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American Idol RPS - saving smiles for you
Title: saving smiles for you
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jetaimerai
Rating: PG
Pairing: David Cook/David Archuleta
Word Count: 3,600
Disclaimer: This is a complete work of fiction.
Summary: At that very moment, Cook had made it his mission to make him smile as much as possible.
Dedication: Forambiance, for helping me so much with this fic and putting up with all my rambling about it. ♥
David Cook was a lover of smiles. He loved to smile, and he especially loved making others smile. The real reason he always cracked corny jokes was to bring out the smiles of the people around him, even if they were paired with exasperation and remarks like “it wasn’t funny”. Any kind of smile was worth it.
However, he had never been particularly enamored with any one person’s smile.
Until now.
There was a certain purity and sweetness to the way David Archuleta smiled that had caught his attention immediately. It had been hard to coax it out of him that first time, since he had kept to himself instead of sitting with him and the other contestants. It had taken cracking five of his trademark cheesy jokes before he had finally seen his genuine smile.
At that very moment, Cook had made it his mission to make him smile as much as possible.
***
From then on, he gave Archuleta a lot of attention. Whenever he would enter the dining hall, Cook would grin widely, stand up, and beckon the younger boy to join him at their table, ignoring his friends’ confused looks as he did so. Those first few times Archuleta almost looked scared to get closer, but Cook was persistent.
He made sure to pull up a chair next to him each time. As much as he wanted everyone to become friends, he always wanted to sit next to him. That smile of his was better close up, he reasoned to himself.
One time, though, Cook found himself between Michael Johns and Jason Castro when Archuleta entered the room. By this time he had started heading towards their table automatically, but he paused when he saw Cook’s placement. Cook waved him over, and Archuleta pulled a chair to the other end of the table, away from Cook.
A feeling of disappointment suddenly swelled up in Cook, that he first tried to ignore, but when their eyes met across the table and Archuleta’s eyes had flashed with a similar disappointment – or maybe Cook was projecting, he wasn’t completely sure – he took that as his cue to get up and drag his chair to be next to Archuleta.
Everyone at the table looked surprised at the sudden action, but none more so than Archuleta himself, who was staring at him bewilderedly. “Why did you do that?”
Cook looked into his eyes. “Because I wanted to,” he said simply, smiling.
Archuleta looked even more startled at the honest answer, but then he smiled back. It was his most radiant smile yet.
***
“Hey Archie,” Cook said as he plopped on the couch next to Archuleta. He flinched, clearly still not liking his newly christened nickname, but Cook could tell by the small quirk of his lips that he was growing to like it.
He looked up from his English homework to regard him quizzically. “Hey, Cook. Aren’t you supposed to be rehearsing?”
“We finished early, because I’m so good I don’t need the extra practice,” Cook joked, causing Archuleta to snort. “How’s the homework going?” he asked. Cook always felt a little uneasy when presented with reminders that Archuleta was still in high school, for some reason.
Archuleta glanced at his work, then at Cook, then at his work again before placing it beside him and shifting his body so he could fully face Cook. “It’s boring,” he admitted bluntly, in a way that made Cook laugh. “Now why did you really get out of rehearsal early?” he asked, which only made Cook laugh even harder.
After taking a moment collecting himself, he feigned offense as he said, “What, you don’t believe me? Is it so hard to believe that I’m that good?”
His eyes widened. “No, that’s not it! You’re amazing! I mean…,” he stopped himself, embarrassed and blushing as he looked away, “You usually rehearse the whole time, that’s all.”
Cook had to swallow down the knot in his throat from the sudden, heartfelt compliment. “Thank you. That means so much to me, coming from you.” Archuleta looked a little uncertain, which Cook needed to erase right away. “Really, I mean it.” And he did, which must have shown on his face, for he relaxed and even looked pleased, if still a bit embarrassed.
To deflect the attention from him, Cook then continued to say in a completely serious and deadpan way, “If you really must know, it ended early because the microphone broke and they needed to fix it.”
He laughed, and Cook was content to sit back and watch him laugh. Though his mind started to wonder… he had been complimented before, why did this one affect him so strongly?
***
When he had snippets of free time, Cook sometimes liked to watch his fellow contestants rehearse. Or, more accurately, watch Archuleta rehearse.
Cook found himself genuinely blown away every time Archuleta sang. That powerful, pure voice of his had an almost cleansing effect on him every time he listened to it.
