[Aaron]

*~*~*

"I love you."

A rising fall.

A sinking ascent.

An oxymoron without effort.

A short stop to cloud 9.

Or a highway detour to your -

Demise.

*~*~*

My mom drags on and on about this new guy that she had found interesting, when in reality I've met who I thought was the love of my life in the short span of a month and then quickly dismissed it when everything fell to shit after the 'alleged first date'. It was still an amazing night out with the two of them, but I can't help but to see Roman in a different light. Maybe even the same light I see Skylar under.

"He's a great asset to have on the red carpets Ronny. Don't turn this one down please. Supporting all those gay rights thing is really beneficial, it can give you a good name if you do it right." Her voice threatening to a point where I begin to doubt the sincerity of her intentions. I've always thought she does it out of a good heart, but as time drawls on, I just think she wants me to get a girl that is presentable. Or boy now, in this case.

"No ma, I'm not going on an arranged date. I have to go; the company doesn't run itself." I sigh inwardly, conjuring up enough courage to cut the line, but I can't. "You... take care alright? I love you." Then, I cut the line. It never sits well with me that people have the courage to just slam the phone after being upset with whoever is one the other side of the line, it's rude and leaves the conversation with no resolution. I personally can't live without closure.

I look around my office, not a speck of the Christmas spirit I love so much. It just doesn't sit well with me that Christmas is in two days and I haven't had the time to put up anything. And I'm on my 16th hour since the minute I woke up. There isn't even anyone at the office anymore.

Sometimes I question why I torture myself like this. Then the intercom rings. "Mr. Solomon, there is a Mr. Cook here. He wishes to see you." I am so tired I almost ask which one, but of course, that won't do any good, at this tired state I can barely tell them apart myself. "He said he's the older one."

I chuckle when I hear the guard mutter 'the fuck' under his breath, some people just don't remember that twins are a canon phenomenon that occurs naturally. "Let him in. Thank you, George." It's definitely an ungodly hour to still have stacks and stacks paperwork to do, so the occasional visit is welcomed.

I give myself a couple minutes' break, letting my eyes flutter shut and wait for Ryland to come up to my desk. Funnily enough, what plagues my mind isn't work, but the conversation with my mother. I'd like to believe that she is a kind soul, and it's a fair point that I am 29 and still single as fuck. That one week boyfriend thing accounts for something I suppose... All too soon a knock comes. "If you're not Ryland, please come in after another 2 minutes."

"I-if I am?" Ryland's muffled voice came. I groan and push the unlock latch, straightening myself out the best I can. "I am so sorry for coming at this time of the day, my boyfriend just wanted to go on a date and then it didn't quite work out so we just lounged at home before something came up and he drove me here and anyway. Sorry Mr. Solomon."

"Oh please, Skylar basically married the five of us, we are all family even if you don't like it." Pulling my tie off completely since there is no need to be formal anymore. "Before we get to the serious bullshit, how are you two doing, and Felix of course."

"We are doing well. Felix and Skylar moved in with me to that top level apartment downtown. They like to call it a 'penthouse' but it really isn't. I just have the top level apartment and the terrace." The one thing I like about Ryland is despite his obvious success, he isn't boastful. I strive to be like that, but once you cross a certain threshold in net wealth and you start to dress fancier than the norm, people label you. But I've gotten over it, for the most part.

"Sounds great, how's living with your boyfriend then?" Cracking my back and stretching in the process. Ryland blushes mad.

"He... who... how? I mean - Oh, OH! Fuck." Most coherent response of the year goes to... "Were we that obvious?" He leans forward and whispers, as if there's anyone listening in.

"Other than the fact that you two speak with your own silent language of jabbing and the fact that you just said 'your boyfriend' and 'lounged at home', just begs me to put two and two together." I chuckle, "I'm happy for you two."

A cheeky smirk covers his face, "I could say the same about you, Skylar and Roman. What's even going on there? Threesome? My brother is a virgin... I think." His thoughtful face is very amusing, though as soon as he notices what he has said he falls over, figuratively and physically. "Oh fuck, I just said that in front of my boss. And I implied some bullshit sexual relation between my boyfriend and his boss! Fuck, fuck, fuck. I just admit that Felix is my boyfriend!"

While he trips himself into more confessions I can't help but want to get down to business. I enjoy the conversation but I don't want to waste his time, time that he could be at home having sex in the master bedroom with his boyfriend and not embarrassing himself in front of his boss/ friend. "Alright, let's get the formal shit out of the way. What are you here for Mr. Cook?"

