Riley had started to get very nervous around Ryan, ever since their small moment together in the toilets during break.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he knew who it was.
"You and Ryan were back late off your break." A stony voice warned him.
"I-I know..." He tried to get on with his work, knowing that it wasn't working. "Didn't realise the time. Sorry."
"I-it was my fault, sir." Ryan chipped in, understanding the situation. "There was something I wanted to talk to him about β without realising the time."
Riley felt the hand loosen and then remove itself from him. A wave of relief crashed over him.
"You're already on a warning for this."
"I know...but I won't let it happen again." Ryan admitted.
Riley gazed over at the young male. "Y-you didn't have to stick up for me."
He shrugged. "You're a mate. That is what mates do."
He went back to what he was doing. "Thought I was more than that a few minutes ago."
"You are." He came up to him, well aware that standing around and engaging in idle chat was something that was frowned upon during work time. Something that was also frowned upon was talking about things outside of work during work time. "Look, how about you come back to mine later?"
"For what?" His eyes flitted to him steadily.
Ryan smiled softly. "For a chat."
****
The two males sat in Ryan's lounge. They were nestled up together, simply engaging in informal conversation.
It wasn't long before the platinum blond wanted more than just that.