This time, it was clear that he was having a hard time. He had pitch problems all over the place, and he even forgot whole verses. He kept struggling to keep on a pleasant face, but his frustration shown through, especially as his father reprimanded him, until he politely requested a break. When he ran off stage, Cook got up to follow him.
He found him crumpled up on the ground, face in his hands. Alarmed, Cook immediately sunk down in front of him. “Archie,” he said softly, as he placed his hands on his shoulders. Archuleta looked up, and seemed even more crushed to see Cook there.
“You didn’t see it… did you?” he asked brokenly. When Cook nodded slowly, Archuleta tightly closed his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Cook asked gently, as he raised a hand to smooth back Archuleta’s hair. Up until this point, he hadn’t touched him this much, but seeing him in this vulnerable state… he couldn’t help himself, hoping it could comfort the boy, even a little.
“I—,” he paused, a guarded look passing over his face, “I don’t know what’s wrong. It’s just not my day, I guess.” Cook frowned, suddenly getting the feeling that he was hiding something from him, but he knew it wasn’t his place to push it.
“We all have bad days,” Cook began as he moved to smooth Archuleta’s hair down again. He could tell the boy was a little uncomfortable at every touch, but he wasn’t drawing away, which he read as an encouragement. “Just remember that you are still amazing, and you will be able to bounce back from this funk. Never forget that you are, okay?”
“You really think that—,” he stopped, and gulped. “Thank you.” He gave Cook a shaky smile, which made something twist in his stomach.
Before he even realized what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed him briefly on the top of his head. As he pulled away, he noticed Archuleta look away, a tinge of color on his cheeks. “Now c’mon, go back out there and knock that song out of the park!” He pulled the boy up to his feet, and as Cook watched him walk back on stage, his stomach still remained twisted, and as memories of the boy’s past smiles flitted through his mind, the feeling only grew more knotted.
No. He closed his eyes. No, he couldn’t deal with this, whatever this was. Remembering something he had to prepare for, he shoved the matter out of his mind once more.
***
Now Cook found that he simply couldn’t keep his hands off Archuleta. Whether it was innocent, “accidental” brushing or friendly arms around his shoulders, he grasped at every excuse he could. He tried to convince himself it was just a brotherly urge, and most of the time that worked, but sometimes…
It was the day of Archuleta’s prom back at his high school. He had to bite back the unreasonable tendrils of jealousy when Brooke White suggested that she be his date for the day, and he accepted. Instead of acknowledging the jealousy, he had clapped Archuleta’s back, saying that he proud of him for getting a “date” with a girl like Brooke, and then threw himself into preparing for the upcoming week’s performance.
When Cook saw him again, it was night, and music was playing in the dining hall. Everyone had decided to join in on Archuleta’s little fake prom, and of course his friends had to grab him and bring him along. He pointedly avoided looking at Archuleta and Brooke dancing until they had stopped, and Cook took the opportunity to speak to him.
“Hey Archie, how’s the date going?” he asked, teasing, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Archuleta spluttered. “It’s not a real—.”
“I know,” Cook interrupted, “Just hoping that you’re having a good time.”
He nodded, a small smile on his face. “I am. Brooke’s really nice.”
He was glad for him, really he was. After being nearly alone at the beginning, he was happy to see him become closer to the others. The swell of affection he felt made him fully put his arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer. “What are you two doing now?”
“Brooke wanted to dance with Jason,” he explained, “and I…,” he didn’t finish the thought, instead just looked up at Cook.
“Your date ditched you?” he joked, punctuating it with a low whistle.
Archuleta looked stricken. “No, no! It wasn’t like that at all! It was—,” he stopped, because Cook had burst out laughing. Archuleta became a little annoyed and embarrassed, pouting at him.
It looked so cute on him he couldn’t help but ask, “Since you’re now going stag, would you like to dance?” It was supposed to come out as a joke, really, it was, but somehow on the way out of his mouth it had, to his horror, become serious.
A multitude of emotions crossed Archuleta’s face; he was clearly struggling with something. For a brief moment, Cook thought that Archuleta wanted to say yes. Then Archuleta looked away towards Brooke and said, “No, thank you. Brooke seems almost done dancing with Jason anyway.” Then he pulled away from him.
Putting on a mask over the sudden sting of disappointment, Cook smiled and said, “Alright. Go get her, tiger!” Archuleta looked at him like he had sprouted a second head, before just shaking his head and laughing.
