QT swinging at a hornet's nest for a laugh and then IMMEDIATELY SWINGING AT A NUKE—

56. “I’m sorry, what? I keep getting lost in your eyes.” with ellisman lmao? i'm not being hinckman trash for once!

56. “I’m sorry, what? I keep getting lost in your eyes.”AN: Casey!!! It’s finally done! I’m sorry it took me so long. I had a real bad case of writers block, but hey! We got there in the end. Also, more ellisman content pls, I love these two sassy nerds. prompt meme + AO3 mirror 

Kyle wishes his mother would stop setting him up on blind dates. He knows she means well, but the dates are pretty much always terrible, and honestly, Kyle isn’t that worried about being single anyway. Only when his mother comes home all excited about having arranged something for him, Kyle doesn’t have the heart to say no. He never does, and so he ends up suffering through forced dates with people he doesn’t care all that much about in the first place, time and time again.He finds himself sat alone at the table of a restaurant that’s not too fancy, but is nice enough to warrant more formal clothes than a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Kyle’s never been here before, but he likes Italian food, and the atmosphere is nice, and he thinks that even if the company is terrible, he’ll at least enjoy his meal.

As for the company, Kyle has no idea what to expect from his date. He knows his name is Bradley, knows that his mom has some connection to Kyle’s mom. He assumes that both of their parents seem to have a penchant for setting their respective sons up on blind dates, and that’s about it.He’s not expecting anything to come of tonight, that’s for sure. He’s been set up on enough of these dates to know how they go. He predicts another night sat across from someone, forcing awkward conversation with a guy he would never willingly go out with. He expects to enjoy his meatball parmesan and pretty much nothing else. He expects his date to be a little like him but not too much; not so similar to Kyle that they’ll actually get along, but awkward enough that his mom sets him up on blind dates.Kyle is thinking over the reassuring speech he knows his mother will give him when he sees her next, and so he takes no notice of the man approaching his table, until said man is standing over him, clearing his throat. Kyle looks up from the drinks menu he’s been pretending to study, eyebrows raised. The man is handsome, wearing fitted jeans and a leather jacket over a checked shirt. He looks like the type of person that is overly confident and popular. Not Kyle’s type. Upon first glance, Kyle would decide he doesn’t have the patience to talk to someone like this, but the stranger has somewhat forced his hand.“Can I help you?” Kyle asks, giving the man an expectant look.“I hope so,” replies the stranger, his lips quirked a little into a grin. Kyle feels like he’s being mocked, squints a little behind his glasses, his eyebrows creased. His opinion of the confident man is somehow falling even lower. Hih “I’m supposed to be meeting Kyle?”“You’re Bradley?” Kyle exclaims, disbelief obvious in his voice, in his wide eyes, and eyebrows that are now raised. Brad laughs and it’s a nice sound. It’s more genuine than the cocky grin, and suits him better, Kyle thinks.“Brad’s fine, but yeah,” Brad confirms with a nod. “Hi. Do you mind?” Brad gestures to the chair opposite Kyle, and Kyle, still a little shocked, nods slowly, making an active effort to keep his jaw closed despite the urge to let it drop as he stares at Brad in wonder. This does not look like the kind of person who needs their parents to arrange dates for them, and Kyle’s a little stunned.“Yeah, sure,” Kyle manages to say, but only after Brad has pulled the chair out and draped his jacket over the back of it. Brad grins at him as he sits down.“So, do you do this often?” Asks Brad, and Kyle has to make an active effort not to roll his eyes. He’s still trying to get a read off this guy, and for the moment all Kyle can think is he’s snarky and probably not Kyle’s type. No matter how objectively attractive he may be.“What, get Italian food?” He asks, keeping his tone serious. He’s playing dumb in response to the stupid and obvious question. “Yeah, I’d say I’m a fan.” Kyle’s answer makes Brad face light up, amusement in his eyes and in that stupid grin which is back on his face.“Is that why you’re here, because you love Italian food?”