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The SDCC experience was hectic and exhausting as always and by the time he got back to his hotel room Tyler was ready to literally die. He was just about to take a quick shower before bed when there was a knock on the door. He was tempted to pretend he was already sleeping but of course the polite side of him won, so he opened the damn door.
"Hey buddy, thought we can hang out for a bit before we leave, haven't really seen you all weekend." Dylan was squeezing past him before he even had a chance to register what was going on. He dropped the beer he brought with him on the bedside table, grabbed and opened one of them and promptly threw himself on the bed with a loud sigh. "Oh my god this feels good." The moan he made sounded obscene although that may have been just Tyler. He found almost everything that Dylan did obscene.
He wasn't even sure when it started really, he tended to be quite oblivious about those things. It was actually Britt who finally pointed it out to him when he just wouldn't get the reasons behind her dumping him. Since then he couldn't help but notice (and thoroughly appreciate) just about everything about Dylan. As in more consciously than before because apparently he had been making hearts eyes at his friend for years.
"Make yourself at home." He snorted helping himself to his own bottle of Bud and squeezing in next to Dylan on the bed. He could feel the warmth radiating from his friend's body where their shoulders and thighs connected. It used to make him blush like crazy, all those small touches, but he became really good at reining everything in.
It was hard sometimes, to not let anything slip. Especially when Dylan was all relaxed and unguarded like now. He must've taken a shower as his hair was flat and product free, just the way Tyler liked the most. It was soft and fluffy and made him want to bury his fingers in it. He was wearing sweats and a ratty t-shirt Tyler vaguely remembered from the times when they used to live together in Atlanta.
They sat in silence for a while, sipping their drinks and basking in the comfortable presence of each other, both tired of the noise and answering questions, crowds, busy schedules and keeping the facade in front of the media. It had been ages since he and Dylan spent some quality time together, just the two of them. Tyler missed it so much. He might have been partially at fault because of his little freak out after finally realising he was head over heels for his friend. He pulled a dick move and avoided Dylan for quite a while. It was easier than he thought with their busy schedules and not having to shoot scenes together, but in the end it made him nothing but miserable so he decided to man up and stop being a coward. It was still hard to find time but he made sure they at least went out for lunch from time to time in order catch up.
It wasn't the same as it used to be though as Tyler couldn't help but feel self conscious about everything he did or said around his friend in order to keep his feelings at bay. He tried really hard to act natural but it was tough sometimes, to pretend he was unaffected by every little touch or smile when all he wanted was to just grab his friend and kiss him senseless. If Dylan noticed that something was off, he never said anything.
"You want another one?" Dylan's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Tyler blinked at the bottle in his hand. It was empty and he hadn’t even realised.
"Sure."
************
A few beers later they were both a little tipsy, exhaustion taking its toll and turning them into lightweights. Not that they could usually hold their liquor well but it should take more than this to get them started.
He said it out loud and Dylan joked about them getting old, which immediately made Tyler think sappy thoughts about them growing old together. Yup, he had it bad. Alcohol only made it worse and left him defenceless against his stupid imagination.
His reverie was interrupted by a loud yawn and he felt Dylan lean a little bit more to his side while sinking lower on the bed.
"You should go to sleep Dyl." He playfully flicked his friend's ear earning a poke in the ribs in return.
"'M ok." Dylan was already slurring slightly as he looked up and smiled dopily. He was all sleepy and relaxed, his hair was all over the place , his eyes were barely open, all squinty and adorable. Tyler just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and cuddle him to his chest (preferably forever).
"You look like you're on the verge of passing out, buddy."
"But..." Dylan pouted and burrowed his face in Tyler's chest. "It's just... I don't really get to see you anymore, you know?"
The mood got a little bit serious and Tyler felt himself tensing slightly, overwhelmed with guilt.
"Yeah, I know," he admitted stiffly.
"I just miss you...."
"Yeah me too, D." Tyler took a long swing of his beer because it was a little bit too much hearing those words. "So how was your day? Had fun with your Gladers?" He asked in order to steer the conversation away from dangerous topics.
Dylan perked up a little bit at this. He loved working on The Maze Runner and his enthusiasm about it was highly contagious.
"Oh man, it was awesome! Like, oh my god, when we were about to shoot that one interview..."
They spent some time swapping funny stories and poking fun at some of their friends. It was comfortable. Safe.
Tyler felt himself relaxing again.
Soon all the beers were long finished leaving them both pleasantly buzzed and a little bit (a lot?) giggly.
They ended up scrolling through UberFacts on Dylan's phone making silly comments about every little thing.
Tyler didn't remember when was the last time he laughed so hard.
"Oh my god dude, this one is awesome! I'm so using it as my next pick up line!" Dylan's eyes went all shiny with excitement. "Can you imagine? 'Want me to increase your lifespan, baby?' Haha! This is so good!"
Tyler snorted into his bottle. He could so picture Dylan actually doing that. He always covered it with jokes but deep inside he was like the cheesiest romantic ever and he most probably found it incredibly sweet to say something like this to someone. Like Britt. When he next saw her.
And it wasn't the time to get jealous and bitter now and spoil the mood.
"You're so lame."
Dylan just stuck his tongue at him.
"Pffft, no one would resist, I'm telling you, bro."
Tyler secretly agreed (although he was probably biased), but Dylan didn't have to know that.
"Resist running away from you, maybe."
It wasn't that funny but for some reason it left them in stitches. He blamed the alcohol.
Eventually their laughter died down and they slumped against each other bonelessly, both deeply lost in their own minds, the phone long forgotten between the sheets.
************
"So..."
