Chapter 4: Deku, What You Doing To Me?
Danial sits at his station at the hotline offices, just after he got off the phone with Jay. 'He called.' He didn't know what came over him, offering to give his extension to the nerd. He had never done that before, but he couldn't help himself. The conversation he had with Jay was like something out of a dream. He had never connected with someone that fast before.
"Damn Deku now how am I going to act normal around you now?" He says to himself, leaning back in his chair and thinking about what the brunette had told him. "So I was right thinking he is in worse shape than he looked." He looks at the clock and sees it's after 10:30 p.m. 'Still got a few more hours left. I wonder if the nerd is gonna work out tonight?' With that thought another call flashes on his office phone, pulling his mind back to the task at hand.
It was 2 a.m. when he finally walked through the door of his apartment. He went into his bedroom to change into his workout clothes, grabbed his wireless headphones, his phone, keys, and water bottle before he left, and headed down to the gym in the basement.
He was putting in his headphones and picking a playlist when he looked up just in time for Jay to lift his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, giving Danial a perfect view of his drop-dead sexy abs. Danial's jaw goes slack as his eyes take in the best view he's ever seen, dropping his phone in his daze. He was pretty sure he was drooling too.
Jay hears something drop to the floor and looks towards the door, seeing a wide-eyed gocking Danial. He drops his shirt in embarrassment when he realizes what Danial is staring at. He rubs the back of his neck nervously with one hand while giving Danial a small wave with the other.
Once the shirt drops back down covering his view, Danial finally comes back down to earth, realizing what just happened. A blush creeps up on his face as he looks up into mesmerizing jade eyes. Jay nervously walks over to Danial, hoping that he doesn't make a fool out of himself.
"Hey, Danny. What are you doing here this late," Jay asks Danial, looking down at him, hands on his hips slightly flexing. Danial can't help but watch the muscles move in his tight t-shirt.
"I just got off of work. I like to come down here and work out for an hour to relax." He answers, swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth still staring at Jay's chest. 'Damn, this nerd is going to be the death of me. Wait, what did he call me?' He thinks, looking up at Jay. "Wait, what did you call me?" Jay's eyes widen before sheepishly looking away and rubbing the back of his neck, shifting on his feet awkwardly.
"Danny? I can't pronounce your name very well so I started calling you that in my head. I'm sorry!" Jay waved his hands in front of him, wide eyes staring at Danial. Anxiety practically rolled off him in tidal waves. Danial rolls his eyes before grabbing Jay's hands.
"It's fine, nerd. I... I like it. If it's easier for you, you can call me that." The soft words felt so foreign in his mouth. He had never been this soft or gentle with anyone in real life before. Sure he did with callers at the hotline office, but he was supposed to. He looks away, not able to meet Jay's happy gaze, a slight blush rising to his face at the look in Jay's eyes. "Are you going to work out or just stare at me all night," Danial asks, trying to get the attention off himself, walking over to the weight equipment. He can feel Jay follow him with his eyes.
"Sorry, I'll let you work out." Jay started to walk backward from him, watching Jay in the wall of mirrors in front of him. A sad expression on Jay's face as their eyes meet in the mirrors. Danial let out a sigh as he set his stuff down at a machine.
"Why are you up so late? Don't you work a day shift," he asks not wanting Jay to leave. Not realizing it until it was too late, he admitted to watching Jay in a roundabout manner. Jay smirked, slowly walking over to Danial.
"I can't sleep. How do you know I work a day shift?" Danial was sitting at the lat pulldown, as Jay came up to stand in front of him with his arms crossed. He looked like the cat that ate the canary, a playful gleam in his jade eyes. Danial looks off to the side, a minor blush on his face.