He shouldn’t have felt disappointed, but he did. He realized abruptly that he really did want to dance with him, to have his arms around him completely, to have his body flushed up against his…
No brother ever felt that way. With a sinking heart, he knew he could no longer ignore this.
***
He spent his nights tossing and turning. Archuleta was a 17-year-old boy, still in high school. It went against all his cumulated knowledge of those he’s attracted to. He’s always loved women, older women even. What was it about him that changed everything?
He was not a pedophile, yet he was haunted by the thought that someone would be able to figure it out and lock him up for even thinking about him that way.
He got less and less sleep as a result, and it started to show. But he always cracked a joke before Archuleta could ask him what was wrong. That damn smile of his was what started it all, and he still couldn’t get enough of it.
***
Seeing Syesha Mercado leave was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant that Cook and Archuleta would be spending virtually all their time together now. A curse because it meant that Cook and Archuleta would be spending virtually all their time together now.
The time passed in a blur, a hectic but extremely enjoyable blur, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t have time for his wonderful, amazing, underappreciated jokes.
They were at the Guitar Hero commercial shoot, and Archuleta had gone first. He looked positively terrified when he stepped out of the dressing room, wearing nothing but a white shirt and white boxers.
He tried not to look. Really, he put in his most valiant effort to restrain his eyes from lingering. If he had felt like a pedophile before, he felt like one now a million times over.
But when ten minutes had passed, and Archuleta still looked terrified, he realized an intervention was needed, and he knew just the thing. The director was urging him to calm down, but he couldn’t, so Cook strolled up and said, “here, let me.” He turned to the younger boy, who seemed to get even more nervous under his gaze, and asked, “Where do pirates like to eat?”
Archuleta completely forgot himself for a moment, his face scrunching up as he tried to figure out the most appropriate answer to that. Finally, he settled on, “I don’t know,” with a resigned tone to his voice.
“Arrrrrrrrrrrrby’s,” he laughed with relish, complete with his signature gesture.
First, he stared at him. Then his lips started to twitch. Cook gestured again, which prompted Archuleta to finally crack up laughing, like he should have at the start. Honestly.
When the laughs subsided, a silly grin was left on Archuleta’s face, and Cook oddly felt his heart soar. He clapped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and turned to the director saying, “He’s ready to party now!”
After Archuleta’s laughter at that remark, they were finally ready to begin. Cook stayed in the room, for moral support, and tried not to be too pleased every time their gazes met, which was often.
When it was Cook’s turn, he had briefs instead of boxers, but he didn’t let that faze him. He caught Archuleta shooting quick, furtive glances at him, and he couldn’t stop the thrill that shot up his spine.
He knew, then, that something had shifted between them.
***
He couldn’t get the image of Archuleta in that commercial out of his mind, which made Cook feel like a lecherous old man. It didn’t help that ever since then Archuleta had been slightly more open to his touch. He didn’t actively initiate anything, but he did make himself even more accessible, and Cook couldn’t help but respond to that.
But with every touch his desire to do something more only deepened, which is why he needed to go to desperate measures to make sure this didn’t get out of control.
Which is how he found himself asking out Kimberly Caldwell on live television. He was genuinely attracted to her, she was gorgeous, and she seemed so sweet and fun. He really did want to go out on a date with her.
The fact that it could keep his mind off his growing feelings for Archuleta was only a side benefit.
***
At the start of the finale, he couldn’t believe that there was only two hours to go before Archuleta won. Of course no one knew for sure, but Cook genuinely felt like Archuleta was going to win, and deserved the win, especially as they sang Hero together. He loved singing with him, and he only hoped that when he won, Archuleta would ask him to collaborate with him.
At the moment of truth, he began to brace himself, preparing the words of congratulations he will say to Archuleta when Ryan Seacrest calls out his name, except…
…he called out his.
He turned to embrace Archuleta deeply, saying the first thing on his mind: “I love you.” No matter what other feelings he was dealing with, he knew this to be the truth. Archuleta told him how proud of him he was, and when Cook faced the crowd, the reality of what just happened settled in and he couldn’t contain his tears.
Later, as he was singing the coronation song, surrounded by the other smiling contestants and with Archuleta under his arm, with Archuleta’s arm around his waist, looking up at him adoringly and with that smile, he truly felt the lyrics of the song. It was the time of his life.