Tyler looked down and maybe it wasn't such a good idea because he instantly got lost in those amazing, golden brown eyes. Their faces were so close he could feel Dylan's breath on his chin. He had to use all his willpower not to do anything stupid in his vulnerable, alcohol-induced state.
"Want me to increase your lifespan...?" Dylan whispered, biting his lip and shifting up to Tyler's level, so that their faces ended up mere millimetres apart, nose-to-nose.
Say what!
Tyler was dreaming. Or hallucinating. Because it sounded a lot as if Dylan just asked to kiss him and there was no way in hell it would happen in real life. Ever. No fucking way.
Before his fuzzy brain could register what was happening though, he was already leaning forward, cupping Dylan's face in both hands and...
And then the world stopped.
Because his lips found Dylan's lips and it was perfect.
It started chaste, tentative. Tyler could feel his hands shaking against Dylan's cheeks. What the hell was he doing!? It was overwhelming and so intense. He pressed a little firmer, pouring all his pent up need and desperation into Dylan's mouth because there was no turning back now. He wouldn't be able to stop even if he wanted to.
And Dylan was returning his kiss. He was giving back as good as he got, with one hand tightly gripping the front of Tyler's shirt while the other was playing with the short hair at the back of his head.
Eventually they slowed down, went from fervent to exploring, in unspoken agreement to make it last, make it count, memorise every tiny detail.
They kept exchanging unhurried, open mouthed kisses at a lazy, relaxed pace. Tyler felt Dylan's eager hands roaming around his body as if he couldn't decide where to put them, what to touch first. It sent a thrill of excitement down his spine. He ended up flat on his back with Dylan sprawled half on top of him, taking control. And Tyler just let him, enjoying every sensation.
When they had to stop to catch their breaths, they stayed close, foreheads pressed together as they panted and tried to wrap their heads around what had just happened.
And that was when the reality hit.
"D..." Tyler started, but was shushed by long fingers covering his lips.
"Don't say it. Please don't say it was a mistake or something. You kissed back... I... I thought you wanted this... It took me a while to figure this out and... Please, please tell me I'm not reading this wrong..." Dylan's voice broke at the end, and he wouldn't even look at Tyler, his cheeks flushed, lips pressed in tight line.
Tyler gently pried Dylan's hand from his face and squeezed it lightly. He wished with his whole heart it could be just that easy.
"It's not that... What about Britt?" He sounded hoarse with emotion. Dylan always made him feel so raw.
"Oh... Um, we broke up."
What!?
"When did that happen?"
Dylan let out a heavy sigh, licked his lips nervously and finally looked up.
"Officially? In Italy."
"Officially?"
"Unofficially... Ages ago really..."
Tyler didn't know about that. He used to know EVERYTHING about Dylan. Last time he checked they were buying a house together.
"I thought you loved her..."
"I did. I do! But I'm not in love with her... I don't think I ever was to be honest. We're still good friends. Just friends.
"So this...?" Tyler couldn't help but feel a spark of hope blooming in his heart.
"This is me taking my head out of my ass and taking the chance. Since you probably wouldn't, like, ever.
So maybe Dylan wasn't so oblivious after all. Or maybe Tyler was too obvious. Had he been too obvious? Who else had noticed? He figured Britt did because she knew him so well and picked up on things even he wasn't aware of.
"Oh my god. Stop freaking out." Dylan poked him in the nose (ouch!) but immediately kissed it better, turning Tyler's insides to mush. So maybe Dylan was the cheesiest romantic ever, but Tyler wasn't any better for being such a sucker for it.
"I know it's a bit scary and all, for me too... It's just when I realised I'm like, totally gone for you and then you became distant, and at first I thought that maybe I was making you uncomfortable or something, but then, there were few times when you like kinda... Dude, I don't even know. I just thought that maybe you felt the same but didn't realise that I do too? Probably the whole time. I'm just really slow with these things...
"So you're saying...?"
Dylan took a long shuddering breath.
"I want to give it a go. I want to try this. Us... I mean, if you wanna...?"
Ok, so apparently the feelings were mutual. But was it enough? It still wouldn't be easy with their careers and families to consider but maybe for once in his life he was allowed to be selfish? This one time, just take what he craved without caring about consequences or anyone's approval. Because this was everything he’d dreamed about and more. And hopefully, even if things got rough, they could pull through so long as they had each other (or however it went in those sappy romance novels and Tyler's imagination).
And damn, but Tyler wanted it. He wanted it all, the good things and the bad things and all the things Dylan O'Brien.
He ran his fingers through Dylan's soft hair, like he’d wanted to the whole evening.
"Yeah, I want it too."
Dylan's face practically lit up with joy, sparkly eyes and all. "Good. That's good. Oh my god, this is so awesome." He grinned happily, and then they were kissing again. It was more passionate this time, wet and deep. Exhilarating. They were soon practically writhing on that bed, eager to get closer, taste more.
Until.
"Did you just yawn in my mouth?"
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Dylan hid his face in the crook of Tyler’s neck. "I'm just so beat, man..."
"You can sleep here if you want."
"God, yes. Please. I don't think I'm capable of moving anywhere at this point." He moaned and went completely slack, spreading his fingers above Tyler's heart. It was hammering against his ribs, and Tyler half expected to see Dylan's palm twitch with every beat.
He brought his free hand up and laid it next to Dylan's. Their pinkies slowly drifted towards each other, eventually curling around each other loosely. It felt more intimate than all the kissing and snuggling combined, and it turned out he wasn't too old to feel butterflies in his stomach.
"Mmmm... Night Hoechy."
"Night," he whispered into Dylan's hair, his chest bubbling with so much happiness it was making him lightheaded.
"Tomorrow... When I'm more awake..." Came a muffled voice.
"Hmmm?"
"Tomorrow I'll make you live forever..."