“It was a huge factor, yeah,” Kyle replies bluntly. He really has no interest in trying to be overly polite, or in trying to impress this guy. If his track record is anything to go by, Kyle won’t see Brad again after tonight anyway, so why bother pandering to him?“That’s fair,” Brad chuckles. “Blind dates don’t tend to be all that exciting.”“I can’t say I’m going to break that trend for you,” Kyle warns him. “I’m not really an exciting person.” Brad grins, like he knows something Kyle doesn’t and it just makes Kyle narrow his eyes a little again.“Hey, at least let me be the judge of that,” insists Brad. “Maybe my luck’s changed.” Kyle wants to roll his eyes again. He just wants to enjoy his food, has already had enough of Brad’s attempted smooth-talking for now.“Maybe,” Kyle mutters, though he’s clearly not convinced that Brad will even find him vaguely interesting. He goes back to looking at the drinks menu and Brad feels a little dejected. He thinks Kyle’s cute, likes his upfront, no nonsense attitude. He wants to get on Kyle’s good side.“You don’t think this could be an okay date?” Brad asks, keeps his tone light, curious. Kyle clearly hasn’t offended him. Kyle sighs heavily, looks back up from the menu again.“Look,” he says flatly. “It’s nothing personal. Just, speaking from experience, these dates don’t work out all that well.”“So you are experienced,” notes Brad, smirking a little at the fact he’s managed to get Kyle to answer his previous question. Kyle scoffs.“Yeah,” he snaps. Brad’s grin doesn’t falter as he sees Kyle’s frustration at himself grow. “I’m experienced. You wanna know my experience? I go on a date that my mom has arranged for me, sit opposite some person who is vaguely like me, and spend the night eager to go home again because and the company is terrible and I’d rather be alone.”“Sounds like we have pretty similar life experiences then,” Brad quips with a grin.“That tends to be pretty standard too,” Kyle answers, still not pleased. Brad’s overly optimistic attitude is starting to grate on him. Kyle’s being obviously miserable, but it’s not putting Brad off; if anything it’s making him act like he likes Kyle even more. “Oddly enough, the kind of quiet guys who need their parents to set them up on dates have similar backgrounds.”“Hey, who said I was quiet?” Jokes Brad, a teasing smile on his face. He’s so flirtatious, it almost pains Kyle to witness him. They seem to be complete opposites.“I will admit, you certainly break the mould on that front,” Kyle concedes, with no trace of joy in his voice. Brad grins triumphantly anyway.“See!” He cries. “Maybe this could be a date that puts an end to both of our unlucky streaks. I’m already spicing things up for you.” Kyle winces at that, smiles despite himself, though it’s more a pained look than one of genuine amusement.“Please don’t,” he laughs, an awkward and uncomfortable noise. “Don’t call yourself spicy.”“I never said I was spicy!” Brad protests with a laugh. “I just said that I’m making things more interesting.”“Being more interesting doesn’t necessarily mean you’re more appealing,” Kyle points out. Brad shrugs.“Maybe not. But, I could be both,” Brad counters with a look Kyle knows is supposed to be suave, but he finds it a little obnoxious. Kyle sighs. He doesn’t know what Brad expects him to say to that.“You’re off to a bad start,” he says, back to his blunt attitude. Now it’s Brad’s turn to sigh, shoulders slumping a little. It’s like Kyle can see him physically drop the cool guy attitude. Brad smiles sheepishly and Kyle likes that infinitely more than the cocky grin.“Alright, sorry. Can I start over?”“Sure?” Kyle agrees, his brow furrowed, his face a picture of confusion. What is the deal with this guy?“Okay,” Brad breathes. “Hi. I’m Brad, I prefer barbecue to Italian, but you seem really cool, so I don’t mind that we’re not getting barbecue.” He’s met with silence for a few moments, as Kyle stares at him, lips mouth slightly agape. He really can’t believe this.“That was… sort of better?” Kyle manages finally, but he’s still confused.“I’m sorry man, I don’t really go on that many dates, I’m not sure what I’m doing.”“You don’t go on that many dates?” Asks Kyle, eyebrow arched and voice dripping with disbelief.“Not really? Why do you sound like that?”“Because!” Kyle exclaims, gesturing to Brad. “Look at you!”“Yeah dude, I’m just another average guy.”“No, Brad, you’re like—” Kyle cuts himself off, realises what he was about to say. Though Brad’s not letting him off that easily.“Like what?”

