Paparino's Piccolo Gattino

Andy watched as his young roommate excused himself to the kitchen to find something for breakfast. He sighed softly enough that he didn’t hear him, wishing he had the guts to ask him out, but doubted he ever would. The young man had such a traumatizing past with people who had dominant personalities, and he’d seen him cower a few times when he got mad at someone else because of his own dominant personality. Those times were few and far between, as he tended not to vent his temper where others could see, but he knew he feared him to a degree, if only because of his past.

Most of the time, Ash seemed like he wanted to be attached to his hip, as if he not only felt something more than just friendship, but felt safe with him, as well. It was hard to figure out just how he felt and what he was thinking, though, so most of the time he didn’t even try. And being the kind of person who didn’t want to intrude on his thoughts, he usually never asked what he was thinking, either.

Since he was feeling so indecisive and she’d never steered him wrong in the past, Andy decided to step out on the back porch for a smoke and to call his mom. His parents, Amy and Chris, were very supportive of him, even when he came out to them, and did their best to act as his guiding lights. Never once had they given him bad advice about something, or told him something that didn’t turn out to be true. He figured that if there was anyone he could talk to about this, it’d be his mother.

“Well, good morning, Andy,” his mother chuckled when she answered the phone. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this early-morning phone call?”

“Hey, Mom,” he answered, returning the chuckle. “I just wanted to ask your advice on something.”

“Oh, boy. I sense a doozy,” Amy joked, not knowing just how he felt yet.

“Oh, it is. I’ve recently felt myself start falling for someone, but I’m not quite sure how to ask them out,” he began. “Ya see, not only is he sixteen—and yes, he’s emancipated, before you ask—he has a nasty past he has to deal with, as well.”

“What kind of nasty past?” she asked, sounding concerned but curious.

“Nasty, as in, his mother was abusive. She’s not anymore because I helped him get emancipated, as well as get her arrested for the abuse and neglect she inflicted on him,” Andy answered.

“I’m assuming knowing Matt and Kellin helped?” she chuckled.

“Well, yeah, what with both of them having even more connections than I do by just knowing them,” he answered. “But considering what he’s been through, and that he’s obviously afraid of Doms, I’m just not sure what to do.”

“How afraid of Doms is he?”

“Normally he seems to feel safe around me, but if I lose my temper for some reason, which isn’t often, as you know, he seemingly shrinks into a two-inch-tall midget and hides in the corner.”

“But unless you apparently lose your temper, he’s fine around you?” Amy asked, trying to come up with a way to help him.

“Exactly. Hell, he acts like I’m the best thing since sliced bread, and after what he went through, I probably am,” he admitted. “I just don’t know how to ask him out because, although he acts like he feels safe around me and feels something more than friendship, I know he fears Doms. On top of that, I don’t wanna push him past his comfort zone and have him fear me when there’s no need to.”

“I can understand that, son. Maybe you should try taking him on a date in a public setting, like out to dinner or something. That way he knows that, should it be necessary, there’s other people around to intervene before things get too ugly,” she suggested.

“I was kinda thinking the same thing. But then again, while that might reassure him in public, what’s to say he won’t think I’ll just turn abusive the second we get home?” Andy asked.

“So he’s living with you?”

“Yeah. He didn’t have anywhere else to go and didn’t wanna stay in the house his mom bought after she was arrested. It was put in his name once he was legally emancipated, and I don’t blame him for not wanting to stay where there were bad memories.”

“And I’m assuming you don’t want him feeling like he needs to move again if things don’t work out, right?”

“Exactly. I want him to know that he can trust me, that I’d rather put a hole in the wall that I’ve gotta patch later than in his head, and I don’t want him thinking I don’t want him around anymore if things don’t work out the way I want.” He sighed heavily and lit another cigarette.

“Tell ya what. Try taking him out to dinner, then having a romantic dinner at home one night. Don’t quite treat him like glass, but treat him in a gentle manner that says exactly what you just told me,” Amy said. “Your father and I know you’d never hurt a fly, not after what Syn did, but you need to make him realize that. It’ll probably take time, but you can do it. We both have faith in you, Andy.”

“I think you’re probably right, Mom,” Andy chuckled. “Thanks.”

“Of course I’m right. When have I ever steered you wrong?” she laughed.

The pair talked about life in general for a few more minutes, Chris telling his wife to extend a good morning to their son for him, which the young man gladly returned. He enjoyed talking to his parents and, despite the physical distance after moving to North Carolina, was still very close to them. By the time they ended the phone call, he was seriously considering asking his roommate out, hopefully before the holidays so he could take him to Ohio with him to meet his parents.

What he didn’t know was that, because he liked having the windows open on cool mornings, he’d opened the window over the kitchen sink and heard every word the older man said. Ash was surprised to find out that, contrary to what he’d thought, his friend had noticed his looks and personality, and wanted to ask him out. He could understand, though, that with his past and the way he feared Doms, to a degree, why asking him out would be so hard for him, even without the typical bullshit “dating ritual” people put themselves through. He was just thankful that he was keeping that in mind when even contemplating asking him out.

Neither of them said a word about the possibility of them dating for the rest of the morning till Andy got a call from the school around ten-thirty saying that power had been restored. Considering that it was as late as it was, Ash decided to plead illness and stay home since it wouldn’t really be worth going now. With a nod of agreement, his roommate headed to work, thus leaving him to his own devices.



The next two days passed like molasses in wintertime, as far as Andy was concerned. He’d decided, thanks to his mother’s advice, to just grow a pair and ask his roommate out, hoping for the best all the while. Should he say yes, he’d also decided that he was going to take him to a little Italian restaurant right up the road called Anna Maria’s, considering that they had some of the best damned food around.