***
He couldn’t get any rest after that, hitting interview after interview. He was so surprised and amazed that he had won, but he stayed modest, incessantly praising Archuleta at every opportunity.
As the exhaustion began to seep in, he felt himself becoming a little more open, so when he was doing the AT&T text chat and he was asked, “Who do you think would win in an actual boxing match: you or Archuleta?”, he gave his gut response.
“Archie! He's too nice of a kid! He would have flashed me that smile and I would have let my guard down. Then he would have bopped me a good one!”
Immediately afterwards he stared, stunned for a moment that he had actually admitted that, and then relaxed. People will just think he’s being funny. Brotherly. He just hoped that Archuleta wouldn’t find it.
***
Naturally, Cook jinxed himself.
He was finally back in the hotel room, wanting nothing more than to just collapse. He was about to get ready for bed when he heard a timid knock on his door, and Cook tiredly called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing Archuleta on the other side. After the constant barrage of reporters and lights, he was a welcome sight. “Hey Archie,” he grinned.
Archuleta walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He seemed almost sly and nervous at the same time, an unusual but curious combination. “Do you really think I’d beat you in a boxing match?”
Great. So he had seen it. Cook chuckled, sitting down on the bed and beckoning the boy to come sit next to him. “Yes, I do.”
Archuleta gingerly sat next to him and then looked at Cook with an almost teasing brightness in his eyes. “Because of my smile?” he whispered tentatively.
He was never going to hear the end of it now. “Yes,” he confirmed, and instead of elaborating he asked, “What about you? What do you think?”
Archuleta seemed surprised but pleased, which must have given him the confidence to say, “I think you would win,” he looked away, “because you would flash your smile and I would let my guard down.” He looked back, smiling sheepishly at him.
If it had been anyone else, Cook would have immediately accused them of mocking him, but Archuleta wouldn’t do that, not like this. “Is that so?” he whispered, and with Archuleta’s short nod, the two couldn’t stop grinning at each other.
Suddenly the air changed, became thicker, and all Cook wanted to do in that moment was lean in and kiss him. He unconsciously moved closer to the boy, but then there was a flash of nervousness, then a spark in Archuleta’s eyes, and the boy punched him, lightly, on the arm.
Cook snapped out of his trance and cracked up laughing. “Archie!” he exclaimed, “That was low!”
Archuleta managed to mutter an apology among all his clear, joyous laughter, and that was when Cook realized he was in love with him.
Once they had calmed down, Archuleta looked up at him through his eyelashes. "So...," he started shyly, looking like he wasn't even sure he wanted to say this, "why would my smile bring your guard down?"
Still reeling from his realization, and filled to the brim with love and affection for him, he gave into his desire. Cook slowly closed the distance between them, and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. It was even better than he had been guiltily imagining. It lasted only a moment; he knew as a responsible adult that he shouldn’t have done that but he couldn’t, wouldn’t want to ever take that moment back.
When Cook pulled back Archuleta’s eyes were closed, and he was smiling.
“That’s why,” Cook admitted warmly.
Archuleta stared at him in astonished disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. Cook smirked and kissed him again, just a little harder this time, and Archuleta definitely reciprocated.
“W-what about Kimberly?” he asked shakily, clearly scared of the answer.
Cook remembered with a pang that he had asked Kimberly Caldwell out right in front of him. Cook pressed his forehead against his and smiled. “She was a moment of weakness. I’d much rather be here with you.”
A range of emotions crossed over Archuleta’s face, and Cook marveled at how expressive he was, and how obvious Archuleta’s feelings had been all this time. He almost wanted to apologize for taking so long to act on it.
But then Archuleta opened his mouth, saying “I lo—.”
“Shhh,” he stopped him. Cook didn’t want to hear it, not so soon. It warmed his heart just thinking about what Archuleta was about to say, but it wasn’t the right time. “I know. C’mon, we should be going to sleep, we have a long day ahead of us.”
He pouted in disappointment, and that was the last thing Cook wanted to see so he kissed him, again. He was realizing very quickly how wonderful it felt to kiss the boy, and how hard it will be to restrain himself from doing it all the time.
It seemed to finally sink in for Archuleta, for when Cook pulled away once more, he was beaming. It was so beautiful it almost hurt.
But to witness that beauty, Cook was willing to hurt. He was willing to endure anything to be in the presence of that smile.
