They met in the midst of dim lights, the faint scent of alcohol evident in the air as they both were introduced to each other by Manager of the place. It was a small pub with a vintage aesthetic, a couple of people there to have some fun that day.
"Joe."
"Ben."
It all started from there, that hand shake, the story of these two young adults who were out in the world trying to live life to their fullest. Trying to live life the way is supposed to be lived.
One expressing his emotions with the songs he sang, a guitar, a bass or an ukulele accompanying his melodies and the other expressing them with his drums and journal notes. They both had their own ways of letting out what they felt but they were still so similar in one way or another.
The first time they played together was completely something else. They never had that chemistry with anyone else who had partnered them on stage before, it was terrifying and magical at the same time.
They were so good because the movements they received from the audience were enough of a signal.
They had people ask them to perform again and again. They were flattered by the love they received but this whole time, the both of them never spared a look at the other in the fear of getting lost in each others eyes.
The thought of falling for someone just with a look in their eyes, terrified them to infinity. The thought of someone you met just mere minutes ago, becoming the most important part of your life, petrified them.
They grew closer and simultaneously, became a hit among the audience. People wanted more from them because two shows in a week wasn't enough.
As their friendship escalated, their feelings for each other started growing as well. It was almost like they both had trapped their feelings in a box and one look in the others eyes would open the box, releasing all its contents on their friendship, possibly ruining it or blossoming it into one of the best flowers in the whole world.
When they exchanged numbers in order to meet up for practices, they both knew it was just partially true. The other reason was because they wanted each others numbers, desperately.
Slowly they realised that their friendship was one of the best things that had ever happened to them. The future held better things for them and they knew it the instance they were on stage, sharing glances at each other, making sure they were in rhythm and making sure the other was okay.
The smaller of the two became to most verbal in their relation which was quite strange when the drummer made the first move. As the smaller was more vocal, as a singer and as a speaker, it was quite sure that some day his confession would just slip out his lips but that was never the reality.
The drummer was the one who had had enough of his bottled up feelings. They had known each other for a couple of months and it was enough time for him to be sure about his feeling, to accept them and to truly live in them.
He lived for those small moments when his partner would look at him while singing, on stage, and flash him a quick toothy grin that would make his heart flutter, the butterflies churn around in his stomach and his movements stutter.
It was one of the nights when the one at the mic had blessed him with his smile that could easily light up the whole fucking city. He was playing the drums when he got this feeling of just getting up and going to the guy in front of him and kissing the living hell out of him.
He couldn't do that because he was in the middle of a performance but he was surely going to do it later. Maybe the brunet wouldn't like that but it was definitely worth the try.
The singer was at his last words when his slightly hoarse and slightly deep yet sweet voice filled everyone's ears, making them lose themselves somewhere in an enchanted land.
The drummer was the one who was most affected by that because he had a made a decision to kiss the other man but now he was slightly unsure about the reaction he would receive.
What if he would be hated and the other male would leave his job at this place just to get away from the drummer? What if the drummer never heard his tiny bit of hoarse and deep yet melodious voice ever again?
He was in his trance, his drumming stopped at that instance when after a moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up from his place, only to see the most beautiful greenish hazel eyes he had ever see.
"You good?"
"Sorry, just. . ."
He walked away as he realised that the whole audience was waiting for his performance to continue. He heard a few grunts and moans from the audience but he didn't care.
At that moment all he cared was that, the anxiety he was feeling was not good for him, he really wanted the brunet to like him back.
He then heard the other guy apologizing to the audience and telling them that, that was the end of their performance.
He then saw the silhouette of the guy in the small alley he was standing in and his heart rate picked up as he was greeted by a small concerned smile.
"Are you okay? You-"
He didn't let the other male complete his sentence as he leaned forward and kissed his lips not caring if anyone saw them. They were in an alley so there was no chance of anyone watching them anyways. As he kissed, he realised that the texture was exactly what he was dreaming of: soft, lush and absolutely beautiful.
The adrenaline rush through him was one of best feelings. This was the most exciting thing, the most he had ever felt alive, ever.
He used to say that playing drums was the only thing that could make him feel like a proper human but kissing the shorter male was way more thrilling than performing anywhere.
He pulled away a second later, scared of the hate he would receive and rushed out to where the audience were seated. For a moment, when he heard his name being called out, he froze in his place and then came back to his senses but it was already too late.
The shorter guy had already reached him, grabbing onto his forearm, turning him around and smashing their lips together. Before he could do anything, he was trapped between two hands that wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling him closer than ever.
The place was silent as everyone witnessed the best performers sharing a very intimate first kiss.
The drummer was lost in the feeling of pretty lips against his, moving in sync and he snaked his arms around the others waist, locking him into place.
They shared their moment and had to pull away for breath, resting their foreheads together. Then the pub burst into cheers, people happily accepting them but not everyone. They also heard a few disapproving groans but all those people could shove their opinions up their ass because what others did was none of their business, what the couple did was none of their business and how they decided to spend their time together was surely none of their business.
Ben and Joe were smiling against each others lips, Ben happy that he made the first move and Joe happy that this moment was absolutely perfect for him.