That earns a chuckle from him since I scrunched up my eyebrows and pretend to be authoritative, which I am during work hours. Technically, it is still work hours for me, but the empty building says something different. And I'm not going to act like I enjoy being a hard-ass because that's just mentally draining and reputation damaging. Not that had much of one in the first place.

"Well, you see, Mr. Solomon... This is more personal than anything... I... Umm. My parents obviously know yours for a long while. You might not know but my parents have always been very... proud of my achievements. Of course... that's nothing compared to you." I raise an eyebrow, leaning against my armrest while Ryland continues. "Mom said that she wanted me to go out on a date with you, the whole arranged meeting kind of thing. She doesn't know that Skylar had made us friends beforehand."

Putting together my mother's conversation and Ryland's information, this alleged 'good male specimen' is Ryland. That just adds twenty extra layers of fucked up to her already fucked up explanation of same sex marriage and fame. Some people just want to be well known, and I hate to burst her bubble but I'm not a toy. "Aren't you and Felix a thing? I can't do this, Ryland. I'm sorry."

"Oh god no no no, I'm not trying to get together with you. I'm happy with Felix. I just wanted to give you a heads up. I hate to say this but my parents, mainly mom, are very greedy people. To a point where they abandoned my brother because he was slow in school. But that's a story for Felix and Skylar to tell. There's a reason they are that close even at this age. It's not an irrational naïve thing." His explanation comes quickly, making me wonder what really happened before I met these three.

Speaking of which... knock knock.

Ryland quickly stands and shakes my hands, apologizing for being a nuisance, which he clearly isn't and setting a rain check so we can continue the conversation. Before I can return the formalities he had already fled out the room at lighting speed. Stopping to gape at me when Roman is on the other side of the door. "The security guy down there didn't even card me, you need to fire the guy." Roman shakes his head, lifting his hipster glasses up.

"It's Christmas time and way past normal staff entry time, leave him alone for now. Plus, his wife is pregnant, I can't just fire someone without sufficient reason."

"The fact that he let a 6"7' man wearing a hoodie with a plastic bag of god knows what inside tells me he could have let a serial killer in at broad day light." He was right, it is dangerous, but that's why I have security cameras and alarms... just that turning them on right now isn't the most viable option since I have a... date with Roman. In my office. How romantic. "If it were up to me I would have fired his ass in record time. But then again, what's a soul?"

I stand and take the plastic bags from him, still warm despite the sub zero temperature outside. "Don't talk yourself down, you're a great person Roman. Big heart. Big enough to be my pretend boyfriend. Isn't that right, babe?"

Roman visibly shivers under the pet name. No matter how fake it is, the sound of it just sounds so right. So meant to be. So not fake boyfriend-esque. Oh, wait... "In other news, I made tomato-meat slop with flat noodles and meat spheres."

"Is it really necessary to make it sound more phallic than it actually is?" Raising an eyebrow, I wonder why I seem so much more relaxed than I was in my previous encounters alone with Roman. Perhaps it was the lead up with Ryland? Or the lack of caffeine in my system.

"I brought hot milk, cookies and a blanket." Roman takes the containers out of the bag and sets them down on my work desk, adjusting the two monitors so they aren't in the way. I look at him, bewildered by the copious amount of effort that has gone into this. "What? Did you think I am incapable of being romantic now? My damn name is in the word Aaron. I am a romanticist."

"That's not what a romanticist is Roman." I laugh out loud, probably at a volume that should be illegal in an empty office. But the puzzled look on Roman's face is worth being thrown in jail. Okay, maybe not. "Romanticist is that weird period in the 1800s where people got high all the time and started idealizing things for the shits and giggles."

His hands, though big, are very nimble. He had already set up my desk, I wouldn't mind having dinner with a hot guy every single night. But alas, the liberty of relationships is not in my favor. "If only my history teacher is this good at explaining I might have picked up on more. Anyway, let's get frisky and have dinner."

"Frisky is not my top choice of wording." I pick up my fork and say my 'thanks' to Roman before thinking deeply. "I would say... let's get platonic."

"Because that's definitely all you want." Sounding bitter and sarcastic, I can sense a double entendre behind those words but don't know how to push the conversation without being rude. "I wasn't implying that you want to date me... just forget about that."

I place my hand over his, suddenly growing courageous. "If I didn't want something to come of this I wouldn't have accepted anything." I decide that what is said is too serious, so for comic relief I add, chuckling, "Boyfriend."

"I like it when people don't bullshit about their feelings."

"Oh yeah? I have very intense feelings for this lasagna, it is an orgasm in my mouth." I moan mockingly but actually savoring the taste of this delicious dish.