“You’re like, super good looking,” Kyle continues, somewhat begrudgingly.“Says you!” Brad exclaims. “Have you seen yourself?”“Yeah, I’ve seen myself, I’m a huge nerd, Brad.”“Then that makes two of us!” Brad cries with a grin. “Two nerds who find each other attractive.” Kyle groans and hides his face.“I can’t believe I told you that,” he grumbles to himself, but Brad chuckles.“It’s fine, we’re on the same page, right?”“I mean. I guess so? But for the record, I when I first saw you, I thought you were not my type and out of my league.” “Out of your league?” Brad echoes. “Why?”“Because,” Kyle huffs, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “You came in with your skinny jeans and your leather jacket and your charming smile, and I’m sat here on a date that my mom set up for me because she worries that I’m lonely.” Brad chuckles at that.“Well, my mom set me up on this date too, so. I’d say were in the same league.”“Yeah, what’s the deal with that?” Kyle asks. Because apparently they’re having an actual conversation now, and apparently Kyle doesn’t hate talking to Brad.“The deal with what?” Questions Brad, a little lost.“Your mom setting you up on dates. You don’t look like a guy who needs his mom to get dates for him,” explains Kyle.“Oh! Yeah, that. Well, funny story, my mom assumed I was dating my best friend for years. I’m talking like, since we were teenagers. Then recently she casually asks me if we’re ever gonna get married and I had no idea what she was talking about. So, after a lot of clearing things up, she realised that I’ve been single all this time, and now she thinks I need to be dating someone. So here I am! Dating,” Brad nods once and grins at him. Kyle lets out a laugh of disbelief.“Are you for real?”“Yeah, dude! It’s crazy, right?” Kyle nods his head, lets out another laugh.Their waitress comes and takes their orders, returning a few minutes later with their drinks. Their conversation comes much more easily now, and they talk about their lives, their jobs, their interests. Kyle learns that Brad’s a hairdresser, and when Kyle reveals that he’s a QA tester, they discover they’re both incredibly enthusiastic about video games. Of course, Brad’s not the first date Kyle’s had who likes games, but he’s the first person Kyle has enjoyed talking to about them. Brad’s opinions are interesting, and whilst Kyle doesn’t agree with him on everything, he likes their discussion.They move on from the topic of the 3DS and Pokémon before Kyle can get genuinely offended at Brad’s (idiotic) opinion that the games have rapidly gone downhill and are no longer interesting or relevant enough for Brad to play them. Brad’s the one who cuts him off, asks about the games Kyle has worked on, which prompts Kyle to start explaining the development of Guitar Hero and DJ Hero.After a short while, Kyle stops talking, waves a hand and snaps his fingers in front of Brad’s face.“I’m sorry, what? I keep getting lost in your eyes,” Brad says after a few moments of Kyle looking at him expectantly. And Kyle wants to go back to hating him, he really does. He wants to hate Brad because he wasn’t listening and because that’s the cheesiest line Kyle thinks he’s ever heard and Brad doesn’t look like he’s joking. Kyle wants to hate him, but Brad is cute and charming, and Kyle enjoys talking to him, when Brad actually listens. Kyle wants to hate him, but instead his eyebrows raise and a smile of disbelief tugs the corners of his lips upwards.

“Are you even real?” He asks, laughter in his voice. “What is this?”

“Dude, I’m sorry, you just have really nice eyes.”

“No, Brad, my eyes are stupid. I’ve got a stupid face with stupid eyes. What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me!” Brad protests, gets this teasing look about him. “There might be something wrong with your really nice eyes though. I don’t think they’re working properly. Maybe you need new glasses or something.”

