Title: Visual Aids

Author/pseudonym: Caroline Crane

Fandom: Big Wolf on Campus

Paring: Tommy/Merton

Rating: R

Status: new

Archive: yes to list archives

Series/Sequel: sequels "Just Like the Movies", even though I said that wouldn't have a sequel

Disclaimers: No, I don't own them. If I did I might actually watch the show.

Notes: Rated for half-naked boys and foreplay mostly. This is the unabashedly sappy, silly follow-up to "Just Like the Movies". It started out to be another PWP piece but I didn't feel like writing smut. It's more cute and silly than anything else. Sometimes these things happen, they can't be helped.

Summary: Merton and Tommy set out to celebrate Tommy's birthday and get a little sidetracked by conversation.

Warnings: it's really, really silly. Does that warrant a warning?

Visual Aids
by Caroline Crane

Merton ran his hands through his hair as he looked around the room, worrying his dark spikes into even more alarming angles as he scanned his work to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He'd gone over his list at least a dozen times, but he was still terrified that he was going to forget something that was crucial to his plans for the evening. There was no reason to be nervous, really; he and Tommy were still best friends, that much thankfully hadn't changed after their little…preview of Tommy's birthday party. Merton blushed as he remembered his boldness that night, still half-convinced he'd been taken over by some weird, sex-crazed alien. There was no way that he could have just calmly dropped to his knees in front of Tommy and then…without even…and then when Tommy asked him to…

The whole thing was just way too embarrassing – for a lot of reasons – to think about.

It wasn't so much that he was nervous about Tommy coming over to celebrate his birthday. No, his anxiety had taken on a whole different face, and he really wasn't sure what to do about it. The problem was that his plan to seduce Tommy had gone a little too well, and now he had no idea where they stood. Sure, they'd had sex – more than once – and waking up with Tommy in his bed was an…interesting experience. They hadn't really talked about it, though, unless he counted Tommy dictating position and his rather vocal encouragements as discussion. Which he didn't.

Since Sunday afternoon when Tommy had finally put his clothes back on and gone home to finish his homework they hadn't gotten a chance to be alone together at all. Either there was some weirdness going on in town or Lori was hanging around, moping about the fact that there weren't any decent guys at Pleasantville. Merton didn't agree with her on that score, of course, but the problem was that Lori's love life was interfering with Merton's chance to get his love life straightened out. He had no idea how he was going to ask Tommy what exactly was going on between them, but he knew he had to before things got completely out of hand.

He was pretty sure that last Saturday night hadn't been a one-night stand, at least if the increased brushing of Tommy's hand against his at lunch or the extra touches in the hallway were any indication. It was a good sign, at least that was what he kept trying to tell himself. He was a red-blooded teenager, after all, and sex with Tommy was definitely an experience he wanted to repeat as often as possible. The problem, really, was that he knew how he felt about Tommy, but he had no idea how his best friend felt about him. And as much as he'd thoroughly enjoyed their first few experiments, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep himself from just blurting out the whole truth and taking a chance of scaring his best friend away.

It would have been one thing if Tommy had just come to him and told Merton that he wanted him, or even if they'd both blushed and stammered their way through a round of True Confessions about their burgeoning sexuality. Sure, Merton's inspired plan of giving Tommy a copy of 'Velvet Goldmine' for his birthday was a huge success as far as turning Tommy on and getting him to drop his inhibitions. Not to mention the added bonus of what he could only imagine was really good sex, not that he had anything to compare it to but he definitely wasn't complaining. The problem was that as enthusiastic as Tommy was about experimenting with him, he wasn't sure if it was him Tommy was attracted to or if Merton had Ewan McGregor to thank for the most eye-opening experience of his young life.

He wasn't sure how to ask his best friend something like that, either. He'd gone over all the possibilities in his head, from 'So does sleeping together mean we're going steady?' to the far more serious and terrifying 'Tommy, I'm in love with you'. The fact that Tommy wanted to spend his birthday at the lair alone with Merton was another one of those things that could be a good sign, or it could be a sign that Tommy wanted privacy while he told Merton that they'd made a big mistake. The worrying about Tommy regretting what they'd done was what drove him to spend the past four hours obsessing over whether or not he'd done absolutely everything he could think of to make sure Tommy's actual birthday was perfect. Since he got home from school he'd done everything he could to keep his mind off what was going to happen when his best friend finally got away from his family and showed up at the lair, but the closer it got to 9:00 the harder it was to ignore the butterflies in his stomach or the fact that his hands were actually shaking.

