Billy was nowhere to be found in the house the next day.

True, Dom had only been looking because he had been hoping to get out the whole "date" thing; it had him slightly nervous, and that bothered him. And no matter how much he asked-hell, he'd damn near begged-Elijah to tell him, Elijah would only smirk and tell Dom to go get ready for his date.

So at 5:30 Dom had given in and taken a shower.

At 5:45, he'd wondered what to wear, and if simply jeans and a sweater would be nice or underdressed.

By 5:55, he'd managed to curse Billy under his breath for not telling Dom what they would be doing, and narrowed it down to either black or blue jeans, and long-sleeved black shirt.

At 6:05 he'd randomly picked the black jeans-all black may not have been very interesting, but it left little margin for error-and, despite all his efforts to take the date nonchalantly, he made sure his hair was tamed and that he smelled decent.

Billy snickered when Dom ran down the stairs at 6:08, and said, "Fashionably late. Very classy." Dom merely stuck out his tongue and went to put on his shoes. He envied Elijah, lying on the floor in front of the TV in a tee shirt and boxers, looking blissfully relaxed and comfortable. Billy stood beside the couch in a pair of blue jeans and a nice short-sleeved shirt.

"Well, do we look like a gay couple?" Dom joked, trying to calm his own jumping nerves. It was completely absurd, that he was nervous about a date with Billy, his friend! Elijah laughed.

"Every inch. Go have fun; I want all the details in the morning."

Dom glared as Billy grinned and led Dom out of the house to his car.

There were flowers on the passenger's seat, 6 white carnations tied together with a red ribbon.

"These aren't for me, are they?" he asked, staring at the flowers as though they were alien objects.

"They are," Billy said with an amused smile. "Now get in."

Dom picked up the flowers and got in, closing the door behind him and buckling in with the flowers still boggling his mind. He set them on the dashboard.

"Am I supposed to carry those around all night?"

Billy's smile widened. "Only if you want to. They're for you to keep when we get home. A memento."

"Oh." Dom looked out the window as they backed out of the driveway, unsure of what to say. "What's the plan for tonight?"

"Very easy; dinner and a movie," Billy explained.

"Good movie?"

"Romantic comedy."

Dom made a face. "You're fucking with me, right?"

"No. Very appropriate for a first date."

"Only if you're trying to get into my pants," Dom said, then groaned. "Dinner and a bad movie."

"It might be good."

"And I might take over the world using a block of cheddar cheese and a Swiss Army Knife."

Billy laughed. "Either way, dinner'll be decent. Nice, but nothing fancy. Jeans appropriate."

Dom almost sighed in relief. He looked around the car, and his eyes fell back to the flowers on the dash. He couldn't take his eyes away from them. There was something sickeningly sentimental about it, and if he didn't think, the circumstances almost felt romantic, like it was a real first date between people who didn't know each other very well at all. But then he reminded himself that the whole date was Billy's idea of being a smart ass, and there the circumstances were not romantic at all, merely friendly.

They arrived at the restaurant, and nothing interesting or unusual happened; it certainly didn't feel much different from 2 friends going out for dinner. They talked about everything from weather to the time that they got drunk and got arrested, to the food that they were eating. However, the moments of silence seemed to stretch out for long periods of time, and Dom disliked it; he usually found himself watching Billy eat and wishing he were fork.

Once dinner was over, and Billy paid for dinner despite all of Dom's protests (which had irked Dom greatly), they went to the movie. It was strange to go, to see the clumps of people. No one was alone; there were couples of males and females, big groups of females, and a few old women. He and Billy were the only men there that didn't have corresponding women.

Once in, Dom had opted to sit in the back of theater so that if the movie got too boring, he could go to sleep without too many people noticing.

When the movie began, Dom found the fact that the theater was only half-full a dreadful indication that the movie wasn't going to be very good. The nearest people to him and Billy were a couple sitting 4 rows ahead.

"This movie is going to suck," he assured Billy in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Billy simply smiled and settled comfortably into his chair.