“How,” Kyle groans, laughing again. He reaches for his shoulders before remembering they’re at a nice restaurant and Kyle’s not wearing a hoodie; he can’t pull the hood over his face and hide from this. Instead he rests his elbows on the table and hides his face in his hands as he giggles. “How can anyone actually be like this? You sound like you’ve been picked right out of a romcom.”

“Is that bad?” Brad questions, and though the fingers over his eyes prevent Kyle from seeing the fond smile on Brad’s face, his tone is light, laced with amusement. Kyle wants to hate him even more.

“I don’t know, Brad,” Kyle admits, pulling his hands away. He looks at Brad and Brad looks back, both of them grinning. Brad arches one eyebrow, questioning, and it makes Kyle smile, all open mouthed and gleeful.

“You don’t know if I’m bad or not?”

“Oh no, that was bad. You have bad, corny pickup lines and they make me want to kick you under the table,” Kyle replies, flatly, honestly. Brad lets out a short burst of laughter, but Kyle’s not done. “But I think it’s so bad that it’s good, y'know? You’re like a Popsicle stick joke.”“So terrible then?”“What?” Kyle answers with a frown. He looks offended. “No, Brad, Popsicle stick jokes are the best. I love them.”“Kyle. No, Kyle, they’re terrible,” Brad tries to reason, acting like Kyle has lost his mind. “They’re the worst jokes. They’re not even jokes, they’re just bad puns.”“Bad puns are great!” Kyle refutes. Brad shakes his head.“And this date was going so well,” he sighs, dramatically. He looks wistfully up at the ceiling, chin resting on his hand. He’s clearly joking, or at least Kyle hopes he is.“This relationship would never have worked out if you don’t like bad puns, I can assure you,” Kyle laughs.“Well, I might be able to look past some bad jokes for someone with a smile like yours.”“Oh my god, Brad,” Kyle groans, face flushed with embarrassment. He puts his hands up again, hiding his cheeks which have reddened from the flattery. He really can’t believe this man is real.“What? Was that too far? I’m sorry,” Brad, starts, but Kyle’s hands fly away from his face and he holds them up in a ‘stop’ motion, palms facing Brad, fingers spread.“No! No, don’t, don’t apologise, it’s,” Kyle rushes to get out. He pauses, sighs and reminds himself to relax. He sounds calmer when he speaks again, slower. “It’s fine. You’re fine. It’s just that you’re like, this handsome cliché with cheesy chat up lines and I don’t even think you’re doing it ironically.”“Did you just call me handsome?” Asks Brad with a smirk. Kyle groans loudly, puts his hand to his forehead.“Of course, that’s what you took from that. Yes, you’re handsome. Handsome and cheesy.”“But you like cheesy,” notes Brad with a cheeky smile. “So I’m good, right?”“Good for what?”“I don’t know, this? Like, you don’t hate me and want to get out of here as soon as you can, like usual.”“The people I go on dates with aren’t usually you,” Kyle points out, not thinking before he speaks and immediately regretting it. Brad seems to have developed something of an ego over the course of the night, and Kyle would like to avoid stroking it if possible. The smirk on Brad’s face tells Kyle that he’s failed in this instance.“Are they usually flattered this much?”“I’m not flattering you,” protests Kyle, raising his finger as he tends to do when correcting people. “I distinctly remember saying I want to kick you under the table.”Before Brad gets a chance to contest Kyle on the flattery front, a voice from beside them says:“Meatball Parmigiana?” And prompts them both to look up. Kyle glances to the side at the waitress and raises his hand to indicate that the dish in question is his. He notes that the waitress seems amused as she sets their plates in front of them and tells them to enjoy the meal. Kyle wonders how much of the conversation she heard and what she must think as he begins cutting into his food. Kyle was half right with his predictions for the night, in that his meal is delicious. He finds he’s happy to be proved wrong on the other front, is glad of Brad’s company, is glad he didn’t insist on bailing on tonight.They continue with light conversation as they eat, back to the topic of Nintendo, talking about recent games which prove the company isn’t doing all that badly. The tone is still playful, they’re still teasing one another in a way that feels flirtatious, but it’s nice. Kyle thinks it feels natural, this bickering between them, and he likes that he doesn’t have to worry about what he says or how he says it.Kyle finishes his food and continues his rant. Though, as he’s halfway through making his case for why Super Mario Maker is such a great game, he realises that Brad seems distracted again. Kyle stops talking mid-sentence as soon as he notices, waving a hand in front of his face once more.