The shaking was getting downright inconvenient considering he felt compelled to arrange and rearrange the stack of movies he'd bought for the occasion. When he dropped a copy of 'Shallow Grave' for the fourth time he let out a frustrated groan and gave up trying not to think about Tommy, finally giving in to the fact that he was completely and hopelessly obsessed with his best friend. His best friend who could kiss so much better than any of the girls Merton had dated over the past year, whose voice alone could make Merton's toes curl and his stomach do things that defied gravity. He felt a blush rise to the tips of his spiked hair as he thought about some of the things he'd like to see Tommy do with that mouth, wondering if he'd ever be brave enough to ask. He definitely wasn't feeling as self-assured as he was less than a week ago when he'd found Tommy sitting in the very spot he was sitting in right now, his eyes glazed with lust as Merton dropped to his knees in front of him.

He'd feel a whole lot better about the whole situation if he just knew whether it was him or the movie Tommy was reacting to when he wolfed out. He'd considered briefly going with a selection of horror movies for Tommy's birthday instead of what he'd begun thinking of as The Ewan Collection, but the part of him that was afraid it really was Ewan that had made Tommy lose his mind long enough to sleep with Merton wasn't willing to take any chances. The fact was that as much as he wanted to know the truth about how Tommy felt about him, he really, really wanted a repeat performance of last Saturday night. So instead of just letting Tommy's birthday present stand at the copy of 'Velvet Goldmine' and what Merton was pretty sure was his first blowjob, he'd ordered every single Ewan McGregor movie he could think of that Tommy didn't already own.

The Ewan Collection was pretty impressive, he thought idly as he stared at the stack of movies sitting on his coffee table. Not that he really felt all that good about the fact that he was using his best friend's crush on an actor against him, but Tommy hadn't complained yet and at the very least it was the best ice-breaker he could think of. Of course what he really should have gotten Tommy was a DVD player, but that might have made his parents wonder and it seemed like a pretty big commitment for someone that might very well be coming over to end their friendship. Oh well, there was always Christmas. Or graduation.

The door to the lair swung open and he steeled his nerves before he stood up and turned to flash what he hoped was a casual grin at his best friend. His expression quickly shifted to one of unguarded affection when he saw Tommy standing just inside the door, slack-jawed with his hand still on the doorknob. Merton crossed the room by sheer force of will and gently closed the door before turning to join Tommy in looking over the changes to his bedroom. Okay, now that he was actually standing shoulder to shoulder with Tommy he could see that he might have overdone it a little. He was pretty sure the candles were lost on his less than romantic friend, but the warm glow they gave the room always made him feel a little more relaxed. So really that was more for him than for Tommy's sake, he reasoned as his gaze shifted to the couch.

He might not have needed to buy every Ewan McGregor movie he could find either, judging from the size of the pile on the coffee table. The stack was actually taller than the cake sitting next to it, but there were only two of them so they didn't really need a huge cake anyway. Besides, Tommy's parents had probably already made him do the whole cake thing after dinner, but Merton couldn't just skip it. Cakes were essential to birthday celebrations, everybody knew that. His gaze shifted back to Tommy, whose expression had shifted from shock to slightly awed. "Too much?" Merton asked, his heart skipping a beat when Tommy turned at the sound of his voice.

Tommy moved forward in a weird slow motion, or at least that was how it seemed to Merton. Whether the world was suddenly spinning more slowly or Tommy was just having trouble moving it felt like it took forever for a hand to land on Merton's face. He wasn't sure if he was still breathing by the time soft lips brushed against him, but as soon as he felt fingers slide into his hair and tug him forward it didn't matter whether or not he ever breathed again. This had to be a good sign, he decided as Tommy's other hand gripped his waist almost too hard. The pressure of fingers digging into his hip felt almost good; it convinced him that this was real and not just some hysteria-induced fantasy brought on by way too much obsessing about Tommy.

