Richard: Hey Ron, are you home?

Ron: Yeah.

Richard: See you in 5

In exactly seven minutes, Ron's door was knocked. It was April 30th at around nine in the afternoon, the day Stanford sent results. It was sunny, but mildly cold in the daylight, but quickly changed to a biting cold with rough drops from the atmosphere when nightime arrived.

"What's up Richie? I thought you couldn't hang out today." Ron greeted as he opened the door to a mildly wet Computer Programmer.

"Hmmm, well I thought that too." Richard replied, looking down at the floor as he walked. "But here I am."

"I can see that." Ron replied, looking at the wet sweater clinging on to Richard's lithe body. "Let's get you a different sweater, yeah?"

"Uhhhhhhh." Richard messed with his hair standing in the middle of the living room, eyes still down. "No thanks."

"That's not an option Rich," Ron replied, slowly reaching for his wrist. "Come on, we'll find you something."

Richard sighed and began to walk towards Ron's room, ignoring Ron's approach. "Fine."

Ron laughed, "I knew you were fucking cold." He shook his head and went into the kitchen, turning on the kettle.

"Fuck you." Richard replied, "I'm stealing a hoodie."

"It's not stealing if you tell me." Ron stated as Richard walked into the kitchen.

"Nobody asked." Richard commented as he leaned on the entrance.

"That's a new choice." Ron looked at Richard, who was wearing Ron's plain grey hoodie.

"I couldn't find the one I use." Richard replied, walking into the kitchen.

"...That one looks better on you." He reached for the cups in the cabinet next to him.

Richard blushed, but did not reply. He instead cleared his throat, and asked, "So did you get an email from Stanford today?"

"Yes." Ron looked back at him.

"...And?"

"I got in." Ron reached for the tea packet, ripping it.

"...Is that bad?" Richard smiled, happy that Ron might stay. The smile slowly disappeared and became a frown as he saw Ron, confused at his monotone reply. "Since when is getting into Stanford bad?"

Ron chuckled, "It isn't! Not at all Richie…." He sighed and grabbed his tea, walking towards the living room.

"So?"

"It just makes my decisions so much harder."

"I'm guessing." Richard replied, sitting close to Ron.

"Fuck my life. Why is everything so hard?"

"Says the dude who got into two of the highest and most prestigious law schools in the world." Richard replied.

"Uncalled for." Ron replied, reaching for the TV controller. "Are we going to ritualistically watch a show or is today not the day?"

They sat there, watching a documentary on the History channel. Ron was actually paying attention, and Richard was busy freaking out about Ron's response.

"So what do you think?" He slowly began to lean on Richard.

"Uh...what do you mean?"

"What do you think about the decision? Where do you think I should go?" Ron asked, adjusting himself.

"I have told you already."

"No you haven't. All you have basically told me is that you don't know, or that both are really good options. What's your actual opinion?"

Richard looked at Ron, who had his head resting on his shoulder. "I…...I think that you should go to Stanford. You know the staff-or at least you know part of the staff, you have your stuff here already-which by the way it would be a pain in the ass to drag across the country-, you're further from your family-other than from Carly of course-and then you just….you have friends here."

"I do huh?" Ron asked. "I mean, this is a good school."

"...Ron."

"Yeah?"

"I don't want you to go." Richard got closer to him. With their thighs touching, he continued, "I-I want you to stay here, with me. I know it's selfish but I have to say it. I know what UPenn is a great school and that it might lead to even more opportunities, but it wouldn't be the same. You're a good friend, and I don't know what I would do."

"I agree." Ron smiled, "I don't think I could go without seeing you like every day."

They continued to watch the television for a few more hours until it reached around 10pm.

"Fuck it, are you ready to go?" Ron asked as he reached once again for the controller and turned off the TV. "I'm tired as fuck, and I woke up at noon, so I'm guessing you are dying."

"Yeah, I…." Richard stood up. "I don't remember the last time I slept."

"Jesus fuck Richie." Ron reached for his wrist. "Come on, it's bedtime."

"...Can I sleep over?" Richard asked as he looked at his phone, awkwardly trying to find something to do other than fidget, letting out a small humm to try and calm himself down.

"Of course! I was about to ask you if you wanted to stay over." Ron replied.

"...Well do you want me to stay over?"

"I would love to have you stay over." Ron replied, cleaning up the living room. "But again, it's up to you."

"...I didn't bring my laptop."

"That's a bigger reason to why you should stay. That way you can actually have a peaceful sleep." Ron reasoned.

