Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) [Odion]

“What the hell?” Odion asked himself, sitting on the small bed in his dorm room. Rhett had been the last person he texted in the middle of the night, saying sweet nothings, and now he decided to be all cryptic. The redhead sighed, throwing the phone onto the bed and falling back into the pillows. Things were complicated, but they couldn’t be more right. Odi just wasn’t used to having feelings for someone who he had worked so hard to stay at bay with, not wanting things to get personal. He just didn’t want to be hurt, but that happened anyways when Rhett left for America.

Odion smiled, his hands behind his head. The blonde had apologized for that and he would forever remember it, something he had been waiting years to hear. Odi couldn’t concentrate in his classes, he was looking forward to whatever Rhett had in mind for them that afternoon. He checked his phone again, both to make sure he was on track with time, and to see if his friend had said anything else. Was Rhett still his friend? Odion sighed, putting his phone away. Nothing was official or anything, he only knew how he felt about the blonde.

During his spare, Mr. Martins slipped on his sweater (or was it Rhett’s?) over a navy blue shirt that brought out his dark blue eyes. He wasn’t sure what the occasion called for, so he opted for a more casual comfy look, jeans and a pair of black converse as he strolled through Pilot Ridge. America had its surprises, but what was special about it was the familiarity of the blonde Odi was now searching for.

Fashionably late, Odion easily found the location specified in the text, five minutes after four. People were just getting off work, and the redhead smiled at all of them. He was happy, had been for about a month now. Rounding the corner, Odi spotted a familiar face shielded by a coffee cup. “Hey,” he said, sitting across from Rhett at the small table, not apologizing for being late. In fact, the older boy should be glad Odion hadn’t completely lost track of time. His being here would speak for itself – the ginger was excited for this mystery date.

“Why didn’t you get me one?” He teased. Some things never change.

Odion pulled the small golden ‘girly’ watch from the sweater’s pocket, looking at it suspiciously. He couldn’t have been that late, and he was about to retort to Rhett’s being snarky, but the blonde beat him to it. The younger boy looked up at the blonde as he stood, confused. “This isn’t the destination?” He asked, rising as Rhett had, following him closely. He grinned, “Why do I always follow you?” He asked with good intentions, feeling a little flirtatious as he usually did when around Rhett. Odion was unaware of the effect he had one the blonde’s powers – there were a lot of things that hadn’t been shared between the two.

Rhett hadn’t been happy for some time now, and he hadn’t seen Odion in a while. Unless the stolen glances between the two of them during detention could count. In his mind, Odi didn’t see that as quality time, but the blonde knew he was there should he ever need anything. He was thinking about stealing Trouble back somehow, but that was still in the making.

Nodding a couple times, Odion glanced around the small townhouses. “Not much to do at school, I’ve seen most of the town already,” he said simply, a little disappointed. This was Rhett’s plan? It seemed odd to the redhead, especially from Rhett. The blonde just didn’t seem like the sentimental type. Odion was a patient boy though, especially when time wasn’t an issue. Awkward silence was nonexistent in his world, and he simply paid all the more attention to Rhett, trying to figure out what the point to all this was.

They walked side by side, Odion’s hands in his sweater’s pockets, touching the tiny clock. “If it’s so boring, why did you bring me here?” He asked trying to see what was special about the area. His curiosity was getting the best of him. “You’re not going to kill me and try to get away with it are you?” He asked, a crooked smile on his face. Okay, so he wasn’t the most suave guy on the block, but he was charming. In that strange, Odion way.

Odion laughed quietly, unsure of what to say. He would sooner agree with the latter, dust didn’t taste very good. Rhett stifled laughter and the redhead sighed. Only once in a blue moon did the blonde laugh, which was a pity. The two of them had been through some pretty rough times: lack of food, shelter, and running into some bad people just to name a few, but they had managed to survive. It seemed a little anticlimactic to die at Rhett’s hands. “You wouldn’t get away with it,” Odion said, repeating what he said earlier. “Besides, you’d miss me too damn much.”

There was nothing that spectacular about the building they were approaching, both of them had seen far better. It look almost like an apartment, but Odion couldn’t be sure. He smiled as he passed Rhett, holding the door open for him. How gentlemanly the ginger thought to himself, his hands still in his pockets as he surveyed the interior decorations. How had Rhett managed to steal the keys to this place anyways? He glanced over at the older boy, who was grinning like an idiot. “What is with your face?” He teased, a small grin on his own. He couldn’t help it; seeing the other boy smile was contagious.