Author:
jetaimeraiRating: PG
Pairing: David Cook/David Archuleta
Word Count: 3,600
Disclaimer: This is a complete work of fiction.
Summary: At that very moment, Cook had made it his mission to make him smile as much as possible.
Dedication: For
ambiance, for helping me so much with this fic and putting up with all my rambling about it. ♥David Cook was a lover of smiles. He loved to smile, and he especially loved making others smile. The real reason he always cracked corny jokes was to bring out the smiles of the people around him, even if they were paired with exasperation and remarks like “it wasn’t funny”. Any kind of smile was worth it.
However, he had never been particularly enamored with any one person’s smile.
Until now.
There was a certain purity and sweetness to the way David Archuleta smiled that had caught his attention immediately. It had been hard to coax it out of him that first time, since he had kept to himself instead of sitting with him and the other contestants. It had taken cracking five of his trademark cheesy jokes before he had finally seen his genuine smile.
At that very moment, Cook had made it his mission to make him smile as much as possible.
***
From then on, he gave Archuleta a lot of attention. Whenever he would enter the dining hall, Cook would grin widely, stand up, and beckon the younger boy to join him at their table, ignoring his friends’ confused looks as he did so. Those first few times Archuleta almost looked scared to get closer, but Cook was persistent.
He made sure to pull up a chair next to him each time. As much as he wanted everyone to become friends, he always wanted to sit next to him. That smile of his was better close up, he reasoned to himself.
One time, though, Cook found himself between Michael Johns and Jason Castro when Archuleta entered the room. By this time he had started heading towards their table automatically, but he paused when he saw Cook’s placement. Cook waved him over, and Archuleta pulled a chair to the other end of the table, away from Cook.
A feeling of disappointment suddenly swelled up in Cook, that he first tried to ignore, but when their eyes met across the table and Archuleta’s eyes had flashed with a similar disappointment – or maybe Cook was projecting, he wasn’t completely sure – he took that as his cue to get up and drag his chair to be next to Archuleta.
Everyone at the table looked surprised at the sudden action, but none more so than Archuleta himself, who was staring at him bewilderedly. “Why did you do that?”
Cook looked into his eyes. “Because I wanted to,” he said simply, smiling.
Archuleta looked even more startled at the honest answer, but then he smiled back. It was his most radiant smile yet.
***
“Hey Archie,” Cook said as he plopped on the couch next to Archuleta. He flinched, clearly still not liking his newly christened nickname, but Cook could tell by the small quirk of his lips that he was growing to like it.
He looked up from his English homework to regard him quizzically. “Hey, Cook. Aren’t you supposed to be rehearsing?”
“We finished early, because I’m so good I don’t need the extra practice,” Cook joked, causing Archuleta to snort. “How’s the homework going?” he asked. Cook always felt a little uneasy when presented with reminders that Archuleta was still in high school, for some reason.
Archuleta glanced at his work, then at Cook, then at his work again before placing it beside him and shifting his body so he could fully face Cook. “It’s boring,” he admitted bluntly, in a way that made Cook laugh. “Now why did you really get out of rehearsal early?” he asked, which only made Cook laugh even harder.
After taking a moment collecting himself, he feigned offense as he said, “What, you don’t believe me? Is it so hard to believe that I’m that good?”
His eyes widened. “No, that’s not it! You’re amazing! I mean…,” he stopped himself, embarrassed and blushing as he looked away, “You usually rehearse the whole time, that’s all.”
Cook had to swallow down the knot in his throat from the sudden, heartfelt compliment. “Thank you. That means so much to me, coming from you.” Archuleta looked a little uncertain, which Cook needed to erase right away. “Really, I mean it.” And he did, which must have shown on his face, for he relaxed and even looked pleased, if still a bit embarrassed.
To deflect the attention from him, Cook then continued to say in a completely serious and deadpan way, “If you really must know, it ended early because the microphone broke and they needed to fix it.”
He laughed, and Cook was content to sit back and watch him laugh. Though his mind started to wonder… he had been complimented before, why did this one affect him so strongly?
***
When he had snippets of free time, Cook sometimes liked to watch his fellow contestants rehearse. Or, more accurately, watch Archuleta rehearse.
Cook found himself genuinely blown away every time Archuleta sang. That powerful, pure voice of his had an almost cleansing effect on him every time he listened to it.