"Among other things that orgasm in your mouth." He adds before looking at me with a suppressed smirk. I break first, throwing my head back and spinning in my office chair like a bored child. He adds in his deep thundering voice, trying to reel the joke back into the 'decent' spectrum. It didn't work, for obvious reasons.

"For real. I love the food, I love the effort and I love you." Stopping my rotation only to realize how forward it sounded. "No- not like that..."

"Geeze Aaron, at least wait till Christmas under the mistletoe or some bullshit. Can't just lay it on your girlfriend like that, man." Of course, he didn't take it seriously. Ironic how a giant man, probably one and a half me's would be regarding himself as 'girlfriend' but I guess he's trying to pull back a joke from the week before.

Pretend girlfriend... More like really-hot-crush-that-is-out-of-my-league.

"This is perfectly romantic Roman. From the dirty coffee mugs to the scattered paper on my desk, everything is planned just right for me to confess my love to you." Shaking my head at how blasphemous this all is.

"Well would you look at that? Snow's falling and you've got the best view in town." He glanced over at me while making his way to the cliché glass window. A design requested by my father. He liked the clichés. "Is this the bit where I pull out a ring and get on one knee to get my pretend boyfriend to marry me -"

I cut him off, "And then have rabbit sex in the master bedroom?"

"Tempting." His eyes raking down my body for a once-over before finally settling on my eyes, then my lips. He really is a tall man, looking down at me even though I can't be called short. "But there is no master bedroom. Shame." His eyes moving to the double doors on the side.

"I'm no Christian Grey but I heard office sex is pretty kinky too." My smirk growing.

He is so close, I can smell his peppermint mouth wash. All the jokes subside, just the dimly lit office, phenomenal city view and my date, is enough to confuse me. Three things that are equally perplexing at this stage because all sense has left me.

"Kiss me." Roman says, almost pleading but not quite. More like a polite suggestion.

I place my arms around his neck, bringing his neck down a tiny bit so I don't have to tip toe in my dress shoes. I brush my lips against his slight beard. It's groomed and tamed but still a little long for my liking. But since when did my liking matter.

His hands grip my sides firmly. "I thought we were rivals for Skylar." I admit, knowing he was once interested in the little ball of hyperactivity. "If we kissed that wouldn't be normal."

"Since when is normal an verb to describe my life."

"Normal is an adjective Roman." I laugh quietly against his lips. Feeling him smile.

"I knew that." I place my lips on his for a peck. Not the most riveting first kiss, but no one said this has to be perfect. Love isn't perfect, plus, I'm a grown ass man, I can do whatever the fuck I want. "Okay maybe I didn't. But I wasn't thinking."

"No shit? 'course you weren't." I snort. His fingers dig into my sides, luckily I'm only ticklish around my neck and inner thigh. Both of which he's not going to touch any time soon... but at this rate, nothing can be guaranteed. He mutters 'killjoy' under his breath, presumably from my lack of reaction from his tickle attempt.

"No more Skylar bullshit?" He asks, a smile still playing at his tempting lips.

"Don't call Skylar bullshit. He's a great man and he will find the one person to love him forever and ever."

"But that's not us is it?"

"No."

"Good." He brings me into a dominated and fierce kiss. Pressing me up against the glass.

[x]

Love is plastic.

It can be easy, it can be hard. Depends on how you knead and mold it. For the two unlikely lovers cuddling on the couch of an abandoned office building, it fluctuates. Right now, there isn't a care in the world. One's wearing a suit, the other is wearing a hoodie. It doesn't matter to them.

They just want to love.

They just want love.

Outside the cold steel structure, is yet, another couple. Out for an untimely date.

"I swear if you don't fucking put on my jacket I will smack you Ryland." The man shoves his varsity jacket at his boyfriend. "Put the damn thing on!"

"No, Felix. You're wearing a synthetic fabric graphic t shirt under that." Ryland says gently wrapping his scarf around Felix. Loving the extra time that Felix had proposed they had in apology for their foiled date just before this all happened. "Sit still!"

"Oh good fucking job! Now it's snowing!" Felix pulls Ryland into his side, tucking Ryland under his arm and wrapping around him like a blanket. "Ryland! Put the-"

He stops speaking when Ryland rests his head against his chest. "Let's head home."

"We barely even walked."

"I don't want to fight over stupid shit." Tugging his lover's fingers. "Come on, let's go."

"Fine." Felix huffs, still insistent on draping his coat around the shorter man.

"I'm not a girl Felix. I can take care of myself. Let's just be sweet for 5 minutes, yeah?"

Love is plastic.

It can be easy, it can be hard. And for the two different couples, they experience their time together differently.

But ultimately, they are all working to a common goal...

To be able to look into their lover's eyes...

And say, loud and clear with no hesitation...

I love you.