Odion stepped into the elevator with Rhett, watching as the number eleven lit up, and then promptly died. At least the elevator was moving in the direction it was supposed to. The blonde had never been this nervous, Odi didn’t need to be an empath or be able to read people really well in order to know that. He just knew Rhett really well, at least he thought he did. His old mate kept throwing new things into the mix that were only serving to confuse and intrigue Odion. Today would be a prime example of that. Rhett was usually calm, cool, and collected, not jittery and smiling. The ginger looked at him from the corner of his eye, catching his eye, a subtle smile passing over his face. He had a feeling today was going to be a good one.

A moment later and a tender kiss was placed over his lips, and Odi didn’t have time to respond as he jumped from the elevator noise. Damn thing. Someone could have been standing right there, and the redhead let himself be dragged out of the elevator, his heart in his throat. A pause, another door and another set of keys – Odion was starting to assume a lot of things. Rhett released his hand and the younger boy tried to grab it back, but the blonde was too excited to show him around the small apartment. So Odi had been right at least, maybe he would be right again.

Odion wandered around, letting his hands trail against the barren wall until he reached one of the picturesque windows. Instead of answering Rhett he unlatched the door that lead to the balcony, resting his forearms on the wooden ledge. The view was lovely, spanning other houses – quaint. A happy smile was on his face and he turned to see Rhett standing there, watching him. Odion leaned towards him and pulled him outside, onto the balcony, his face mere inches away from the others. “I like it,” he said simply, “I like it a lot.”

“But what’s the occasion?” He asked, a knowing grin on his face. Odion knew what was going on, but he wanted Rhett to say it. “Spell it out for me.”

Odion smiled brightly as Rhett held him, waist to waist. The blonde was giving him a look the redhead had never seen before, and he had to admit he would give just about anything to read the older boy’s mind. Odion’s eyes searched the others carefully, as though egging him on to say something, anything. The ginger had a thing, a fetish almost, for trying to figure people out, and if there was anyone he wanted to know inside and out, it was Rhett. Unlike his long time friend though, he wasn’t thinking about the past. He was embracing the moment, another side effect of his powers, but at least he could live life to the fullest.

Their noses touched perfectly and despite their age difference, both teens were of the same height. Listening contentedly, Odion let the information sink in, becoming a bit anxious as Rhett took control, his breath caught in his throat as he hit the edge of the balcony. Odi didn’t know what to say. Rhett was getting a job to keep this place legally, and the younger boy was hoping that whatever plans the blonde had, that they included him. Their foreheads pressed and Odion swore he could tell what was coming next, an electric connection happened between the two.

His hopes having been confirmed, Odion bit his bottom lip as he lit up like a Christmas tree, the excitement ripping through his body like jolts of lightning. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what to do, and a rush of emotion left tears in his eyes. He smirked upon thinking he really was girly. He also wondered if this is what he had wanted all along from Rhett. Maybe not this relationship exactly, but something meaningful and real, something more than simply pickpocketing and keeping each other at arms length. Still, he wouldn’t change this moment for any other, and the same went for Rhett. “Je me veux avec soi, Rhett,” Odion said easily, tenderly, like he had been waiting a lifetime to say it.

The next set of words and actions were rushed, Odion wrapping his arms around Rhett, sealing the space between their lips with a passionate kiss, pulling away slightly to say, “Je suis ton petit ami, si tu veux que je sois.” He quickly kissed Rhett again, and again. Suddenly the world around them didn’t matter, and Odi couldn’t be happier. He hoped the blonde felt the same way.

Odion was truly happy that Rhett hadn’t shied away from his affection, and was also pleased at the blush on the tops of his cheeks as he became flustered with his words. It was sweet, he was sweet, this whole thing was and the ginger was truly enjoying himself and his company. Rhett, his boyfriend – wow. Odi nodded once when Rhett said they were official, a goofy grin spread across his face and made his freckles stretch. Not like there was anyone to share the news with, but that was alright with him. Odion had never been big on spreading news anyways.

