"What're you doing here, John? You're not working today." Robert called above the noise when he entered the pub.
"Meeting someone."
Catrina ignored his presence, which wasn't a fairly hard thing to do, since she was popular with the customers. She didn't like gays, it was clear from the disapproval and the way she looked as if she had been sucking on a lemon when he arrived, but so far she had been trying to be polite about it. She never said anything to him unless it was relatively nice.
He liked her.
"That guy you were talking to two days ago?" Robert wiggled his eyebrows at him.
"Yeah."
He waited by the door, trying not to seem too nervous. Second dates were like that.
Five minutes to 5 ten, Rory arrived, an apology ready as he pushed open the door and greeted him with lips chilly from the cold of outside.
"Sorry, it's been a busy day."
"Better late than never, my mother used to say." He supplied, trying not to show how relieved he was that Rory showed up at all.
He had been stood up before.
"Shall we go?"
His eyebrows hitched up in surprise, "You have something planned?"
Rory smiled at him, "You were expecting our second date here?"
"Here is where we met you dork."
Rory held the door open for him, bowing theatrically for him to leave first, "And while I am glad we have, it's hardly the place for a second date."
It was a little windy outside, but that was to be expected.
"Where then?"
"I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park?" Rory tilted his head in inquiry, as if asking him whether or not that was okay.
He linked their arms together, "Excellent idea," he let the taller boy lead.
"Should I compliment you on your clothes?" underneath Rory's jesting comment was his uncertainty, barely tangible but still there.
He didn't want to make Rory feel uncomfortable, so it was good that he had a natural talent for making people feel at ease around him. Harry had always said it made his girlfriends hard to whisk away, which was good too, because he actually liked some of the girls he brought home.
He huffed a laugh, hands in his pockets, "Do you normally compliment your date's clothes?"
"Yup." Rory smiled at him charmingly, a quirk of his lips.
"Treat this like a normal date."
"You look nice."
"Yeah, because that's really convincing." He laughed, shaking his head, and after a few ticking seconds, Rory joined him in chuckling.
"OI, YOU TWO POOFTERS."
He tensed, head snapping to the left, feeling Rory still beside him. A gaunt man, age lines lining his features, drunk off his feet and coming their way.
"Uh-oh." Rory said quietly, under his breath, looking the man's way.
"Do you know him?" he felt obliged to ask, and it was just their luck that his new boyfriend nodded.
"That's the man who's been chasing after my mother. Was waiting outside our house this morning."
What a creep.
"You poofters ruined my life!"
"Us specifically or homosexuals in general?" he inquired coolly, watching as a few people stalled to watch the confrontation, but didn't come too close or actively engage. Good, because he thought he could take this man on by himself, but not too many people.
"Let me handle this," Rory sighed, stepping forward.
He backed away.
"Dr Pilfrey, how have you been?" Rory said with a smile, a hand reaching out for a shake, which was shoved away, Dr Pilfrey narrowing his eyes at him, darting from Rory to him.
"How do you know me?"
"I'm Rory." The ginger introduced politely, as if they had met under friendly terms and were thinking of going out to have a coffee, "Rory Slippery. You work with my father, remember?"
"Slippery." The doctor hissed, spittle flying from his chapped lips, pupils contracting, "You… your whole family- I WILL NOT BE PLAYED WITH, DO YOU HEAR?!" he suddenly shrieked, arms jerking around wildly, "I WILL NOT!"
"I'm afraid I don't quite know your meaning," Rory said, stepping back slightly, eyes widening in alarm, "Dr Pilfrey, I don't think you're quite well…"
"Shut up! Shut up!"
Rory did, mouth shutting with a click.
"Your slithering vixen of a mother, your wretched father, your conniving brother…" the man advanced menacingly, a finger jabbing at Rory's chest, ignoring the ginger's "Hey now." "And now YOU appear, you and your little boyfriend! YOU'RE TAKING OVER THIS COUNTRY, YOU POOFTERS EVERYWHERE!"
"Alright," he muttered, pulling his boyfriend back just as Dr Pilfrey made a clumsy lunge at Rory, fingers grasping, "We've tried your way. Now it's my way."
"John, I don't think he can be reasoned with-"
He drew his arm back and swung it, his knuckles making contact with the crazy man's cheek with a loud crack. Dr Pilfrey crumpled to the ground, a hand to his flaming cheek as he started sobbing.
He turned around to see Rory stare at him, eyes wide, the hand covering his mouth falling to his side.
"He lunged first." He said, conscious of the fact that he hadn't exactly asked Rory whether or not he could right-hook his father's colleague.
Rory looked down at the fallen doctor, "I know." He said dumbly, grasping for words, but unable to find anything to say.
"He was rude to your family. I thought, well, I didn't go too hard on him." He scratched at his head, growing increasingly nervous by the second, when Rory stared down at the sobbing man and people gawked at him.
Father had always said, wait until the enemy started first, then you wouldn't be attacking, you'd be defending.
"Too much?" he asked.
"I think we'd better run." Rory said quietly.
"What?"
"Run!" Rory grabbed his hand and pulled him away, far, far, away from the scene of the crime.
No one stopped them, and by the time they came to a halt, in an entirely different part of the neighbourhood, he believed, the hand enveloping his own was slick with sweat.
"That was the most ridiculous thing I have ever done." Rory laughed, chest heaving as he shook his head.
He pulled his hand back, "You're not mad?"
"What?" Rory looked at him, lips stretching in a grin, "No, the creep's been after my mother for weeks, months even. I can't believe you punched him. In the middle of the street."
"He started it."
"I know."
Not mad. His lips lifted to match Rory's grin, euphoria travelling through his veins as he thought back the adventure they just had. Delighted at the way he had handled it, delighted that he impressed Rory, he turned to face the ginger, only to have his lips caught in a kiss.
A larger hand curled around the nape of his neck, while he felt the other snaked around his waist. He reached up to grasp at Rory's shoulders, pulling him forward as he pressed them together.
Rory moaned softly, or it may have been him who moaned, or both of them, when he sucked lightly at Rory's tongue, legs weakening, stumbling back until his back hit a wall, and how cliché was that, how long had it been since someone had kissed the air from him?
"Hey! Keep it in your pants, kids!"
Rory pulled back reluctantly, and he slumped against the alley with a dazed smile, blinking rapidly.
"Sorry!" Rory called.
He huffed, chuckling slightly, "I suppose your plan for the park has been…derailed." He said, finally finding the strength to stand on his own two feet.
"Thanks to you punching Dr Pilfrey."
"And you snogging the life out of me."
Rory grinned cheekily at him, "Would you like to meet my family?" he suddenly asked.
His eyes widened, "Really?"
"You punched Dr Pilfrey. They'll love you."
Dr Pilfrey's had a bad day, he's not usually like this.