"True." Richard nodded, and began to mess with his fingers. "Why do you like me staying over anyways? Like, I would have ditched myself ages ago."

"I am not sure to be honest." Ron replied. "I guess…...yeah I don't know."

They continued to walk. "Do you like staying over?"

"I do." Richard nodded, "It's very quiet, and dark. And in the morning there's food."

"You're welcome by the way," Ron winked at Richard and laughed, separating towards his room.

"Good night."

"Good night Richie." Ron slowly closed the door.

Ron knew why he liked Richard staying over. He liked to have him close, and to know that he is just one room away. He liked going to bed seeing his face, and waking up to Richard's disoriented hair and glassy eyes, knowing how sleep deprived he still was. He didn't want to let that go, and he wanted to make sure it would last.

It was four in the morning when Ron gave up on sleeping and slipped out of bed to go towards the living room. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that a lamp in the living room was already turned on, until he remembered what happened a few hours back.

Richard was on the couch, with the TV turned on, the volume on mute. He was on his phone, and looking up at the screen from time to time.

Ron made him aware of his presence with a clear of his throat. Richard quickly looked back towards the hall.

"Ron! Hey, am I being too loud? If so, I'm sorry I-" Richard tried to explain as Ron walked towards him.

"Hey buddy. No, you were fine, I just couldn't sleep." He replied as he approached the couch.

"Oh. Okay." Richard looked directly at Ron, but never giving him eye contact.

"So what's up with you?" He asked as he sat down next to Richard.

"I couldn't sleep so I thought that coming to the living room would help." Richard replied, turning on his phone and looking back at his mail.

"Hmmmm." Ron looked at the TV screen. "I see that an Voltron is a good show to be watching with insomnia huh?"

"I like eighties TV shows okay?" Richard replied, reaching for the controller.

"Leave it, I have never watched an episode so fuck it, let's see what your watching." Ron stated.

They sat watching Voltron for a good five minutes when Richard's phone dinged so much that it disturbed Ron.

"Damnnn who the hell is texting you at 4 in the morning?" Ron asked as Richard reached for his phone.

"You might know them." Richard replied as he turned it on.

"Who?" Ron asked, leaning toward the phone. "No fucking way. I knew it was a bad idea to let her have your phone number!"

"Carly is great." Richard replied as he unlocked it.

"Again, Richard that was a bad idea." Ron shook his head and snatched the phone out his hands.

"Wait what are you doing?!" Richard asked as he tried to get it back.

"Calling my sister." Ron replied, standing up and walking away from the couch.

"Yes, hello, this is your brother speaking, can you fuck off? It's like four in the morning and we are trying to watch Voltron." Ron spoke out as Richard quickly approached him.

"RON!" Richard called out, reaching for his phone.

"No stop Rich!" Ron walked out of the room.

It was a week later when Ron finally had the courage to ask Richard out. May was approaching, along with deadlines and decisions. Ron knew that to make his proposal important and something memorable, he had a slim amount of time left.

"So is it gonna be now?" Carly asked. She and Ron had been on the phone for over an hour talking about ways to ask Richard to come to his graduation as a boyfriend.

"This weekend, yes. If I do it this weekend, I am giving myself about three weeks to figure out Richard's likes and dislikes, which is very important beforehand." Ron answered.

"...Dork." She laughed. "I can see you doing it already."

"Mmmm…." Ron opened the door to the business. "Alright, I gotta let you go, I am late for my mind & body thing."

"Of course you're still into the stereotypical valley shit." Carly sighed, "Alright bye."

The bell rang, and the doors to the lecture hall swung open, letting out student after student.

"They buddy," Ron greeted as Richard quickly found and approached him.

"Hey Ron," Richard grabbed Ron's wrist and they went towards the stairs.

"So what are your plans for the weekend?" Ron asked as they walked downstairs, trapped in the middle of several students.

"Uhhhh.." Richard hummed, "Oh! On Saturday Bighead and I are going to San Francisco for a lecture he wants to see, and then...I don't know. On Sunday, Jared wants me to meet Gloria so that's probably what I'm gonna be doing. What about you?"

"Okay then, what's your first class on Monday?"

"Psych." Richard looked confused, "Why?"

"Okay, what time is that on?"

"Seven." Richard quickly replied, "Again, why?"

"Hmm." Ron pulled out his phone and single handedly texted Carly.

"What?" Richard asked once they reached the floor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Ron replied, putting his phone back in his pocket and looking back at Richard.

"No I know that something is wrong. You can't lie about that. You're biting your lip and frowning." Richard looked confused.

