to try and make conversation"

Nate was surprised and stopped walking, "Really?" he questioned, "Because you were pretty well-informed about it earlier"

Aaron stopped as well and shrugged as he turned to face him, "Well Josh told me that you were into footy so I did a quick bit of research on it just before I went to yours, but I've just never really got into it"

Nate was quite touched, "That's actually kind of sweet"

"You mean me pretending to know about something that I have no interest in?" Aaron clarified

Nate shook his head, "For at least making the effort and pretending to be interested in it to please me"

"Well I didn't want us to be sitting in an awkward silence for the whole night" Aaron replied, "I needed to come up with something for us to talk about"

They both started walking again but there was a lingering silence as the guys were deep in thought, "I didn't really think that our differences would cause these kinds of problems" Nate admitted, "If anything, I thought it would make things more interesting"

"It can" Aaron pointed out, "But it's still early days, I'm sure we'll find common ground at some point"

"If not then we just pretend we like each other's interests when we don't, and then do research on it during out spare time?" Nate added

Aaron shrugged, "I'm game if you are"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nate asked uncertainly

"Definitely" Aaron replied without hesitation

Nate was taken aback, "Wow, you didn't even need to think about that" he breathed

"Why would I?" Aaron asked, "Just because we have more differences than similarities doesn't mean I like you any less"

Nate smiled tenderly, "Same here"

Aaron grinned at Nate finally admitting that he reciprocated his feelings. Although Aaron already realised that by the fact that he and Nate had been on a couple of dates, Nate saying it aloud officially confirmed it. Practically buzzing from Nate's admission, Aaron grasped Nate's hand in his own as they continued to wander back to Ramsay Street. Nate was taken aback by Aaron's actions, but was secretly thrilled. Holding hands didn't feel awkward, it felt comfortable, natural and right for them which confirmed to both guys that all of the problems that they had overcome to get to this point had been worth it.

xxx

As they entered Ramsay Street, both of the guys had inwardly decided to walk the other person to their front door. However, as Nate moved towards number 24, Aaron moved in the direction of number 28, which pulled them apart and unlinked their hands.

They exchanged a puzzled glance, "What are you doing?" Nate asked

"I was just about to ask you that" Aaron replied

"I was going to walk you to your door" Nate pointed out

Aaron smiled slightly, "So was I"

Both Nate and Aaron chuckled in realisation, "That's one of the problems when it's two guys" Nate laughed, "There are no set rules for this kind of thing"

Aaron shrugged, "Why should gender matter? Can't a woman walk a man home?"

Nate nodded, "True, but it still doesn't help us"

Aaron considered this, "Well I just wanted to be a gentleman" he muttered

Nate smiled, "Me too, and I thought it made sense because your house is closer to the top of the street than mine is"

Aaron nodded, "Yeah, I guess that is logical" he admitted, "But next time, I'm walking you to your place"

Nate was inwardly triumphant that there would be a 'next time' and took Aaron's hand again before walking him up the steps to his front door.

xxx

Nearly ten minutes after Nate had walked Aaron up the steps and kissed him goodnight, they were still kissing on the front porch with little regard to the time.

Nate pulled away momentarily, "I reckon I could do this all night" he murmured as he pulled Aaron closer.

Aaron captured his lips again, "There's nothing stopping us" he pointed out before nodding towards the door, "We could always go inside"

Nate seriously considered his offer, but shook his head and stepped out of Aaron's hold, "As tempting as that sounds, I'm working first thing tomorrow and I wanted to fit in a bike ride beforehand as well"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot you were a mad cyclist" Aaron joked

Nate avoided his gaze, "I'm not 'mad'" he argued unconvincingly, "I only got into a couple of arguments about it with Imogen"

Aaron laughed, "Well I know from experience that you can hold your own in a fight, but Imogen is pretty stubborn"

Nate shrugged, "We came to a mutual understanding in the end" he hummed

"I can imagine" Aaron chuckled before letting out a breath, "You know, I used to love cycling" he admitted, "I wouldn't go out at unearthly hours like you do, but my brothers and I used to race each other around the park from time to time, it was awesome"

Aaron's thoughtfulness was a new experience for Nate, who studied his wistful expression carefully, "Why don't you join me for a ride tomorrow?" he offered

Aaron shrugged, "I didn't bring my bike with me" he replied

"No problem, you can borrow Karl's" Nate pointed out

"But I like my lie-ins" Aaron whined

Nate laughed, "I'm pretty sure I can win you around" he teased, "Look, why don't I ring you in the morning to give you enough time to wake up and get ready, then I'll bring the bike over to yours so it'll be there as soon as you leave and we can go straight away?"

Aaron considered his offer and nodded, "Sounds good" he replied, "And thanks for dinner, by the way. It was great, except from the…" he hesitated

"The everything?" Nate suggested knowingly

Aaron sniggered, "Yeah" he admitted, then paused, "though the ending wasn't so bad"

Nate smiled, "No, it wasn't" he agreed before kissing him again gently, "I'll see you in the morning then?"

Aaron nodded, "Yep, bright and early" he grumbled jokingly

Nate chuckled, "Goodnight" he murmured and gave a quick wave as he jogged down the steps. Aaron watched after him, almost bursting with joy and energy at the turn of events. He took a moment to calm down before entering the house and preparing to get a good night's sleep in preparation for his early-morning bike ride with Nate.

xxx

Nate grinned to himself as he reflected on the previous night, and both Susan and Karl were bemused by Nate's demeanour when he practically skipped into the kitchen early in the morning, dressed in his cycling gear. Retrieving his phone, Nate decided to call Aaron in order to give him enough time to get ready for their bike ride.

