Order Whatever You Like
Peter left his dorm and went down to meet up with Steve where he usually picked him up. He saw the car immediately and got in, seeing his first glance of Steve in over a week.
The man looked pretty much the same but he was dressed to the nines. Steve was wearing dark blue chinos, which clung to his legs perfectly, a light blue button up shirt, and a brown leather belt that matched his chukka boots. If he hadn’t been sure before, he was now. They were going on a date.
Peter was still taking in Steve’s attire when the man leaned over to hug him and give him a kiss on the cheek. Peter was not prepared. He wasn’t prepared for anything. He was just glad to be able to see the man again. He didn’t want to look away.
“You look very handsome,” Steve said.
“You...you look...you too,” was all Peter could muster. He could feel his cheeks going red and he forced himself to look forward. He was feeling so many emotions he couldn’t deal with all at once.
“I would’ve gone to your door to get you but I don’t think they’d let me into your dorm building.”
“Yeah, not unless you were with me,” Peter replied, having a quick daydream about Steve going up to visit him in his room and what they could get up to if Scott wasn’t there. Steve started the car and started driving. Peter was nervous, especially not knowing where they were going. It had to be fancy if they were dressed nice. “Where are you taking me?”
“Oh, nowhere special really,” Steve replied, sounding sincere about it. “Just somewhere we can eat and talk. How was your thanksgiving?”
“It was fine. Not really eventful. Just spent it with my aunt. We ate and watched movies. Drank a little. Played some games.”
“You say non-eventful but it sounds like you did a lot,” Steve replied with a smile.
“I mean, we didn’t get too crazy. Can it be eventful if it’s just two people?”
“Depends on who you’re with and what you do. Was it memorable? Five, ten years from now, will it still be in your memory?”
“I think so. It was my first time coming home for thanksgiving. And really the first time it was just the two of us.”
“Did you have a big ol’ party before?”
“No, it’s just...It used to be three of us and then...my uncle died.”
“Oh...Peter, I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”
“Yeah, but this year was a good year. He was on our minds, but we still had fun because that’s what he would have wanted. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.”
A silence fell as they got to the restaurant and found a parking spot. Peter thought about his Uncle Ben and what he would think if he knew he was going on a date with a man. His first date. At that thought, Peter got even more nervous. He didn’t know what to do on a date. His uncle had always taught him to be a gentleman to the lady, but what about when both of the people on the date were men? Who was the gentleman then? Did they both have to open the door for each other? Did they both have to stand up when the other went to the bathroom?
He snapped out of his train of thought when his door opened. Steve was the gentleman this round, opening the door for him. Peter unbuckled his seatbelt and took Steve’s hand as he got out of the car. Steve’s hand was a bit sweaty and he let go to close the door as soon as Peter was out.
They headed into the restaurant and once again, Steve was the one holding the door. Peter was so mesmerized by the man that he couldn’t think properly about his next steps until it was too late. He couldn’t believe he was on an actual date with the man of his dreams.
The restaurant was called Asgard and it looked just as fancy as he thought it would be. Steve had tried to play it down, but to Peter, it was extravagant. Not that he would know an actually extravagant restaurant as he could never afford to go to one.
Steve had made reservations so they were seated immediately and Peter’s heart beat fast as he wondered how far ahead Steve had planned this.
“Order whatever you like,” Steve said with a smile. Peter looked through the menu, trying to look for a meal that would both fill him up and wasn’t too expensive, but everything looked pricey to him.
When the waiter came to take their drink order, Steve ordered a bottle of red wine for the table and the waiter asked for their IDs. Peter panicked a little. It was one thing to give his fake ID to a bouncer in a club, but to give it to a waiter at a fancy restaurant? He had to think that the standards here were higher and if he got caught, he would not only be denied drink, but he would also be kicked out of the restaurant. Maybe the cops would be called. He would be humiliated in front of Steve, who still didn’t know he was only eighteen. The lights were pretty dimmed, giving the place a romantic atmosphere, though now, all Peter could think was that he was glad it was a little dark so that Steve couldn’t notice the changing color on his face.
“Is everything okay?” Steve asked.
Crap, Peter thought. He’d noticed something was wrong. He had to make a quick decision. “I umm...I’m so sorry. I forgot my ID at home. But I’ll take a glass of water if that’s okay.”
“Make that two glasses of water,” Steve told the waiter. “I shouldn’t drink anyway.” Steve smiled and it calmed Peter down. He smiled back.
When the waiter returned, they ordered their food. Peter got a plate of creamy pasta and Steve ordered steak and potatoes. Peter grabbed a breadstick and nibbled on it as he thought of what to say.
“How was YOUR thanksgiving?” he finally asked.
“Oh, it was pretty fun. I invited Bruce over...you know, Hulk. But yeah, I invited him over and we mostly drank. Then Natasha came home from work early, but she was ready to head back out again to go Black Friday shopping. Which Bruce and I were very much down to do because we were drunk. I made some questionable purchases, but nothing I completely regret. Which reminds me, I got you something. But I forgot it at home.”
“Much like I did with my ID,” Peter said with a nervous laugh.
“It happens,” Steve said nonchalantly. “Much like questionable Black Friday purchases.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything, by the way.”