This time, it was clear that he was having a hard time. He had pitch problems all over the place, and he even forgot whole verses. He kept struggling to keep on a pleasant face, but his frustration shown through, especially as his father reprimanded him, until he politely requested a break. When he ran off stage, Cook got up to follow him.
He found him crumpled up on the ground, face in his hands. Alarmed, Cook immediately sunk down in front of him. “Archie,” he said softly, as he placed his hands on his shoulders. Archuleta looked up, and seemed even more crushed to see Cook there.
“You didn’t see it… did you?” he asked brokenly. When Cook nodded slowly, Archuleta tightly closed his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Cook asked gently, as he raised a hand to smooth back Archuleta’s hair. Up until this point, he hadn’t touched him this much, but seeing him in this vulnerable state… he couldn’t help himself, hoping it could comfort the boy, even a little.
“I—,” he paused, a guarded look passing over his face, “I don’t know what’s wrong. It’s just not my day, I guess.” Cook frowned, suddenly getting the feeling that he was hiding something from him, but he knew it wasn’t his place to push it.
“We all have bad days,” Cook began as he moved to smooth Archuleta’s hair down again. He could tell the boy was a little uncomfortable at every touch, but he wasn’t drawing away, which he read as an encouragement. “Just remember that you are still amazing, and you will be able to bounce back from this funk. Never forget that you are, okay?”
“You really think that—,” he stopped, and gulped. “Thank you.” He gave Cook a shaky smile, which made something twist in his stomach.
Before he even realized what he was doing, he leaned down and kissed him briefly on the top of his head. As he pulled away, he noticed Archuleta look away, a tinge of color on his cheeks. “Now c’mon, go back out there and knock that song out of the park!” He pulled the boy up to his feet, and as Cook watched him walk back on stage, his stomach still remained twisted, and as memories of the boy’s past smiles flitted through his mind, the feeling only grew more knotted.
No. He closed his eyes. No, he couldn’t deal with this, whatever this was. Remembering something he had to prepare for, he shoved the matter out of his mind once more.
***
Now Cook found that he simply couldn’t keep his hands off Archuleta. Whether it was innocent, “accidental” brushing or friendly arms around his shoulders, he grasped at every excuse he could. He tried to convince himself it was just a brotherly urge, and most of the time that worked, but sometimes…
It was the day of Archuleta’s prom back at his high school. He had to bite back the unreasonable tendrils of jealousy when Brooke White suggested that she be his date for the day, and he accepted. Instead of acknowledging the jealousy, he had clapped Archuleta’s back, saying that he proud of him for getting a “date” with a girl like Brooke, and then threw himself into preparing for the upcoming week’s performance.
When Cook saw him again, it was night, and music was playing in the dining hall. Everyone had decided to join in on Archuleta’s little fake prom, and of course his friends had to grab him and bring him along. He pointedly avoided looking at Archuleta and Brooke dancing until they had stopped, and Cook took the opportunity to speak to him.
“Hey Archie, how’s the date going?” he asked, teasing, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Archuleta spluttered. “It’s not a real—.”
“I know,” Cook interrupted, “Just hoping that you’re having a good time.”
He nodded, a small smile on his face. “I am. Brooke’s really nice.”
He was glad for him, really he was. After being nearly alone at the beginning, he was happy to see him become closer to the others. The swell of affection he felt made him fully put his arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer. “What are you two doing now?”
“Brooke wanted to dance with Jason,” he explained, “and I…,” he didn’t finish the thought, instead just looked up at Cook.
“Your date ditched you?” he joked, punctuating it with a low whistle.
Archuleta looked stricken. “No, no! It wasn’t like that at all! It was—,” he stopped, because Cook had burst out laughing. Archuleta became a little annoyed and embarrassed, pouting at him.
It looked so cute on him he couldn’t help but ask, “Since you’re now going stag, would you like to dance?” It was supposed to come out as a joke, really, it was, but somehow on the way out of his mouth it had, to his horror, become serious.
A multitude of emotions crossed Archuleta’s face; he was clearly struggling with something. For a brief moment, Cook thought that Archuleta wanted to say yes. Then Archuleta looked away towards Brooke and said, “No, thank you. Brooke seems almost done dancing with Jason anyway.” Then he pulled away from him.
Putting on a mask over the sudden sting of disappointment, Cook smiled and said, “Alright. Go get her, tiger!” Archuleta looked at him like he had sprouted a second head, before just shaking his head and laughing.
