The man in him watched the black MIT t-shirt pull and stretch tight, strong muscles as Nathan gestured and pointed. He saw a fire burning in the most gorgeous hazel eyes and watched as Nathan's mobile mouth formed letters and numbers and words. He saw a rising blush whenever Nathan commented on something a bit controversial and saw Nathan smile whenever Finn praised a suggestion.
Finally, Nathan ran out of steam, but Finn could still see the high of coding in his eyes. He could almost taste the structure of that code, the program, the lines of poetry that Nathan would create and it filled him with a sudden rush of enthusiasm for this beautiful boy and his amazing brain.
Finn opened another beer each to realize they were the last two, which kind of went some way to explaining the smooth beer buzz he was feeling. He opened a new notebook and clicked the end of the pen once, twice, three times before looking at Nathan thoughtfully.
“Okay newbie, let’s code.” He smiled at Nathan then looked down at the sheet starting to draw together Nathan’s ideas into a formal hierarchy, he then handed the notebook to Nathan, who frowned down at the markings. Every programmer wrote differently and by the end of the four years at MIT, however, you came out the end was how you would be for the rest of your programming career. Finn was steady and neat and he had a sense that Nathan was the exact opposite.
“What now?” Nathan asked.
“You finish it,” Finn encouraged gently. ”Let’s see what you’ve got.”
They didn’t stop until way past midnight and they were both buzzed, not from the beer but from the pure beauty and poetry of the code they were creating between them. They came to the realization, as they exchanged another Star Wars quote, that they were geeks. And, Nathan couldn’t stop laughing when Finn pointed to his face and stated in all seriousness that he made geek look good.
They finally stopped when Nathan let out the biggest yawn Finn had ever seen which made him look at his watch in horror.
“Jeez, I have tests tomorrow,” he said with regret. ”Come on newbie, I’ll walk you back to your dorm.”
“You, five ten and kind of weedy, are walking me, six one and built, home?” Nathan smirked
“Weedy?” Finn frowned and poked at Nathan. ”We get attacked by vampires I have moves I’ll have you know.”
“What like? Shouting at them?”
“I keep a stake in the bushes,” experimentally Finn waved his hand in front of him, and I have reach.”
“Yeah Shorty, whatever.”
And that is how the bantering continued all the way back to Nathan’s dorm. Easy and comfortable, the two of them knocking shoulders every so often, firm friends as soon as the common interest kicked in.
Nathan stopped at the main door. ”Coffee? he asked.
“Nah, I never put out on the first date.” Finn shook his head in all seriousness, then smirked to spoil it.
“Well hell, I’m gutted,” Nathan said with a grin.
For a while, they simply stood there and smiled inanely at each other on highs that only computer geeks with beer could experience.
Finally, it was Finn that broke the impasse. “I’ll see you in a few days, work that code, Nathan.”
“I will, I doubt I’ll sleep tonight.”
“What are you? Seven?” Finn laughed and started to walk away. ”Later,” he called back.
“Finn,” Nathan called in a loud whisper. Finn stopped and turned to look back an expectant expression on his face. “Finn, I lied.”
Finn tilted his head to one side and frowned.
Nathan laughed pointing at his own chest. ”Me? Gayer than a gay thing,” he said brightly and disappeared into his dorm closing the door behind him leaving a grinning Finn standing in the light of the street lamp.
TBC
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