His hands left the blonde’s waist and entered into his, and Odi grasped them gently. Odion waited expectantly for what the other boy had to say, his eyes never straying although the older boy’s had. It was strange, he had never noticed the various flecks of grey dancing around that made up Rhett’s eyes. They were mesmerizing, and he liked them even better when they were looking back at him. A crooked smile popped onto Odion’s face, a knowing look in his deep blue eyes. “I guess we’ll be snuggling on said sleepovers then,” he said, licking his lips.

A look of regret passed over Rhett’s face, and Odion watched him walk back into the loft. He went inside as well, shutting the door behind him, locking it. Odi approached his boyfriend and took the keys, putting them in his own pocket, the necklace and keys clinking together. “Thank you for asking this time, instead of assuming I’d follow,” he lifted the others hands to his lips, kissing the finger joints, his eyes never leaving the blonde’s. “You were never one for subtlety though, Goddard, you and I have always simply spoken our minds, and you can’t think I’m stupid enough not to catch on to your wanting to fuck me.

“But I think the whole, ‘let’s get a bed’ together is cute, so let’s go,” he said, releasing Rhett so he could process what he just said. Hormones played only a small part of his speech, the rest was simply truth. Odion was a virgin, in every sense of the word, but he always acted like he knew what he was doing, and this was no different. He liked Rhett, more than the older boy knew, and he was enjoying getting to know the young man, who was now his. Odion reached the door which lead to the hallway and opened it for the blonde, waiting for him patiently, a devilish smile on his face. “I’ll lock up.”

”It’s not like that!” Odion grinned, “Right.” Rhett still tried to explain himself, but he was only digging himself a deeper hole. He chuckled as the blonde gave up and went through the door, Odi checking him out as he passed. He shrugged, locking the door. “Suit yourself,” he said, still laughing to himself. He liked seeing Rhett so flustered and rendered speechless, it didn’t happen often, but it was something the ginger was looking forward to doing again. Sometimes he could be such an ass.

The keys were snatched away again and Odion held his smile, giving Rhett a sideways glance as they waited for the elevator. He knew he had been bugging Rhett a lot, but if sex wasn’t on the blonde’s mind, then what was? Maybe he liked Odion more than the ginger knew as well. He raised an eyebrow, laughing now as the elevator dinged to life and slid open with some effort.

“You’d pick a farting dog over me? How insulting,” he said as they entered the elevator, Odion pushing ‘M’ for main floor. The ginger looked at Rhett, and smiled, feeling proud for some reason. Proud to have him in his life again, proud to be here standing with him, and proud that he had been asked out, not the other way around. “I’d pick you over anything,” he said as the elevator reached their floor. He meant what he said, and had proved it many times over. He was trying to be sweet, but he wasn’t going to apologize for being blunt before.

Stepping out of the elevator, Odion held the doors open for Rhett once more and waited for the both of them to be outside before speaking again. “I didn’t think you’d get so flustered, despite how adorable it was. I thought I was the one without experience,” he said, wondering if Rhett was going to change the subject again as they set foot once more into Pilot Ridge.

Odion didn’t really appreciate Rhett’s reply to his being sweet, his eyebrows furrowing. “Really?” He said, half mocking his friend. "I don’t make fun of your being romantic with me, so shut the hell up about me being a girl.” He warned, that special temper of his flaring up when he was only around the blonde. He didn’t need to spell it out for Rhett did he? Odi could simply leave, or perhaps remind his boyfriend that he had a dick between his legs.

It was like Rhett couldn’t choose between liking the tender Odion, and the more abrupt version.

The doors to the elevators opened and Odi took his hand away from the blonde. “Don’t call me that,” he said bitterly, feeling confused as to how Rhett really felt about him. “You don’t even mean it,” his dark blue eyes had turned an almost black, his face a little red. If there was one person he didn’t want to dance circles around, it was Rhett. It was torture, trying to be himself without being ridiculed, and it seemed as soon as the ginger had spoke his mind, the older boy reverted back into how they used to interact.

Feeling double crossed in a way, maybe he should’ve given Rhett a chance. After all, he had been nice upstairs on the balcony, had asked him out and caused Odion to fall even more helplessly in love with him, but as soon as the younger teen had a bit of an upper hand in the situation, Rhett backed off. And when Odi went after him in the elevator, trying to be equally vulnerable, the blonde took a stab at him.

Our first fight as a couple, how romantic... The redhead glared at Rhett, passing by him and leaving the complex with or without him.