Eventually his body rebelled against his decision never to breathe again, and he flattened his hands against Tommy's chest and eased back just enough to draw in a sharp breath. "Hi," he murmured idiotically, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as Tommy leaned forward to nuzzle Merton's neck.

"Hi," Tommy answered against Merton's skin. The hot breath on his neck sent a jolt through Merton's extremities, waking up the few parts of his body that weren't already flushed with anticipation and desire. He had no idea that his ankles could blush, but suddenly his whole body felt like it was on fire and he was glad Tommy was still holding onto him so he wouldn't fall over. "This is…thanks, Merton."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Merton joked, surprised at how normal his voice sounded. Shouldn't he be having a harder time forming sentences? His brain felt like it had melted the second Tommy walked through the door, so he wasn't sure how he even remembered English anymore. Then strong arms wrapped around him and pulled him close, and he grinned crazily against Tommy's chest as he breathed in the other boy's warm scent. It was a scent he'd know anywhere; he'd gotten so used to having Tommy around all the time that it just felt…right to be in his arms. Oh yeah, that was why his brain was still working even though Tommy had just kissed him like his life depended on it. Because no matter what turn their relationship had taken it was still Tommy, still his best friend and they knew each other better than anybody else in the world.

Tommy sighed near his ear and Merton squirmed in his grip until he could see his friend's face. As soon as he shifted Tommy pulled back slightly, smiling ruefully as he reached up to stroke his thumb across Merton's cheek. "Man, I thought this week would never end," Tommy groaned. "I swear it's like Lori suddenly developed some kind of radar or something. 'Tommy and Merton are sleeping together, don't let them out of your sight'."

A thrill shot through Merton at the words, and even though he knew he was grinning idiotically he couldn't stop it. "You think she can really tell?" He wondered vaguely if that thought should bother him, but somehow the idea of people figuring out about him and Tommy didn't seem all that bad. He wouldn't mind coming out with Tommy beside him, as long as the thought didn't make Tommy suddenly decide this was a bad idea.

The other boy shrugged and glanced over at the couch, grinning as he began tugging Merton further into the room. "Don't know, don't care. Between her following us around all week and all the monsters that kept dropping out of nowhere I thought I'd never make it to my eighteenth birthday."

Merton let Tommy push him down onto the couch, pulling his best friend down next to him. It was strange how normal it felt to pull Tommy forward and press their lips together again, like they'd been doing this as long as they'd known each other. And judging from the way Tommy eased down onto the couch cushions and pulled Merton more or less on top of him, maybe his fears about not being what his best friend had in mind for a first boyfriend were unwarranted. He knew he should ask – wanted to ask, even – but his mouth was otherwise occupied at the moment and it felt way too good to kiss Tommy. Besides, it was his birthday and if this was how Tommy wanted to celebrate his birthday who was he to argue?

He tore his mouth away from Tommy's and began working his way down the other boy's neck, working the buttons of his shirt open and planting a soft kiss on each new inch of exposed skin. Tommy's hands slid down his back to work their way under his shirt, strong fingers pressing into hot skin and trying to draw Merton closer. He had Tommy's shirt open all the way and was moving steadily toward the other boy's stomach when he felt a hand land on his upper arms, tugging gently to draw him back up Tommy's chest. For a moment he was terrified that he'd done something wrong, and when he looked up at Tommy and saw the bemused smile tugging at the other boy's mouth he was positive he'd screwed up. "What?"

"Go a little overboard on the Ewan McGregor movies there, buddy?"

Merton followed Tommy's line of sight over to the coffee table, flushing at the stack of movies still piled neatly next to Tommy's birthday cake. "Well you already found your birthday present a week early, so I figured I'd just go ahead and get you the whole collection. What you didn't already have, anyway."

"You didn't have to get me another present, Merton. Never mind…" he paused and counted the titles on the table, "…five more presents."

"It's your birthday, I had to get you something," Merton muttered, shifting awkwardly as he tried to slide off Tommy without crushing anything he'd hopefully need later. "Besides, I know how much you like him."