He shouldn’t have felt disappointed, but he did. He realized abruptly that he really did want to dance with him, to have his arms around him completely, to have his body flushed up against his…
No brother ever felt that way. With a sinking heart, he knew he could no longer ignore this.
***
He spent his nights tossing and turning. Archuleta was a 17-year-old boy, still in high school. It went against all his cumulated knowledge of those he’s attracted to. He’s always loved women, older women even. What was it about him that changed everything?
He was not a pedophile, yet he was haunted by the thought that someone would be able to figure it out and lock him up for even thinking about him that way.
He got less and less sleep as a result, and it started to show. But he always cracked a joke before Archuleta could ask him what was wrong. That damn smile of his was what started it all, and he still couldn’t get enough of it.
***
Seeing Syesha Mercado leave was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it meant that Cook and Archuleta would be spending virtually all their time together now. A curse because it meant that Cook and Archuleta would be spending virtually all their time together now.
The time passed in a blur, a hectic but extremely enjoyable blur, but that didn’t mean he still didn’t have time for his wonderful, amazing, underappreciated jokes.
They were at the Guitar Hero commercial shoot, and Archuleta had gone first. He looked positively terrified when he stepped out of the dressing room, wearing nothing but a white shirt and white boxers.
He tried not to look. Really, he put in his most valiant effort to restrain his eyes from lingering. If he had felt like a pedophile before, he felt like one now a million times over.
But when ten minutes had passed, and Archuleta still looked terrified, he realized an intervention was needed, and he knew just the thing. The director was urging him to calm down, but he couldn’t, so Cook strolled up and said, “here, let me.” He turned to the younger boy, who seemed to get even more nervous under his gaze, and asked, “Where do pirates like to eat?”
Archuleta completely forgot himself for a moment, his face scrunching up as he tried to figure out the most appropriate answer to that. Finally, he settled on, “I don’t know,” with a resigned tone to his voice.
“Arrrrrrrrrrrrby’s,” he laughed with relish, complete with his signature gesture.
First, he stared at him. Then his lips started to twitch. Cook gestured again, which prompted Archuleta to finally crack up laughing, like he should have at the start. Honestly.
When the laughs subsided, a silly grin was left on Archuleta’s face, and Cook oddly felt his heart soar. He clapped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and turned to the director saying, “He’s ready to party now!”
After Archuleta’s laughter at that remark, they were finally ready to begin. Cook stayed in the room, for moral support, and tried not to be too pleased every time their gazes met, which was often.
When it was Cook’s turn, he had briefs instead of boxers, but he didn’t let that faze him. He caught Archuleta shooting quick, furtive glances at him, and he couldn’t stop the thrill that shot up his spine.
He knew, then, that something had shifted between them.
***
He couldn’t get the image of Archuleta in that commercial out of his mind, which made Cook feel like a lecherous old man. It didn’t help that ever since then Archuleta had been slightly more open to his touch. He didn’t actively initiate anything, but he did make himself even more accessible, and Cook couldn’t help but respond to that.
But with every touch his desire to do something more only deepened, which is why he needed to go to desperate measures to make sure this didn’t get out of control.
Which is how he found himself asking out Kimberly Caldwell on live television. He was genuinely attracted to her, she was gorgeous, and she seemed so sweet and fun. He really did want to go out on a date with her.
The fact that it could keep his mind off his growing feelings for Archuleta was only a side benefit.
***
At the start of the finale, he couldn’t believe that there was only two hours to go before Archuleta won. Of course no one knew for sure, but Cook genuinely felt like Archuleta was going to win, and deserved the win, especially as they sang Hero together. He loved singing with him, and he only hoped that when he won, Archuleta would ask him to collaborate with him.
At the moment of truth, he began to brace himself, preparing the words of congratulations he will say to Archuleta when Ryan Seacrest calls out his name, except…
…he called out his.
He turned to embrace Archuleta deeply, saying the first thing on his mind: “I love you.” No matter what other feelings he was dealing with, he knew this to be the truth. Archuleta told him how proud of him he was, and when Cook faced the crowd, the reality of what just happened settled in and he couldn’t contain his tears.
Later, as he was singing the coronation song, surrounded by the other smiling contestants and with Archuleta under his arm, with Archuleta’s arm around his waist, looking up at him adoringly and with that smile, he truly felt the lyrics of the song. It was the time of his life.