Aaron groaned as his mobile rang next to his bed. He slowly reached over to answer it and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"This is your wake-up call, Mr Tatum" Nate greeted playfully, referencing Aaron's idea the previous night of Channing Tatum playing him if there was ever a movie released about them

"What's wrong with you?" Aaron mumbled in agitation, "No-one should ever be awake this early"

Nate scoffed, "Tell that to Karl and Susan"

"Yeah, well they have jobs that they need to be up for, so it's not their choice" Aaron retorted lazily, "You, on the other hand, have no excuse"

"Are you joining me or what?" Nate laughed

"Yeah, just give me a minute or so to wake up" Aaron yawned, "And by 'wake up', I mean 'fall asleep again'"

"I'll give you ten minutes to get dressed and come outside" Nate told him

"Fine" Aaron huffed, "This bike ride had better be good"

"It's a bike ride with Nate Kinski, it's gonna be better than 'good'" Nate joked

"I'll hold you to that" Aaron muttered

"Of course you will" Nate replied dryly, "See you in a bit"

He quickly hung up the phone and sauntered outside to fetch the bikes for himself and Aaron, whilst Aaron dragged himself out of bed to get himself ready for the day ahead.

He was interrupted from his stupor by a knock on the door, "What?" Aaron grumbled to whoever was on the other side

Tyler poked his head around the door, "Who's calling you at this time in the morning?"

Aaron rubbed his eyes, "Nate"

Tyler grinned, "Ooh!" he sang, "Meeting up for dinner, early morning phone calls, what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing" Aaron shrugged, "Yet"

Tyler pulled a face, "Well I'll be waiting for you to finally admit that I was right all those weeks ago when I tried to set you guys up"

"Well if you don't help me find appropriate cycling gear then there won't be anything for you to be right about" Aaron huffed

Tyler folded his arms and shook his head, "Nope, I've done my job. It's down to you now" he chuckled before giving his brother a quick wave and scurrying away. Aaron watched after him in annoyance, but was cheered up by the thought of seeing Nate again.

xxx

Aaron was practically gasping for air once he and Nate had finished their bike-ride. Nate had effortlessly stayed ahead of Aaron the whole time, whilst Aaron struggled to keep up with him. Ending up outside number 24, Aaron clumsily climbed off of the bike and struggled to get enough air into his lungs, whereas Nate hopped off of his own bike and casually removed his gloves.

"You're insane" Aaron panted, "You ride that thing like you're a race-car driver"

Nate grinned, "Well, I wouldn't say 'no' to doing that for a living" he joked before nudging the shorter man, "But hey, you weren't so bad yourself"

Aaron scoffed, "Are you kidding? I was amateur compared to you, you barely broke a sweat" he exclaimed, "I didn't realise how unfit I was"

Nate shook his head and took a step closer to him, "I wouldn't call you unfit" he teased

Aaron rolled his eyes at Nate's cheesiness, "You're such a dag" he muttered, but closed the space between them to capture Nate's lips in a kiss that he had desired all morning. Neither of them had realised that they had let go of their bikes until they were interrupted by a loud crash as both bikes fell to the ground. They pulled away from each other and laughed as they realised what had happened.

Nate stepped away to pick up his bike, "Well I guess that's the signal for me to go and get ready for work"

Aaron nodded as he picked up his bike, slightly disappointed, "And for me to go back to bed for more beauty sleep"

Nate shook his head, "You don't need it"

Aaron smiled tenderly, inwardly surprised at the taller man's change of character. He was used to the cynical, witty Nate, not the flirtatious but tender Nate; though Aaron quite liked it.

"Well I don't want to argue with you, so..." Aaron joked, causing Nate to laugh, "But I do have a rehearsal with Josh later on, so I can't sleep in too late"

Nate nodded, only now realising how uncomfortable he felt at the thought of Aaron's job, "Well just make sure you rest enough, eat well and have fun, I guess"

Aaron smiled, "I will" he assured him before kissing him once more, "I'll see you later"

Nate returned the smile, "Yeah, see you" he replied before wheeling the bikes back to number 28. Despite the workout wearing them out, both men were full of adrenaline at the mere act of spending time together. Aaron almost wished that he didn't have a show later on so that he could spend more time with Nate, even if it meant sitting at the bar all afternoon and distracting his boyfriend while he was trying to work. Aaron paused as he made his way up the front steps: was it too early to think of Nate as his boyfriend? They had only been on a couple of dates and hadn't really discussed making it official, but all he knew was that he wanted to carry on dating Nate and enjoy the excitement of getting to know each other even better.

Thanks for reading! This chapter was a bit random, but even with the weird play-fighting, I thought Nate and Aaron's date was really sweet and I was inspired to carry on from where it ended. Also, it probably seems a bit strange to write one-shots that don't involve Chris considering the title of the story, but now that I'm inspired to write more Nate and Aaron one-shots as well, if anyone could come up with a better title that encompasses all of the one-shots then that would be much appreciated!

By the way, to the guest who left the request from chapter 26 (I can't PM you to ask you this): what sort of injuries did you have in mind for Chris, and where do you generally want the one-shot to go?

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas for one-shots, then please let me know and I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!