“Brad? Hello?”“Huh? Yeah, sorry, what was that?” Brad asks, snapping out of whatever daze he was in.“Were you being weird about my eyes again?” Kyle replies, with said eyes now squinted as he looks across the table. The question makes Brad let out a soft chuckle, but he shakes his head.“No, actually,” he says, grinning. “You just have sauce on your face.”“Oh my god, Brad,” groans Kyle dramatically. He reaches for a napkin, a little flustered from realising he probably looks like an idiot. “Why didn’t you say something?”“It’s cute,” Brad shrugs. He watches Kyle scrub furiously at his face, on the wrong side of his mouth, and Brad’s grin only grows.“Getting food all over your face is not cute. At all,” Kyle says definitively. When he’s done scrubbing, he looks at Brad again, head tilted up a little. “Did I get it?”“No, c’mere,” Brad laughs, leaning forward over the table. Kyle doesn’t have time to ask what the hell is happening before Brad takes the napkin and uses it to wipe at the corner of Kyle’s mouth. He lingers for just a little too long afterwards, a few moments which stretch on past the acceptable period of personal space invasion. Brad meets Kyle’s eyes and offers a small smirk and Kyle’s hate for Brad grows because of the way his heart feels, the way his pulse quickens under Brad’s intense gaze. “Got it,” Brad says finally, in soft voice which Kyle barely catches over the blood that seems to be rushing in his ears.All Kyle can manage to do in response is swallow nervously—Brad’s close enough that he catches Kyle’s throat move from the action—and nod his head.“Thanks,” he breathes out finally, cheeks flushed and his focus still a little lost. He doesn’t understand why he’s so worked up; all Brad did was wipe at his mouth after all, it’s not like he leaned over and kissed him. Although, he thinks that doesn’t sound too terrible.“No problem,” Brad says, shrugs but doesn’t move back. He’s still so close, and now he’s grinning, like he knows exactly what kind of effect he’s having on Kyle by staying there. After a few moments of Kyle still not composing himself, Brad leans back and returns to casually eating his food, figuring he might just be making Kyle uncomfortable.Kyle isn’t uncomfortable, he’s just kind of shocked. He hadn’t even expected to like his date for tonight, and even when he and Brad found they had common interests, Kyle remained adamant that it would just mean pleasant conversation throughout the evening, instead of forced and awkward small talk. But it’s worse than that, because Brad is oddly charming with his stupid attempts at pickup lines and his insistence on invading Kyle’s personal space. Normally Kyle would hate that, but he likes Brad, had briefly thought about kissing him and wasn’t instantly repulsed.Brad clears his throat, and Kyle comes to again, blinks owlishly at Brad.“Sorry, I spaced out,” he apologises, shakes his head. Brad’s still grinning.“Don’t tell me you were lost in my eyes,” he teases. Kyle’s shock is quickly forgotten, and he lets out a small laugh. He likes that Brad can laugh at himself, doesn’t take himself too seriously.“Yeah right,” Kyle scoffs, rolls his eyes. “Like anyone would actually fall for such a stupid, cheesy line.”“Are you saying you haven’t fallen for me?” Brad asks, sits back and clutches his heart dramatically, as if Kyle has pained him. It’s enough of an act that he can pass it off as a joke, but there’s a genuine question behind it. Brad really does want Kyle to have fallen for him, wants to impress him and see him again.“Not quite,” Kyle laughs, light and genuine. Brad’s nice, and despite all Kyle’s internal moping, he’s had a really great time. He doesn’t want this to be the first and last they see of each other. “But, I am a little bit swayed.”