Archive of Our Own ^beta

"So, how do I look?"

Bard looked up from his phone to see his best friend, Thranduil, standing in the bathroom doorway, dressed impeccably in a stark black suit.

His mouth went dry.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, though, for it had been occurring rather frequently through the past year. Bard had been noticing the smaller details of Thranduil, like how his long blond hair shimmered in the sun and stuck to his back when they had gone swimming, and how his dark eyebrows accented his face when he wiggled them in accordance with a stupid joke. The regal manner in which Thranduil carried himself during school hours, only to let it drop the minute they left campus.

Indeed, Bard found himself quite thoroughly enamoured with his friend, and didn't oppose it at all. It wasn't as if he'd ever tell Thranduil, anyway.

Snapping back to the present, Bard shook his head slightly. "Ah, um. Yeah, you look fine."

The smile that broke onto Thranduil's face nearly made him swoon, but he soon quashed the urge to just stand up and kiss the living daylights out of him.

They were going to their high school's autumn dance, as was required of them (what with their somewhat high social status). Bard wasn't exactly looking toward to it though, as Tauriel was almost certainly going to be there, and her disgusting crush on Thranduil would be there too.

"Great," Thranduil said, "Gotta keep up my reputation, right?"

Bard snorted. "Yeah, no one can ever know how you act outside of school," he said dramatically, and raised an eyebrow at Thranduil wincing.

"I know exactly what you are referencing, and I want you to stop," he said, equally as dramatic (or perhaps more so), and sat next to Bard, making the bed's mattress sink under his weight.

"Who're you texting?" Came Thranduil's voice from over Bard's shoulder.

"Thorin," he said. "Apparently Bilbo's being a, quote, stubborn little bitch, unquote, and refusing to leave his apartment to go to the Dance with 'stupid jock douchebags like him'. "

"That's reasonable."

"Yeah, but... Oh, never mind. They'll probably end up making out in the restroom anyway."

"Ew." Bard sighed and shoved his phone into his suit pocket, looking up at Thranduil's taller form. Thranduil was looking directly at him, dark eyes boring into Bard's. Bard didn't look away, despite feeling uncharacteristically bashful under the harsh gaze, and was it just him or was Thranduil leaning in...?

Bard's eyes slipped closed, and something soft- lips maybe- pressed against his. The two sat there, unmoving, before Bard felt Thranduil stiffen and pull away quickly.

"Shit! Ah, umm... Sorry. I didn't um... Uhh, oh god um.."

Bard, drifting down from a high that had been initiated the second Thranduil's lips touched his, looked at Thranduil who was still stuttering incoherent excuses. "Shut up Thranduil,"

Bard said, and smiled slightly at Thranduil's deer-in-the-headlights expression, before leaning up and kissing Thranduil again.

Not much was clear to Bard after that, only vague senses, like that of Thranduil deepening the kiss, and Bard being pulled down so he was straddling the tall blond.

After an unknown amount of time, Bard pulled away, and admired Thranduil's mussed appearance. The both of them were red faced and red lipped, and still only inches apart. Bard wasn't sure if it was actually happening or not, but he didn't care.

"I've liked you for a while, you know," He said, and Thranduil poked his shoulder, probably embarrassed.

"...Me too."

Suddenly, Bard's phone buzzed and he automatically reached for it, only to be stopped by a slender hand on his wrist.

"Leave it," Thranduil said,"Screw Thorin."

"No thank you."

Thranduil laughed breathily and chastely kissed Bard's cheek.

"I don't want to go to the dance anymore," Bard said.

"Me neither." Thranduil agreed. "I have some other ideas though..."

"Oh yeah?"

Bard smirked, and leant down to whisper huskily to Thranduil, who's smile grew wider by the second.

In the end, the two didn't go to the Autumn Dance. Tauriel was awfully upset, much to Legolas's amusement, and Bilbo and Thorin really did end up making out in the restroom, but the duo weren't there to protest.

There wasn't much protesting at all, to be honest.