30 minutes into the movie Dom gave up on the plot-which was so horrible that it must have been written by illiterate 13-year-olds-and rested his head on Billy's shoulder with hopes of falling asleep. In response, Billy wrapped an arm around Dom's shoulder. Dom sighed contently, relaxing before realizing what he was doing.

"You smell nice," Billy commented.

"I'm not a woman, Billy; no need to patronize me to get into my pants."

"No, I mean it. I didn't expect you'd smell nice."

"Are you implying that I smell bad most of the time."

Billy was silent a moment, then responded, "Are you enjoying twisting my words?"

"Entirely."

Billy squeezed Dom's shoulder. "Good to know you're enjoying yourself. Now shut up."

Dom grinned and moved a little closer to Billy, finding a way to comfortably ignore the armrest digging into his ribs. He successfully managed to drown out the movie within 15 minutes, simply concentrating of the sound of his own breathing. He was unsure of when Billy had taken his hand, but when Dom had lost track of his breathing, he realized that they were sitting there, his head on Billy's shoulder, hands clasped.

It almost seemed romantic.

After the movie was finally over (and Dom had made many comments about wasting an hour and 50 minutes of his life), they disengaged and went to the car without much conversation.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Billy asked once they were buckled in the car and waiting for the other cars to get out of their way so that they could leave.

"Am I the Emperor of the World with a block of cheese as my Queen?" Billy laughed. "But you did make a nice pillow."

"So I've been told," Billy commented.

Dom reached onto the dash and took the flowers, looking at them and then-against all restraint he tried to show-he smelled them. He liked the smell. "Thank you."

"Your welcome."

They drove home in silence.

When they pulled into the driveway, Billy said, "If we weren't staying at the same place, I'd walk you to the door."

"You can walk me to my room," Dom suggested, his voice a little more hopeful than he meant to sound. He mentally kicked himself when Billy smiled.

"Okay."

They walked into the dark house. The TV was playing some movie, and Elijah was snoring softly on the couch. Billy pointed and grinned, but didn't turn on the lights, not wanting to wake him. It took all of Dom's self-control not to jump on Elijah and wake him up as rudely as possible. However, he succeeded and simply grinned, following Billy to his room. When they reached the door, he leaned against the frame, holding the flowers loosely in his left hand, which was at his side.

"It was fun," he admitted. "Stupid movie, but fun."

Billy chuckled softly, and they stood there in silence for a moment.

"Thank you," Dom said and hugged Billy.

"Anytime," Billy assured him.

Dom released his hold on Billy a bit, but kept him close enough so as to examine his face in the darkened hall. He leaned in a bit, and their lips met briefly before Billy pulled back, looking surprised… Not displeased, just surprised.

"Not customary for a first date?" Dom asked, almost teasing.

"Not usually. Especially when the date was supposedly platonic."

"Ah, but what fun is that?" Dom asked and clasped Billy's hand with his free hand.

"Are you making a half-hearted attempt at seducing me?" Billy almost sounded like he was teasing, but in a way he almost sounded serious.

"Perhaps."

"Most immodest for a first date."

Dom just grinned, gently tugging on Billy's hand to urge him closer. "Is it?"

Billy nodded, and looked down at Dom's hand holding his own, seeming transfixed with the image. He looked up and moved in to kiss Dom, resting his hand on Dom's stomach. Dom dropped the flowers to the floor in favor of pulling Billy closer. Dom would have gladly pulled Billy into his room and fucked him then and there, but Billy moaned gently and broke the kiss.

"Not tonight," Billy said, almost sounding a sad, but Dom might have imagined that in his own disappointment.

"When?" Dom asked, again sounding more hopeful than he meant to.

Billy grinned, leaned a bit closer, so that he was near Dom's ear, and whispered, "Perhaps on a second date." He kneeled down and picked up Dom's flowers, handing them to him. "Goodnight," he said softly, kissing Dom's cheek.

"Goodnight," Dom said, smiling softly as he went into his room and closed the door behind him.

-end-