"You already got me something," Tommy said, pushing himself up on his elbows as Merton sat up and looked anywhere but at his best friend. "And I really, really liked it," he added, punctuating each word with a kiss against Merton's neck. He pulled back when he finished speaking, but Merton couldn't bring himself to look over and see the expression on Tommy's face. He knew if he did he'd chicken out, and he had to ask before he totally lost the ability to think.

"Tommy?"

"Yeah?" A strong, familiar hand landed on the back of his neck, fingers tracing a pattern against his skin as Tommy slowly turned Merton back toward him.

Merton looked up into green eyes he'd spent months agonizing over, taking a deep breath and bracing himself for whatever answer he got to his question. "If Lori did figure it out…would that bother you? I mean is this like some big secret?" For a long, agonizing moment Tommy just stared back at him, and Merton forced a shaky smile as he looked down at the space on the couch between them. "I mean it doesn't really matter, I was just asking because you mentioned before that you thought she might know something and I was just thinking about school…"

He stopped talking abruptly when Tommy's mouth landed on his again, registering surprise for a moment before he gave himself over to the kiss. He barely had time to react before Tommy pulled away again, his grin so dazzling that Merton knew he would have fallen over if he wasn't already sitting down. "You mean you wouldn't mind if I did this in school?"

"If we did this in school we'd probably get thrown out," Merton answered, tugging at Tommy's open shirt for emphasis.

Tommy rolled his eyes, ignoring the amused grin on the other boy's face. "You know what I mean. This week sucked, not being able to touch you and trying to act like everything was the same. But I didn't want to do anything in front of other people if you were gonna freak out about it."

Merton didn't bother trying to hide his shock, blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't having some weird dream. "So you'd be okay with coming out to everyone? The team, all your friends…people are bound to be a little freaked out when the captain of the football team announces he's gay."

And there was something he never thought he'd see; faced with the idea of the entire school finding out that not only was Tommy Dawkins gay but in a relationship with his best friend, Tommy actually…laughed. Like it was no big deal, as though everyone would just take it in stride and not ostracize the two of them. Not that Merton wasn't already used to being on the outside looking in, but Tommy had been the most popular guy in their grade for as long as Merton could remember. He knew people thought their friendship was a little weird, but so far it hadn't damaged Tommy's reputation. This, though – this could ruin him.

"Tommy, I'm serious. Something like this could upset the balance of Pleasantville High's entire social hierarchy."

"Come on, Merton, we're not talking life and death here. We've fought vampires, zombies, demons, you name it. I think we can handle the kids at school. Yeah, okay, maybe some of the guys will be freaked out by it, but those guys don't matter to me. You think any of them would stick by me if they knew I was the Pleasantville Werewolf?"

He couldn't really have thought this through, Merton decided, because if Tommy just stopped for a few minutes and thought about the reactions of most of his friends he wouldn't be calmly trying to convince Merton to come out. Not that Merton really needed convincing; he was used to people mocking him or thinking he was a freak, and if Tommy was willing to take a chance like this Merton wasn't going to try to talk him out of it. "Okay," he finally said, the butterflies in his stomach stirring again as he wondered how to phrase his next question. "So does that mean we're…I mean is this…" He trailed off and gestured lamely between them, praying that just this once Tommy would get it on his first try.

"What?"

So much for wishful thinking, Merton thought, quelling the urge to roll his eyes at Tommy's clueless expression. He always looked adorable when he scrunched up his forehead like that, but for once Merton wasn't looking forward to having to spell something out for him. "I'm talking about you and me. Are we…does this change things? I mean are we still just friends here?"

There, that should be good enough. God, he hoped so, at least, because he was pretty sure if he blushed any harder he'd burst into flames. When he dared to look up at Tommy again the other boy was grinning, and Merton wasn't sure if that was a good sign or if he'd completely misunderstood the question. "We'll always be friends, right? No matter what?"

"Yeah, of course," Merton answered automatically, although he wasn't at all sure that was true. It was possible that if Tommy said the wrong thing in the next five minutes that Merton would never be able to show his face at Pleasantville High again, let alone look Tommy in the eye.

"You know I love you, right?"