“I know. I think it was subconscious really. I didn’t realize I had bought it for you until the next day. But I think you’ll like it.”
“What is it?”
“A surprise.” He had a cheeky smile on his face.
“Did you get me that holographic jockstrap Natasha told me about?” He couldn’t help but bring that back up because he thought it was both funny and hot.
Steve turned away with the smile still on his face. Peter couldn’t see, but he knew the man was blushing. “No, that one I’m keeping forever.”
“Damn,” Peter said, his confidence rising as he got the reaction he had wanted. “Can I at least see it modeled?”
“If you’re lucky.”
They talked about more nonsense until their food got there and then they dug in for a few minutes.
“So, I don’t know if you could tell or not,” Steve said between bites, “but I hope you have...This is me taking you out on a date. A proper date. Like, romantically. Not just as friends.”
“So you expect a kiss at the end of the night.”
“I don’t expect anything.” Peter could tell he was blushing again, but so was Peter. “I just expect us to be ourselves as much as possible and get to know each other better.”
“Isn’t that just every other outing we’ve been on?”
“Alright, maybe if I like you, there will be a kiss at the end of the night.”
“Don’t you already like me though?”
“Yes, but...I just. There’s some things I want to know about you before I decide to plunge deep into a new…”
“Relationship?” He hadn’t meant to speak the word aloud, but he was just bouncing off Steve’s energy and had to finish the sentence. Was Steve actually thinking about being in a relationship with him? Like an actual couple? Boyfriend and boyfriend? All strings attached? It was a lot for Peter to handle because it was everything he wanted.
“Yes,” Steve said. They both had a small smile on their faces.
“So what do you want to know?”
“Okay. I’ve met your friends, and at a gay bar, so I know you’re out to them, but what about your family? You told me you weren’t out to your aunt yet but that was weeks ago. Has that changed?”
“Uh...is that important?”
“Kinda. I umm...I was in this relationship a while ago. This guy wasn’t out to anyone he surrounded himself with and...it sucked. So you’re already one step ahead. I like your friends and they know about me.”
“Yeah, they’d be okay with me and you being together.”
“But am I going to be introduced to your aunt as a friend? If I visit, am I going to have to stay in the guest room? Am I going to have to pretend to be straight?”
All these questions were things Peter had pushed to the back of his head. In an ideal world, it wouldn’t matter. But he knew that it did. Not only to Steve. “I’m still not out to her...yet.” He wanted to be as honest as possible. “And I don’t want to hide you from her, but I think I would need to come out to her before you met her.”
“And I’m not trying to pressure you into coming out,” Steve said gravely. “I just hate lying. Especially when all I want to do is have my arms wrapped around you in her presence.”
“I…” The imagery of that made Peter’s brain go mush. It was exactly what he wanted.
“But that’s a while away, I’m sure. I’m okay with not meeting her for a while. But if I do and you’re still not out to her?”
Peter snapped back out of it. “She’s cool with gay friends. I have a lesbian friend back home and...well I think they’re cool. Though maybe she doesn’t know Michelle is gay, now that I think about it. But I wouldn’t ask you to pretend to be straight. And if you visit...well, wouldn’t sneaking around be kind of sexy?”
Steve frowned. “It is at first. Stolen kisses here and there, playing footsies under the table, covering each other’s mouths during sex so we don’t make too much noise. Yeah it’s hot, but it gets old quickly. After a while it loses all its spark. I don’t want to hide.”
“I just...I don’t know how she would take it. My uncle...he didn’t take it well.”
“He didn’t?”
“He died the day I told him.”
“Oh, Peter.”
Peter’s eyes filled with tears as he closed them. Tonight was supposed to be happy. And at the turn of a dime, it was going terribly. He knew he needed to calm down and explain himself. He didn’t want Steve to think that Ben had killed himself or anything. Though maybe Peter thought somewhere deep down that that’s what really happened.
He took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes. Steve was no longer in front of him, but next to him in the booth. The man put his arm around his shoulder and pulled him close, caressing him. Peter leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder as the man took Peter’s hand with his free hand.
“It was an accident. But he rushed out of the house so fast. It was a spur of the moment thing. I told him I like guys and then I ran away. I know he wanted to talk to me, but I just needed a while to calm down. But by the time I had, my aunt May called to tell me...I thought Ben had told her. That I would be in trouble. But it was Ben that was in trouble.”
“Peter, that’s truly awful. I’m so sorry that happened.”
Tears ran down Peter’s face and dropped onto Steve’s shirt, but it didn’t matter. “Every time I want to tell May, I’m just reminded of Ben. And I know it’s irrational, but I just want to lock the doors and throw away her car keys so that what happened to my uncle Ben doesn’t happen to her. And I’m so freaked out by that so I just postpone it.”
“You take all the time you need, Peter. Like I said, I’m not going to pressure you to come out. I’m here for you, whenever you need me. I just want you to know what my reasons are if I respectfully decline being in a situation that makes me uncomfortable, where I feel like it wouldn’t be good for me to be around.”
“Of course, Steve. I don’t want to pressure you into anything you don’t want either.”
“Thank you.”
Despite the tears, Peter felt so comfortable in Steve’s arms. He wanted to stay like that forever.