-- NOTHING WITHOUT YOU (TIMMY!)

[afa]

Tim should have experienced some sort of triumph as Carter gave in, but he only felt drained and empty. Just because he'd won this round didn't mean anything would change. It was almost like everything he did with Carter was one giant loop; a one step forward, two steps back kind of deal. While Tim simply wanted to end the conversation, his companion seemed almost desperate to keep him there, and at Carter's next words he looked up sharply. His gaze had gone from defeated to just plain pissed. That had been a low blow, even for the other man, and Tim had half a mind to punch him right in his insolent mouth. His fists even clenched in readiness before he realized what he was doing. He didn't want to lose it like he had in the bar, especially not on Carter. "Do what you want," he replied, an edge to his voice. Just let me leave, he added silently, making a final escape attempt. For the first time, he wanted to put as much distance between himself and his friend as possible. He wanted to get away, get a breath of fresh air, maybe cool off and find something better to do with himself than pine after the one person he could never actually have. Nothing Carter said, he decided, could get him to turn around and walk back into that situation. Unfortunately, almost as soon as he had resolved himself to this idea, the other man was yelling the very thing Tim had wanted to hear from the start.

This evening had gone from the worst ever to the best ever in the blink of an eye. Once getting himself and his friend away from the crowds of people, Tim, too, had to take a moment to let it all sink in. He was still half-convinced that it was some sort of dream, though it somehow felt too real. He didn't want to be all cliche and pinch himself, so he decided to roll with it and, in the event that he woke up eventually, deal with the disappointment. Certainly, the kiss felt very real. As did the second, and the third, until he'd more or less lost count. All he could think was finally and, occasionally, I never want tonight to end. Every time they pulled away from each other, Tim saw his own grin reflected on Carter's face. He was fairly certain winning the lottery wouldn't even be as exciting as this. He wanted to jump up and down and yell and set off fireworks. Christmas, New Year's, his birthday, Easter and the fourth of July all wrapped up into one. Well, maybe Carter wasn't quite that awesome, but he was damn near close.

Tim watched as the other man tried to come up with a better word to describe their new relationship. He supposed 'gay' wasn't too bad, since they technically were, but it somehow felt too broad and general. Of course, his brain was still refusing to work, so he waited patiently for Carter to think of something more appropriate. When his friend grinned, Tim raised an eyebrow, feeling himself being drawn closer yet again. He wondered if the novelty of kissing the man would ever wear off. Probably not, to be perfectly honest. The butterflies were there to stay, among other things. At Carter's answer, he paused for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Then, he began blushing fiercely. It wouldn't be too obvious in the dim light of the alley, but he could feel the burning sensation spread up from the back of his neck and across his face. Noting his companion's body language, he coughed awkwardly, though it sounded more like a strangled laugh. In fact, it could have been a strangled laugh. "That definitely sounds better than just gay," he replied truthfully. When Carter began going on about chocolate, Tim's expression became incredibly confused. While it probably would have made him feel better to steal Carter's chocolate as a sort of revenge, he'd been far too upset even to think of it. "What?" he asked. Fortunately, it didn't take long for the two of them to get back on the same track. "No," he shook his head, biting his lip as the other man came to the realization. He still felt awful.

Tim looked up uncertainly as Carter began speaking again, and could only nod as his friend recapped the past few minutes. When he mentioned his father, Tim's eyes widened. It had been so long since they'd been in New York and had to worry about what they said or did, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. How would Mr. Andrews react to all of this? He probably wouldn't be happy; Carter had made a right spectacle of himself back there. What would the repercussions be? It was enough to make Tim's head hurt. Why did he have to bring that up, anyway? This was the best moment of his life, and he'd gone and introduced the stresses of the world into it. "We'll figure something out," he promised, wanting to calm Carter down for the moment. He had no idea what they could do, but there was no way he was letting go of the man now. Not after the amount of time it had taken to finally get here. As his friend stopped mid-sentence, Tim met his eyes, almost seeing the transition in thought. At Carter's next words, Tim smirked, shaking his head. "In a perfect world..." he said dryly, glad the brief crisis had passed.

As Carter moved forward once more, Tim took a tiny step back, nearly losing his balance as his friend pressed himself against him. However, his arms quickly returned to their original place, and he was too focused on the kiss to really notice anything else. Inevitably, of course, his giddiness got the best of him. As Carter stepped back, Tim kept a firm hold of him, not wanting him to get too far away. It was cold, after all; he needed the heat. He took a moment to compose himself (Carter's reaction did not make this any easier) before replying. "No, you're fine. I just... I can't believe...tonight is just... you know?" he looked hopelessly at the other man, still grinning stupidly. Finding the right words was difficult in even the best of situations, and all he could do was count on Carter to understand what he meant. Evidently, he still had no difficulty coming up with extremely lame comments. Tim almost groaned at himself. "Shut-" he began, before finding that his mouth was once again occupied. Not that he was complaining, or anything. Kissing was always easier than talking, and it said so much more. At the thought of stealth renting another hotel room, Tim smirked. "We're so badass. They won't suspect a thing." Plus, it would save them the awkwardness of having an audience for all the cuddling they would be doing later on. When Carter said it was settled, Tim raised an eyebrow. "Apparently."

As Carter spoke again, Tim laughed. "We're going to have to open a maple syrup business or something to keep the sap under control. But I know what you mean." He pulled Carter even closer, grinning at him. "I'm comfortable here." At that point, it dawned on him that they'd gone a whole ten seconds without kissing, and so he quickly solved that problem. He chuckled as Carter began to sing. "Always have to steal my kisses frooom you," he joined in, voice quiet enough to keep from echoing down the alley. He half expected the background music to kick in and the credits to start rolling up the screen, but neither of those things happened, so apparently the movie wasn't over yet. "Anywhere I want?" he asked, looking quite thoughtful but unable to actually come up with any specific place. "You know, I was really hoping for the moon... this is so disappointing." He sighed.

ooc I know. It's the twilight zone. Tim's all like 'no I can't say that... oh wait. I totally can.' And they're not even that awkward yet. xD The only thing they would do in a hotel room together is have an extreme cuddle sesh. But that's just 'cause they're far too awesome for all that R-rated shiz.