Ron smiled, "I know, I know."

"So what's wrong?"

"...Are you available in like two hours?" Ron asked.

"...I thought we were hanging out now? I'm confused." Richard replied.

"I mean we technically are…..I just want to go somewhere in a few hours."

"Alright, where are we going?"
"Somewhere." Ron stated as they walked out of the building. "Hey so can you meet me at my shitty apartment in like an hour and a half?" He looked at his phone then back at the programmer. "That way we just go straight to it."

"Uh...sure." Richard nodded.

"Alright cool." Ron nodded and slowly pulled his arm away from Richard. "I'll see you then."

The doorbell rang two hours after their conversation.

"Hey Rich." Ron greeted as he opened the door. "I see you changed outfits. Good."

"And so did you." Richard stated as he looked back at Ron.

"Yep. Alright, you ready to go?" Ron asked as he reached for his keys and wallet.

"Yes." Richard replied, "But again, where the fuck are we going?"

"We are going to the California Academy of Sciences." Ron quickly replied as he shut the door and locked it.

"Alright. Isn't it late as fuck though?" Richard asked as he pulled out his phone and checked the time. "It's almost 6."

"Exactly." Ron answered as they walked down the steps.

"...Exactly of what?"

"It's the right time. They just opened a new thing that I thought would be cool to go to."

"See was it that hard to say? Jesus Ron I've been wondering for several hours, and it literally takes like four seconds for you to respond."

"Mmmm, oh well." Ron replied as they approached his car. "Let's goooo Rich!"

"Alright, let's go." Ron stated as they parked.

"Did you already buy the tickets?"

"Yeah, why?" Ron asked as he put the car in park.

"Can I see them?"

"Sure." Ron pulled out his wallet and the tickets.

"NightLife VIP Tour? Hmmm." Richard looked at the tickets.

"We will see how packed it is" Ron replied as he stepped out of the car.

"Well that was nice." Richard commented as they walked out of the Planetarium show.

"It was." Ron replied as he held the door for Richard. "Okay, where to now?"

"Up to you."

"Do you wanna go get our free cocktails?" He walked beside the programmer as they walked upstairs.

"Uhhh-sure why not?"

As they walked towards the bar, Richard asked, "So how did you find out about this? I mean like-how did you find out about his NightLife thing?"

"A friend told me that it would be cool, so I thought fuck it and now we are here." Ron replied as they found two seats.

Richard frowned, "This is really nice Ron. Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're always nice and thoughtful…..but this is unusual. I mean, yeah we go out….but this somehow feels different." Richard explained.

"Hmmm." Ron looked back at him, then back to the front, trying to get the bartender's attention.

Once they finished ordering, Ron cleared his throat and stated, "I have some news."

"...What's up?" Richard asked, slightly tensing up.

"I decided that I will not be going anywhere."

"...So you're staying? Like, you're going to Stanford Law?" Richard smiled and rubbed his wrist.

"Yep." Ron smiled back. "I mean why the fuck should I go? I mean yes, UPenn is the 2nd best in the world, but Stanford is where I belong." Ron reasoned.

"Not only that, but you wouldn't be missing out on much. I-I mean, Stanford is number 4 in the best in the world, that's not a very big difference." He added as the bartender brought back the drinks.

"Not only that, but I wouldn't have you, you know?" Ron looked at his drink, then back at Richard. "So I was wondering…"

"What?" Richard's voice cracked as he asked, face flushed and eyes looking down at his shoes.

"I care a lot about you. I think that all of us-well, the group-give a lot of fucks about you, and I like talking to you, and having you around." Ron began as he adjusted himself to be closer to Richard. "And I…. with this whole UPenn thing it made me realise that I can't lose you. And I know that I won't lose you anytime soon, but I would rather want you to know how I feel before it's too late and fucking Jared goes for it and does it."

Richard began to humm and rub his wrist harder, "And?"

"Richard, will you go out with me?" Ron asked, hoping that Richard would look up for even a fraction of a second, to know whether or not he had overstepped.

Richard hummed and then giggled. "Yes! Is that even a question?"

Ron smiled and hugged him. "I am fucking glad."

"I just.." Richard smiled and hummed a little louder.

"Damn, why did I wait for that?" Ron asked with a small chuckle, the adrenaline still in his body.

"I don't know. But I waited too." Richard replied, as he looked at Ron's eyes for a few seconds, then back at his lap. This made Ron's smile widen to almost impossible lengths. "I-I just…..wow holy shit this is happening."

"I know right?" Ron asked as he reached for Richard's hand.

