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“.... Oh, yeah... Yeah you did, didn’t you?” Izzy remembered now, he had purposely forgot the request... And immediately felt bad about it, even with Toby smiling at him like that.

“Look... I gotta confess a secret to you...” How could he put this... He really didn’t want Toby to think he was any less awesome than he was, but he couldn’t just lie about forgetting something that was so memorable like that.

He was quiet for a moment, then took Toby’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. “If you want a kiss... I uh... I can’t promise it’ll be a good one. I haven’t exactly kissed anyone before, and I don’t want to disappoint you. I know, right? Weird, how could ME of all people not be kissed or kiss someone? But like... I really wanted my first kiss to be someone I really really liked...”

“Someone like you...” Yeah, he did like Toby, didn’t he? More than he liked anyone else ever, but did he really really like him? That was the question... He wasn’t sure if he got the same butterflies in his stomach like he did when he thought about Nix, but Toby was something else.

Maybe better. Seeing him, being around him, getting along the way they did, it was far more consistent than anything with Nix, and being honest with him came real easy. Heck, if Toby asked, Izzy would be more than happy to spill his guts out for him.

“Yeah... Someone like you.” And yet he didn’t really lean in or move any closer to the other boy. “... When’s a good time though? A good moment? Don’t you want it to be like... Memorable or something?”

“Toby....” It felt weird, brushing off something like that so quickly, and Izzy wasn’t sure at all if he appreciated or not.

For something that felt like a serious conversation, he really did just toss it aside.

No matter! He’d make sure he wouldn’t let his friend down this time, and followed suit, standing up and then skating a little circle around him.

“Maybe we should get you some knee and elbow pads. You’re gonna get all scraped up. And where’s your chin guard?”

“Yeah! Dude, did you just buy skates and nothing else? That’s how you get hurt!” Izzy did, in fact, have lots and lots of extra safety equipment. Since he had been skating so long, he grew out of things fast, or wore them out by skidding across the pavement.

It took no time at all to drag Toby over to the shed and throw open the doors to reveal just how much stuff he had.

“Pick whatever fits you best. You don’t know how many split lips and broken fingers I got by not wearing the right gear. I don’t want tonight to end with you being rushed to the hospital. That would ruin our first night together in my house!”

“You avoid broken fingers by understanding that the wheels on your feed are on your feet, not on your hands. See, trying to do a handstand with skates on your hands is a super bad idea. As long as you do that, you should be fine.” While it was amusing in his mind to imagine Toby skating around on his hands, he wasn’t about to encourage it.

But he DID take Toby’s hand once his friend was padded enough, and laced their fingers together while guiding him back to the bowl.

“Plus, if you’re holding mine, then you’re perfectly safe! We’ll skate around a few times, and then when we get hungry, we’ll go inside and have some pizza rolls and a milkshake. And maybe whatever we can get away with swiping from the bakery downstairs!”

“You’ll have to show me sometime. Handstands are really cool. I can’t really do them.” What he could do was skate, and with a nice slow pace, he pulled Toby down into the bowl, and swung him around slowly in circles to get used to the curved walls.

The compliment came out of no where, and earned one heck of a grin. “You’re pretty great too. I don’t think I’ve met another kid at school ever as amazing as you. You make it worth behaving and going to school on time.”

“Well, I mean, that could be changed if you wanted me to set something on fire, but I feel like you’re more the fire-out kinda person instead of the burn it all kind. I think that balances it out.” With Toby having that confidence now, Izzy stood still, arms at the ready to catch him if need be.

“Yup, and I really like you! How could I not? You’re so... You. Just you and I like that about you. Being with you makes me want to be a better person.”

So.... His suspected thoughts were right. Toby had hinted about it, over and over, but It finally came out.

And when it did, Izzy turned a very hot red, going all the way up to the tips of his ears.

“Well, you’re special to me... And I’d be really sad, I think, if you were to like anyone else.” Nix came to mind, with his cheeriness and power, but how could that even hold a candle to Toby, who was always there. “I don’t think I thought of you as special in that way to me, cuz I thought you felt that way, but I also didn’t know so...”

Why was this so hard? Words typically came so dang easily, but right now he was stumbling over his words like a new born giraffe. “I don’t think of you as my boyfriend, but uh.... If that’s what you want, I’d be happy with that. Heh, I guess that explains the insistence on the kiss...”