Work Text:
There was something sitting on his chest, making his heart beat louder than ever before. His ears were still ringing from the applause, his cheeks flushed, and eyes wide and glassy. What was that feeling? He grabbed his coat from the chair and tugged it on. Todd came to mind. Todd. Todd Anderson. Shorter than himself, but not by much. With that blonde hair and big blue eyes, and darker pink lips. His heart skipped a beat, and he had to let his eyes flutter shut.
It was in that moment that Neil realized that, as much as he loved acting, there was someone he loved anymore, and he had never realized it until that moment. “Todd…” he whispered. “I love Todd.” His eyes shot open. “Todd!” Neil ran from backstage. “Todd!”
The Dead Poets were just walking out with Keating, and Todd, having heard Neil calling him, turned around. A smile was on his face, as he walked from the group and down towards the older boy.
“Neil! You were fantastic!” He finally stopped in front of him, breathing a bit heavily. “I mean… wow. I believed in you, but that? That was just…” His sentence stopped when Neil took a step closer, and slid his hands up to caress Todd’s cheeks. “Neil, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Neil smiled. “Todd… I have never been better.” And he leaned down to press his lips to Todd’s. They were warm, and slightly chapped, but Neil could not have cared less, because Todd was kissing back, gently, sweetly, moving his own hands to grasp Neil’s hips slightly. It came so naturally, the way they shifted together, likes pieces to the same puzzle, long lost but suddenly found.
“Oh.”
Neil rested his forehead against Todd’s. “Oh, indeed.”
Todd looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching, and pressed his lips to Neil’s, chastely. “You like me?” He looked so hopeful.
“I think I love you, Todd. It took me awhile to realize, but you? You’re the sunshine in the darkness. You’ve made me think things, feel things that I’ve never even thought existed.” Neil stroked his cheekbones gently. “And I want this. I want this more than the acting. I want this.”
“I want this too. I do, Neil. But w-we’d have to be careful. People are so, so judgmental. Not our friends, necessarily, but others. We would have to keep this to ourselves.” Todd seemed morose upon this realization. “Is that something you would be okay with?”
He nodded furiously, kissing Todd again, and again, Todd smiling so hard it almost hurt. And then Neil pulled him into his arms, hugging him tight against his chest. Todd let his eyes flutter shut, just listening to the steady heartbeat against his ear. He was safe, he was comfortable. And, he was happy.