Richard immediately intertwined their fingers together.

It was going to be a good night for both of them.

"Are you sure about that though?" Ron asked as he looked away from the TV to look at Richard's expressions.

"Well yes, mean think about it, who the hell actually lets their company go to hell like that? Who the hell would get caught too! Like, they have the money to bribe people, so it should have never spread, but then again, what do I know? I'm not in politics. If anything, you would know more shit." Richard explained as he looked down at his phone then back at the TV.

Ron shrugged, "I mean I guess you're right. And as for the politics thing, I would beg to differ."

"It's a thing, law students know about that,"

"Hmmmmmm." Ron shook his head, "Yeah, no." Ron thought that Richard was back to being very focused on the TV when he felt Richard getting closer.

Soon after, he felt Richard's dry lips on his cheek, and then him shuffling around. He looked back at Richard, and smiled, "That was cute."

Richard was biting his lip and looking at his lap.

As Ron leaned close to Richard, the door to the house opened, letting Bighead into the house with bags of groceries. As Ron kissed Richard on the cheek, Bighead walked across the living room.

"As much as I am proud for your development in the relationship, I need you guys to help me bring food from the car." Bighead stated as he set down the bags on the dining table.

"Okay." Richard responded as they both stood up and followed Bighead outside.

"By the way, congrats guys, you guys got to the middle school stage of relationships." Bighead commented as he opened the trunk.

Ron took a deep breath and reached for Richard.. He wrapped his right hand around Richard's waist and continued talking.

"Hey so Richie, I found a good restaurant that just opened, it's really good." Ron looked carefully back at Richard, and his expressions.

"...Where?" Richard asked, looking back at Ron. Ron smiled brightly, knowing that Richard was okay with the action.

"Okay you know that one plaza on like Washington and Hampden? It's Indian food, do you wanna go for lunch?"

"Ron!" Richard called out as he walked towards the soon to be lawyer.

"What's up?" Ron asked as he looked up from his desk and toward the entrance of his room.

"Nothing." Richard replied as he walked over to the desk. "What are you doing?"

"Reading a few cases. I am taking a fucking immigration class." Ron explained as he flipped a thick packet to the next page.

"Hmm." Richard commented as he wrapped his arms around Ron's neck and rested his chin on the top of Ron's head.

Ron laughed, "I like this."

"Hmmm…me too."

"Nice to meet you." Jeffrey, Ron's friend replied as Carly introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you too." Carly smiled brightly at him.

"And then this is Richard," Ron put his arm around the programmer standing next to him. "My boyfriend."

"Hi Richard," Jeffrey greeted as he reached for a hand shake.

"H-hi." Richard shook his hand.

"After over a year of pinning after each other." Carly muttered as she looked back at the couple.

"Yeah, sure, no yes-I never said no," Ron responded as he walked back into the living room, where Richard was coding with his headphones off. He looked up as Ron walked out of the bedroom.

"No yes, I got it. I will, I promise. I-I will, okay? Sound good?" Ron asked as he looked back at Richard and sat down near him. "Alright. I'll ask today, alright? No promises though."

Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I'll start bothering now for you, okay?"

Richard looked back confused at Ron, to which Ron shrugged. "Alright, bye. Okay. Okay. Alright, bye." Ron nonchalantly tossed the phone near him on the couch. "Aaaand that was my mom."

"Ohhh…" Richard nodded, then looked back at his laptop, and began to type again.

"Wait…. Lemme start." Ron requested at he touched Richard's arm.

Richard immediately looked up and asked, "What's up?"

"Soo.. my mother was wondering if you could come over." Ron began. "For Thanksgiving next time. Since.. I don't know, she found out that Carly met you and now she is not okay with just knowing about you, she actually wants to meet you."

Richard nodded, "I understand that. Ummm.. I don't know what to say."

"I mean you...we don't have to go if you don't want to. I totally get it if you don't want to." Ron replied, "Like I would have no problem with it, and I a-"

"N-No, not about that," Richard cut him off, "Of course I'll go with you. My mother is the same way, so I get it. I just… I wanna know more before hand."

Ron smiled and leaned on him. "Thank you."

Richard looked at him, and smiled back.

This was the beginning to their wonderful and expanding relationship.

Kudos and comments are always appreciated!

I wanted to write something with Ron and Richard, which was why this was created. I don't know if people would like it though :/

Also, if you like this story I will continue with the same plot in a series!

I WILL BE TAKING PROMPTS

As always, thank you so much for reading, have a great day and hopefully I made yours and peace out!

-Apple