***
He couldn’t get any rest after that, hitting interview after interview. He was so surprised and amazed that he had won, but he stayed modest, incessantly praising Archuleta at every opportunity.
As the exhaustion began to seep in, he felt himself becoming a little more open, so when he was doing the AT&T text chat and he was asked, “Who do you think would win in an actual boxing match: you or Archuleta?”, he gave his gut response.
“Archie! He's too nice of a kid! He would have flashed me that smile and I would have let my guard down. Then he would have bopped me a good one!”
Immediately afterwards he stared, stunned for a moment that he had actually admitted that, and then relaxed. People will just think he’s being funny. Brotherly. He just hoped that Archuleta wouldn’t find it.
***
Naturally, Cook jinxed himself.
He was finally back in the hotel room, wanting nothing more than to just collapse. He was about to get ready for bed when he heard a timid knock on his door, and Cook tiredly called out, “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing Archuleta on the other side. After the constant barrage of reporters and lights, he was a welcome sight. “Hey Archie,” he grinned.
Archuleta walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He seemed almost sly and nervous at the same time, an unusual but curious combination. “Do you really think I’d beat you in a boxing match?”
Great. So he had seen it. Cook chuckled, sitting down on the bed and beckoning the boy to come sit next to him. “Yes, I do.”
Archuleta gingerly sat next to him and then looked at Cook with an almost teasing brightness in his eyes. “Because of my smile?” he whispered tentatively.
He was never going to hear the end of it now. “Yes,” he confirmed, and instead of elaborating he asked, “What about you? What do you think?”
Archuleta seemed surprised but pleased, which must have given him the confidence to say, “I think you would win,” he looked away, “because you would flash your smile and I would let my guard down.” He looked back, smiling sheepishly at him.
If it had been anyone else, Cook would have immediately accused them of mocking him, but Archuleta wouldn’t do that, not like this. “Is that so?” he whispered, and with Archuleta’s short nod, the two couldn’t stop grinning at each other.
Suddenly the air changed, became thicker, and all Cook wanted to do in that moment was lean in and kiss him. He unconsciously moved closer to the boy, but then there was a flash of nervousness, then a spark in Archuleta’s eyes, and the boy punched him, lightly, on the arm.
Cook snapped out of his trance and cracked up laughing. “Archie!” he exclaimed, “That was low!”
Archuleta managed to mutter an apology among all his clear, joyous laughter, and that was when Cook realized he was in love with him.
Once they had calmed down, Archuleta looked up at him through his eyelashes. "So...," he started shyly, looking like he wasn't even sure he wanted to say this, "why would my smile bring your guard down?"
Still reeling from his realization, and filled to the brim with love and affection for him, he gave into his desire. Cook slowly closed the distance between them, and their lips met in a soft, sweet kiss. It was even better than he had been guiltily imagining. It lasted only a moment; he knew as a responsible adult that he shouldn’t have done that but he couldn’t, wouldn’t want to ever take that moment back.
When Cook pulled back Archuleta’s eyes were closed, and he was smiling.
“That’s why,” Cook admitted warmly.
Archuleta stared at him in astonished disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. Cook smirked and kissed him again, just a little harder this time, and Archuleta definitely reciprocated.
“W-what about Kimberly?” he asked shakily, clearly scared of the answer.
Cook remembered with a pang that he had asked Kimberly Caldwell out right in front of him. Cook pressed his forehead against his and smiled. “She was a moment of weakness. I’d much rather be here with you.”
A range of emotions crossed over Archuleta’s face, and Cook marveled at how expressive he was, and how obvious Archuleta’s feelings had been all this time. He almost wanted to apologize for taking so long to act on it.
But then Archuleta opened his mouth, saying “I lo—.”
“Shhh,” he stopped him. Cook didn’t want to hear it, not so soon. It warmed his heart just thinking about what Archuleta was about to say, but it wasn’t the right time. “I know. C’mon, we should be going to sleep, we have a long day ahead of us.”
He pouted in disappointment, and that was the last thing Cook wanted to see so he kissed him, again. He was realizing very quickly how wonderful it felt to kiss the boy, and how hard it will be to restrain himself from doing it all the time.
It seemed to finally sink in for Archuleta, for when Cook pulled away once more, he was beaming. It was so beautiful it almost hurt.
But to witness that beauty, Cook was willing to hurt. He was willing to endure anything to be in the presence of that smile.