Okay, not what he was expecting to hear, and he was pretty sure a heart attack wasn't out of the realm of possibility as he looked up and met Tommy's amused expression. "You mean you love me because we're friends, or you love me?" And hey, it turned out he could blush even harder without spontaneously combusting. All he had to do was open his mouth and sound like an awkward teenager, which was what he was but he'd always liked to think of himself as above that kind of behavior. He could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he'd just passed Tommy a note at school. Will you go steady with me? Check yes or no. A slightly hysterical giggle escaped his throat at that thought, but if Tommy caught it he was nice enough not to ask.

But Tommy was talking again, and he had to pay attention because this was the most important moment of his life so far. It definitely wasn't a good time to be thinking up more ways to embarrass himself, there would be plenty of time for that later. "Merton, you know me better than anybody, you always stick by me no matter what. I spend as much time as I can with you even if we're just hanging around staring at the walls, and I think about you all the time when we're not together. So yeah, I love you."

Merton opened his mouth but his brain wasn't working with him. The only thought he could come up with, in fact, was a resounding 'wow' over and over. It was the same thought he'd had that first time Tommy had talked to him after years of having a hopeless crush on the completely unattainable quarterback, and never in a million years would he ever have dreamed that they'd be having this conversation. He knew he should say something, probably something along the lines of 'I love you too, Tommy'. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat and tried again. "Guess I didn't need to go overboard on the Ewan Collection after all."

Not what he was planning to say, but it wasn't like he could take it back. He was pretty sure he was going to have a permanent blush after tonight, but hopefully Tommy wouldn't mind. Tommy glanced over at the stack of movies on the coffee table again, frowning thoughtfully for a second before his eyes got a little wider and he turned back to Merton. Well imagine that, he got it on the first try after all. "You mean you bought all those movies because…"

"I got them because I knew you like him," Merton interrupted, desperate not to hear Tommy say it out loud. He could live with the humiliation as long as Tommy didn't say it. "I was just trying to support your interests."

If it was anybody but Tommy he wouldn't have been able to sit there, he would have gone and locked himself in the bathroom until the recipient of the World's Lamest Seduction got bored and went home. This was Tommy, though, and even if he laughed Merton knew he'd appreciate it in a way. Besides, it had worked once so it was pretty much a given that he'd try it again. If nothing else Merton was a creature of habit.

"I told you, I already got what I wanted for my birthday," Tommy said, his fist closing around the front of Merton's shirt to tug him forward again. For once Merton took the hint, leaning forward to fuse their lips together as he pushed Tommy's shirt off his shoulders. He forgot to be embarrassed about his failed seduction attempt – well, maybe not so much a failure after all, judging from the interesting sounds coming from Tommy's throat – and focused on the fact that his best friend loved him. Him, the guy that people only noticed long enough to inform him of what a freak he was, as if he needed people to point that out to him.

"I love you too," he said when Tommy stopped kissing him long enough to tug his shirt over his head. "For the record."

And there was that smile again, the one he'd always kinda hoped meant what he thought it did. He'd never been sure until now, but there was no mistaking it anymore – Tommy loved him alright, it was written all over his face. "Yeah, I know," Tommy answered. "Nobody's ever spent over a hundred bucks on videos to try to get me in bed before."

Merton flushed all over again, but this time he wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or the fact that Tommy's hips were moving in this little rhythm that was making it hard to breathe. "Free shipping at least," he murmured, inhaling sharply at the low chuckle Tommy let out against his neck.

"You're gonna have to make a list or something for your birthday," Tommy said. "I'm not as creative as you."

Merton pulled back and looked down at his best friend, grinning at the whimper that escaped Tommy's throat as he pulled away. "Well I saw this one thing online that sounded kind of interesting."

"Yeah? How much is it gonna cost me?" Tommy asked. Merton smirked as he watched the other boy mentally calculating the damage to his parents' credit card on Ebay.

"Oh, I'll do it for free since it's still your birthday." He smiled again and reached for the button of Tommy's jeans, Ewan McGregor and the rest of the world pretty much forgotten as he turned his attention to making sure Tommy's eighteenth birthday was one he'd never, ever forget.

The End