“Oh yeah?” Brad says, trying to sound teasing. He hopes that will mask all the hopefulness that’s swelling in his chest from actually showing through. Kyle recognises it nonetheless, and he grins.“Yeah. I’d like to do this again some time. Well, not this, exactly, but. Another date. If you want?” he manages, a little flustered. Brad doesn’t mind, thinks it’s cute. He nods eagerly.“Another date sounds awesome,” agrees Brad. He’s not able to hold back his smile, is so glad that Kyle seems just as keen as he is to do this again.“Good! We can do something more exciting than getting dinner,” Kyle suggests.“Wait, I thought you loved Italian food,” Brad counters, smirking. “What could we possibly do that would get you more excited?” He asks, sarcastic and teasing.“I can think of a few things,” Kyle hums. It takes Brad raising his eyebrows and looking slightly startled for Kyle to realise he implications of that, and as soon as he does, he feels his cheeks get warmer as they flush pink. “Not like that! Oh god,” he groans, hides his face in his hands again. He hears Brad sniggering at him across the table.“It’s fine, Kyle,” he chuckles. “I know what you meant.”“Okay. Good. Because that sounded— and you’re nice, you really are, but that’s a lot, and I don’t know that I—”“Kyle,” Brad cuts in, voice firm, but there’s still laughter in his eyes. “I said it’s fine. How about we finish this date before you start stressing about our next one?”“That sounds like a good idea,” Kyle nods. He takes some deep breaths, trying to regain some composure after his mini freak out. Brad smiles and finishes up his chicken Alfredo, and when he’s done, they fall back into a normal conversation where Kyle isn’t stressed at all.They order dessert and flirt some more over their gelato, and they trade numbers as their plates are cleared and they wait for the bill. Brad and Kyle leave together, walking out into the dark parking lot, their laughter carried away on the night breeze.Considering Kyle didn’t want to go on this date in the first place, he’s having a hard time leaving and heading to his car. He stops and looks up at Brad, gives him a soft but genuine smile. He thinks back to the restaurant, to Brad wiping sauce from his mouth. The moment seems much less intimate when he looks at it like that, and so Kyle dispels the thought almost as quickly as it came.“I’ll see you soon, then?” He says, somewhat awkwardly. He’s never had to say goodbye to a date he actually likes before.“Yeah, sure dude. I’ll text you,” Brad replies with a grin and a nod of his head. Kyle nods and returns the smile.“Okay. Good. This was nice. I’ll see you,” Kyle repeats, his thoughts scattered and his anxiety flaring up as he tries to think of what he’s supposed to do, what he’s supposed to say. Brad’s much calmer, seems to notice Kyle is getting worked up, and he reaches his hand out. For a moment, Kyle thinks Brad’s going to touch his face again, and Brad considers it, but he settles for resting it on Kyle’s shoulder instead.“See you Kyle,” Brad laughs softly, gives Kyle a fond look. Kyle’s heart is doing that stupid thing again and Kyle reminds himself that he hates Brad.“Don’t get lost again on the way home,” Kyle quips teasingly, and Brad laughs, pulling his hand away.“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I won’t have you there to distract me,” he says with a confident smirk. Kyle rolls his eyes and scoffs, bumps Brad’s shoulder playfully.“I’m going to go home and spend the night recovering from all your cheesy comments.”“And then you can start preparing for all the ones I’ll bring to our next date!”“Goodnight, Brad,” Kyle laughs.“Night Kyle,” Brad parrots, waves his hand in a way that Kyle, quite frankly, finds kind of adorable. Brad walks away to his car finally and Kyle watches him for a few moments, stunned by how well that turned out. He’s actually very excited for the next time he gets to hear Brad’s cheesy flirting again. Maybe Kyle does spend his car ride home thinking about how the lines weren’t that bad, and maybe he considers they were part of the reason Kyle wants to kiss him, but that’s nobody’s business but Kyle’s.