He didn’t want to ask him the day the transformers blew, though, because it was the middle of the week and he figured their first date would better be done over the weekend. Not to mention waiting a couple days gave him a bit of time to plan it, on top of rest a bit since he’d been all but exhausted the other day. Thankfully, Anna Maria’s was a small establishment that didn’t necessarily require dressing up, although they could dress up a little more than normal, if they wanted. Not only that, but it was generally quiet enough, especially in the back, to hold a conversation without screaming.

It was pretty obvious to all his students that Friday that he was nervous about something, which garnered him curious glances from all of them. Some of the most curious were Ash, obviously, Jake, Jinxx, and CC, the last three surprising him a bit. He chuckled under his breath when he realized that, as close as the quartet had grown since school started, his young roommate probably shared everything with them, and that all four of them were suspecting that whatever was causing his anxiety was related to Ash.

By the end of the day, he was just glad that he didn’t have to stay after for a meeting and was free to leave pretty much as soon as the last bell rang. Sure, he had to monitor the halls around the band room as the students were heading out front to the car rider’s circle and to the bus lot, but once they were all gone and the halls were as silent as Death, he was gone like yesterday, as well. All he had to do was grab the messenger bag that he carried his folders and binder, as well as his lunch, to school in before he headed to the faculty parking lot. The only thing to cross his mind besides hoping Ash said yes was that the students had better hope they hadn’t trashed his bike, or there’d be Hell to pay.

“Ash, I’m home!” he yelled as he walked through the front door, knowing the teen was already here.

“You have a good day, Andy?” the teen asked as he came down the hall from his room.

“Yeah, it was pretty good. The occasional trouble-maker, but hey, what teacher doesn’t have to put up with that?” Andy countered, putting his stuff down.

“True enough, I suppose,” he agreed, nodding.

“You planning on hanging out with the guys tonight?” By the guys, he meant Jake, Jinxx, and CC.

“Nah. CC had Monster earlier, and by all that’s unholy, I don’t wanna deal with him when he’s that hyper,” Ash laughed.

“Then why don’t you go freshen up? I was thinking about going out to dinner,” Andy told him.

“Are you…asking me out?” he asked curiously, sounding a bit uncertain.

“If that’s how you wanna look at it,” the older man answered.

“Um… O…kay.” He still seemed uncertain, but headed down the hall to his room to change and freshen up a bit, as he’d suggested.

“You don’t have to dress up like you’re going to a wedding,” he laughed, following him as far as his own bedroom door. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere fancy.”

Ash merely cocked a brow at him curiously.

Refusing to give away what he had in mind, Andy opened his bedroom door and stepped over the threshold, then closed the mahogany panel behind him. He didn’t want the teen to know they were going to one of the few places in a town as small as Hillsboro he’d found since moving here over the summer that wasn’t a fast food joint. He also didn’t want him to know that the atmosphere could be considered romantic, if one were out on a date like he planned for this to be.

Within a couple minutes of closing his door, he’d gotten into a pair of black jeans that, for once, weren’t skinnies, a black button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black vest that he left unbuttoned. His feet were adorned with the nicest boots he owned, rather than the scuffed things he used when riding his bike that’d seen better days.

Having decided to keep things as simple as he could, he merely settled for brushing his hair since it was still perfectly straight, despite the lingering humidity in the North Carolina air. He reapplied his eyeliner, which had smudged just a bit from the same humidity that normally would’ve fucked his hair ten ways to Sunday. Now that he was satisfied with his looks, he headed back to the living room to await his roommate, whom he knew would take slightly longer than him. Even when he kept it simple, the teen was notorious for nearly being late because he was indecisive about his shirt, or had to fight with his hair.

But the slightly extra wait for him to emerge from his room tonight was so worth it, words couldn’t fully describe it. Since he looked so much like a girl, and neither of them were quite ready to come out to a town as full of homophobes as this one, he’d decided to literally cross-dress for the night. He wore a simple black mini dress that came down to mid-thigh and, thanks to the bra and fake tits he used, showed his “cleavage” from the deep vee-neck. Right below his “bust line”, the dress appeared to tie in a knot on one side, as if accentuating a tiny waist before falling over his slightly curvy hips. His legs were covered by black tights, even though one couldn’t see a single hair on them, his feet adorned by a pair of knee-high leather boots with three-inch heels.

“Well, hot damn,” he said, letting loose a wolf-whistle.

“Jesus, Andy. It’s almost like you’ve never seen someone hot,” Ash said, blushing as he pitched his voice slightly higher than normal to fit his über-feminine appearance.

“What can I say? I know good looks when I see ’em, and I ain’t afraid to show it,” he chuckled.

“You really think I look good? Even with the fake tits?” The uncertainty he could hear in his voice sparkled in his chocolate-brown eyes as well.

“Even with the fake tits,” Andy answered, rising to offer his arm. “Since you’re looking too beautiful to wanna ruin these looks, let’s just take your car instead of my bike.”

Still shocked by his positive reaction, the teen grabbed his keys off the hook by the door and handed them to him, waiting patiently on the front porch as he locked the door before being escorted to the ’96 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra. He blushed once again as the older man opened the passenger’s door for him, waiting patiently until he was settled before gently closing it again.

Andy watched him from the corner of his eye as he slid the driver’s seat back a few inches once he was in the car, taking note of the pink staining his cheeks. He grinned and chuckled as he depressed the clutch and brake, quickly turning the key before getting his seat belt on. He was still fairly surprised that he’d agreed to this date, especially on such short notice, and hoped that all went well. Considering that he was dressed in drag and could fake a damned good falsetto, he honestly didn’t think they’d have a problem while at Anna Maria’s. However, he knew from experience that all that could change in the blink of an eye, and waited with baited breath.

Notes