Give & Take (boyxboy)

"They finally caved." Jeremy heard a sigh of relief from his mum as they sat, having breakfast the next morning. "Julia called me late last night and decided to let Darcy stay. She even said she'd pay Darcy's school fees, as long as Darcy visits every weekend. I guess that's her way of showing her love." She shook her head and smiled softly.

"That's good," said Ella enthusiastically. Jeremy gave Darcy a small smile across the table, unable to think of something appropriately supportive to say.

"And I won't make you go back to visit your grandparents," Jeremy's mum said to the three of them. She grasped Jeremy's shoulder apologetically. "I'm so sorry you had to hear such awful things from your own family."

"They're just old," said Ella flippantly, digging into her food. "They'll get over it or they won't, but they still have to accept that we're their family."

"You know what?" Jeremy said suddenly. "Grandma was wrong. I'm not normal. I like guys as well as girls." He looked between his mum and dad's faces, searching for their reaction.

"That's fine, Jer," said his dad, meeting his eyes. "You know we don't mind that Ella's gay, so you can be whoever you are as well. This is a home to all of you kids," he gestured around the table, "and you will always be loved and accepted in this household. Remember that."

"Thanks, Dad," Jeremy whispered, getting choked up.

"We love you, sweetie," said his mum with a smile. He returned it genuinely this time.

When Jeremy arrived at art class that morning, he was so nervous that his hands were shaking. Would Ashad be there? If he was, would he ignore him again? Jeremy desperately wanted to say something to him, anything, but mostly to thank Ashad for saving him again, and maybe to apologise for whatever he'd done to offend him at the party. Why had Ashad pushed him away? Doesn't he like me?

Jeremy caught a glimpse of Ashad's face from up the hall. Ashad's eyes glinted with recognition behind his glasses and he turned to walk away. Jeremy was damn sick of that reaction by now, so he took a chance and ran after him, trying not to knock people over as he went.

"Ashad!" he yelled. He was out of breath already. Seriously, he was so unfit. "Ashad, hey, listen to me!" He was drawing stares, but he didn't care anymore. He just wanted to be near Ashad, to talk to him again. Being cut out of Ashad's life was a stab to the heart every time Jeremy saw him.

"What the fuck do you want?" Ashad said, stopping and meeting his gaze. The words, despite their harshness, had no venom behind them. His eyes were dull and his mouth solemn. How Jeremy wanted him to smile again with those perfect full lips and white teeth.

"I—I want to apologise." Jeremy's stammer was back. He cursed himself mentally. "I've been terrible to you, I've been a total asshole — I admit that freely." He swallowed, searching for words, but Ashad spoke before he could respond.

"Let's not speak here," Ashad said, his eyes flicking to the onlookers. "Come on." He took Jeremy's arm and led him to a deserted area near the canteen. The bell had rung ten minutes ago, so most of the students were already in class.

Jeremy's face lit up in a shade of pink when he realised that they'd stopped walking but Ashad's hand remained firmly gripped around his arm. "I, uh—"

Ashad grabbed his hand. "So, you were apologising."

Jeremy started to sweat, worrying until he saw the slight twinkle of mirth in Ashad's eyes. "Are you teasing me?" he asked incredulously.

"So what if I am?"

Ashad's face was infuriatingly handsome when he was being a snarky little bastard. Jeremy sucked on his lip, struggling to focus on the subject at hand. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I—When you k-kissed me the first time, I was really surprised, and I was the nastiest I've ever been to anyone." Jeremy hung his head. "You didn't deserve to be treated like that by me. I only said those things out of cowardice."

"And what about the party?"

Jeremy looked up at Ashad. "Um, well I really have no idea what happened there," he said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I was drunk and I didn't know what I was think—"

Ashad's dark brows knitted together as he frowned. "So you only kissed me because you were drunk?"

Jeremy's eyes opened wide with horror. "No no no no," he babbled. "That is, I mean I probably wouldn't have done it if I was sober, but—"

"Dammit Jeremy!" Ashad exploded. Jeremy cringed and backed away, but Ashad's grip on his arm was steely. "What I'm trying to say is, do you like me at all?"

Jeremy's mouth opened like a fish's, wordless. Finally he closed it and nodded slowly. "I think I like you."

"You think?" Ashad looked a little bit angry, maybe even disappointed.

Jeremy looked away, his thoughts racing. "I don't know, I mean of course I kissed you because I wanted to and because I like you, I'm just not sure exactly how to like a guy." He looked at Ashad helplessly, hoping he would understand.

Ashad nodded. "Well, I like you, maybe even love you. How do you feel about that?"

A tingle crept up Jeremy's spine at those words. Was that how Ashad felt? He cared that deeply? "That—I feel good about that. Great, actually," said Jeremy honestly, realising how true those words were once he said them. "Can we give this another try?"

Ashad crept a tiny bit closer, looking down into Jeremy's face. "What, do you mean try dating?"

Jeremy nodded. "Properly, this time."

Ashad grinned. "I never thought you'd ask." His grin was infectious, and suddenly Jeremy was smiling too. He gripped the back of Ashad's shirt, pulling him closer, and brought his other hand to the back of the taller boy's neck. Jeremy stood on tiptoes and leaned into Ashad, bringing their lips together. It had only been days, but Jeremy realised he'd missed his touch so much more than he'd thought. He was smiling so much that their teeth clacked together and they couldn't even kiss properly. Ashad laughed softly, the deep tone sending shivers down Jeremy's back. Ashad pulled him in by his waist and captured his lower lip, sucking on it. Jeremy groaned quietly and grasped Ashad's hair, blindly feeling his way through Ashad's mouth. He tasted so sweet that Jeremy never wanted to let go.

A wolf whistle echoed through the canteen and Jeremy opened his eyes. It was Darcy, cackling away with their hands held up like a pair of binoculars. Jeremy held up his middle finger at them and resumed the kiss, feeling Ashad's chuckle resounding through to his own chest where their bodies met. He grabbed at Ashad's bottom lip with his own, biting it gently, and felt Ashad's hand slip from his shoulder blade to the base of his back, deft fingers crawling beneath his shirt and caressing his skin.

Darcy's laughter faded away with their footsteps. Ashad released Jeremy's mouth for a split second and laughed properly. "Oh man, that cousin of yours is really something!" he said, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

Jeremy rested his head on Ashad's shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. "They sure are. And so are you." 

A/N: And that's the final chapter for Give & Take! Sorry for keeping you waiting so long for the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, I loved writing it so much. Thanks to all of my wonderful friends and family who helped build and review this story, you know who you are.