Work Text:
The crew was typically very physically affectionate as their main love language. Travis was a bit of an outlier as he tried to figure his place out in the group and how to actually show affection without wanting to puke; he didn't feel comfortable getting too close physically, afraid that they’d hit him once he let his guard down and leave him feeling betrayed all over again but doing other things just didn’t sit right.
They’d been so understanding it made him feel weird, having them always tell him to “take his time” and "there's no need to rush”, it left his chest feeling tight in a way he hadn’t felt in such a long time. Todd had explained that healing socially would take time and that he wasn’t expected to be ready for a lot of the things they’d gotten used to, Ash in response had grumbled about how disappointed she was that Travis wasn’t letting them go beat Kenneth up yet.
It was weird to have a group of people this defensive over him after getting used to being the strong ones for his sisters. Larry had laughed about that when Travis had confided it to him personally which scared him at first but the taller explained that it was so close to what he’d felt when the friend group was starting out too.
“I’d gotten used to defending myself from everyone around me to the point of not having friends.” Larry sighed leaning back on his counter with that lopsided smile he got when he was somewhere in between emotions. “You wouldn’t be the first person Sal adopted into the group and knowing him you won’t be the last.”
“Guess we’re more similar than I thought.” Travis giggled, covering his mouth with his hand to hide on instinct. Larry didn’t comment on the move, instead pushing off the counter to begin digging through the fridge.
“Aparently Sal thinks so.” Larry sighed with a smile tossing the other a soda.
—
The group had ‘kidnapped’ him and were taking him to Larry’s apartment for the night.
He was pretty sure the wording was a joke but sometimes it was hard to tell, most jokes going right over his head which had been quite frustrating at first though they adjusted to him easily as Todd often had a similar issue. There was no real kidnapping as he left the house willingly, happy to be anywhere but that place but he asked anyway. Ash had to reassure him that it was a joke which left him a bit embarrassed, thankfully they didn’t tease.
When they got there they went through the back door that led right to Larry’s room, the tallest of the group immediately flopping on his bed. Ash was quick to settle herself near his head, messing around with his surprisingly clean hair and making little braids in it. He’d explained one time that having longer hair takes more maintenance so he washes it often to keep grease from building up and offered to show Travis how to actually care for his own though he’d refused knowing it’d be too obvious at home.
Sal threw himself down on their beanbag chair, spreading out and still only taking up about half of the space. He got bullied off of it pretty quickly by Todd and Neil who settled down to cuddle while still turned to the group to talk. Travis had come to realize that the two of them were basically glued together out of school, almost always touching in some way like the other would disappear without it.
The blue haired boy huffed but moved anyway climbing onto the bed as well and gesturing Travis over.
They feel into easy conversation like they always did, talking about weekend plans and what they did when not together. Sometimes they’d retell a story for Travis letting him in on the inside jokes and experiences they’d had before he joined their little circle but mostly it was talks about what was going on now or arguing over a movie or something.
They shifted around a lot depending on what they were doing or talking about, Travis eventually ending up next to Larry on the edge of the bed. The taller leaned over without really thinking about it, lightly grabbing onto the blond's arm like he would have done to Sal had he been there instead.
Travis froze as it burned at first, not in the painful way he was familiar with but not quite as pleasant as he was hoping it would be, the feeling almost a little too much but still nearly addicting all the same. He felt so overwhelmed from just Larry’s hand on his arm for more than a few seconds, simultaneously trying to lean away and into it as he short-circuited.
He tried to speak, letting out little noises that sounded happy but he wasn’t fully sure, unable to actually voice anything or string together a long enough thought to say in the first place. The other noticed because of course they did, checking him over but not ending the contact immediately which was both a blessing and a curse for Travis.
It stopped being so overwhelming after a few moments letting him lean in with intent instead of instinct but it was still a lot. He couldn’t focus on anything else let alone socialize as they attempted to get his attention and bring him into whatever they were talking about. At some point Larry had switched from holding to gently running his hand up and down his arm, occasionally stopping to rub circles with his thumb.
The longer the contact went on the more he came back to reality and could focus on other things, the group's conversation slowly filtering in through the buzzing. He scooted a little closer to Larry prompting the taller to wrap and arm around him instead and pull him the rest of the way to his side the two now pressed together.
It took maybe an hour for it to be background noise to Travis like the feeling of his clothes but it still felt nice. The others seemed happy too even though they didn’t directly bring it up, finding excuses to touch him or be close by over the course of the night.
At some point they all got up to grab snacks and drinks. Sal grabbed Travis’ arm with both hands as he talked as if he’d always done so as they milled about finding whatever to bring back to Larry’s room, it was still a bit much but he didn’t lose focus this time nodding along with whatever Sal was saying like he normally did.
Snacks and sodas in hand they headed back piling onto the bed so they could watch a movie Todd and Ash were still debating about in order to get his opinion.
Travis ended up sitting on Larry's lap which was made a little awkward by how boney he was but the other didn’t complain, instead he wrapped his arms securely around Travis’ stomach, pulling him back into a proper hold that the blond melted into. They cuddled like this for the length of the movie before Todd engaged him in conversation trying to get the blond to side with him before Ash could add her input.
“No fair!” She huffed, crossing her arms and turning away.
Todd just did his creepy little laugh before bugging Travis again, bringing up his own points as if giving a presentation. He smirked at Ash in victory when Travis did eventually agree with him prompting her to tackle him to the ground and begin wrestling, the rest of the group circled around like it was a boxing match making noise and just generally being rambunctious.
Still on the bed Travis watched them while laughing leaning into Larry when he put a hand on his back. They smiled at each other before continuing to cheer both and neither on simultaneously.