"As someone who works a night shift, your a loud fucker when you leave your apartment. It's hard not to notice," he says annoyed, trying to play off his embarrassment at being caught. Jay laughs, turning to walk over to do push-ups across from Danial. Bringing Danial's attention back to what he was there to do. He put his music on, playing it out loud as he started his set. Keeping his storm-blue eyes on Jay the entire time, as the nerd did his 50 push-ups like they were nothing. Just as he got done with his 30 on the lat pulldown, he went onto the next set. He grabbed the dumbbells and as he started to curl his arms up he looked in the mirror behind him, just to almost drop the weights on his toes.
There Jay was behind him using the dip lift to do UPSIDE DOWN pull-ups. His shirt dipped down just below his pecks, his back facing Danial. Now Danial was sure he was drooling when he saw Jay go up and down with ease. 'Fuck at this rate I'm gonna get a boner.' He thought, deciding that he would be okay with it at this point if it meant he could keep watching the nerd's muscles flexing as he worked out.
He slowly does his set watching Jay the entire time. Just as he counts 30 upside-down pull-ups from Jay, Jay flips backward back onto the floor. Catching Danial looking at him wide-eyed and flushed, Jay smiles at him. 'Oh fuck.'
"Need help Danny," Jay asks, chuckling. 'For a nerd who is not doing so well mentally, he is good at acting or...' Danial couldn't bring himself to possibly admit that Jay could maybe be enjoying his company.
"I'm fine, just... distracted is all." He looks up into teasing jade. Danial could see something else shining in those beautiful pools of green, but he couldn't quite place it.
"What's got you distracted, Danny," Jay says, smooth as silk, making a shiver run down Danial's spine as he tries to break eye contact with Jay, but he can't bring himself to look away. Jay towers over Danial with his hand on his hips. Danial glares at him, hands still holding the weights, storm-blue eyes playfully staring into equally playful jade eyes.
"How are you so... robust," he says with sass, putting the weights back and putting his hands on his hips, matching Jay's stance. Jay laughs, shaking his head.
"I have been doing mixed martial arts since I was 10 and staying fit is important to do the moves I want." His voice is low and rough, making Danial take a step forward subconsciously. They were now standing about 2 feet apart, Jay still smirking down at him with a single brow raised. 'Teasing fucker.' Danial thinks, rolling his eyes. "What about you, Danny? Why are you so... lean," he says enticingly, eyeing Danial up and down. Storm-blue eyes widen slightly and goosebumps rise all over his skin.
"Well, Super Nerd, I like to exercise. It helps me work through all the emotions I deal with at work. Plus it makes it harder for 'people' not to notice when I enter the room," he teases, a smirk rising onto his face, challenging Jay. Their eyes meet and something passes between them that neither can seem to place. Jay's eyes briefly glance down at Danial's lips, making Danial lick his lips, teasing Jay. A dangerous seductive smirk rises onto Danial's face when he sees the internal battle going on behind those jade eyes. Jay sucks in a deep breath, before taking a few steps back.
"Well, you succeeded. It's impossible not to notice when you enter a room, Danny. You shine too brightly to look away." The emotions in Jay's voice make him want to reach out and grab Jay and ask what he means by that. But before he can get his brain to come back online, Jay bows and leaves the gym after collecting his stuff.
Leaving Danial completely frozen in place. 'What the hell?! Why did he just leave? Did I say something wrong?' He stood there for a few minutes before deciding it was time to go back upstairs. The entire ride up the elevator, he couldn't shake what Jay said before he left. Did the nerd care for him? Just as he stops at his door and is about to open it, he turns to look at Jay's door. Wondering if the nerd is on the other side watching him or lying in bed thinking about him.
After taking his shower and having a light snack before bed, Danial lays in bed, staring at the ceiling wondering if they will ever be more than neighbors and if he can help Jay as more than just King the Suicide Hotline Guy. If maybe someday Jay could lean on him for support and he could lean on Jay.
"For only meeting the guy 2 days ago, he sure has fucked me up inside... Deku, what are you doing to me?" That was his last thought before finally surrendering to sleep's embrace.