Camp Flirt

by soulmates

Rating: teen
Tags: Flash Sentry, Profanity, Timber Spruce, Twilight Sparkle (EqG), Slice of Life, Human, Fluttershy (EqG), Romance, Equestria Girls
Length: 17980

Flirting is pretty much one of the few things Timber Spruce can say he excels at. But when he starts crushing on a certain blue-haired musician, he doubts his flirting skills are even that good.

Flirting is pretty much one of the few things Timber Spruce can say he excels at. But when he starts crushing on a certain blue-haired musician, he doubts his flirting skills are even that good.

Especially when the boy he’s crushing on has some tricks of his own.

This is canon compliant to the EQG continuity, but despite that, the characters are humanised.

Published 2020-10-17 17:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-10-17 17:00:00 UTC

1. Distract Me

Author's Note

Just wanted a human fic of FlashSpruce banter and Timber getting flustered. So I wrote it myself and it got a little too out of hand. Meh.

Anyway, all you need to know if you haven’t read my pre-release blog about this fic is that while this follows the EqG Canon timeline, the characters are humanised; in other words, they have ethnicities. There is also side TwiShy in this because I wanted it. If either of those are an issue for you, that’s okay, feel free to click off this fic.

If you stuck around, I hope you enjoy!!

if there are any grammatical errors, please let me know (preferably by PM)! thank you! ♡

1. Distract Me

1. Distract Me

IF TIMBER SPRUCE had known Flash Sentry was going to be amongst the notable faces he spotted hanging around the side of the cafeteria building, he would’ve prepared himself better.

And by preparing himself, he didn’t mean practising his poker face (he already had a good one), he meant suppressing any sense of attraction he felt towards the boy. Not because he felt embarrassed or that he felt the need to hide his feelings, but Timber knew he was kind of impulsive and had a bit of a sass tongue, so being around someone that pretty – and someone who didn’t even thinkhe was ‘that pretty’ – meant he needed to shut up before he said something he’d regret.

He twirled his axe by the haft, the cheek hitting the side of his neck lightly. It hadn’t been that long since he went into the woods, but his eyes had yet to adjust to the sunlight’s attempts at almost blinding him. Timber squinted, eyes wandering back to where her sister stood in the centre gazebo, entertaining this week’s group. She had alerted him by phone of the CHS students’ visit, whisper-yelling at him to get his ass over there. He rolled his eyes at how chipper she sounded now. The usual.

As far as he could tell from where he was, not all the superheroes were there. Only the Smart one, the Strong one, the Shy one and the Fashionista were, amongst three other students, Micro Chips, Sandalwood and Flash Sentry. Spike wandered between the gaps of the students’ legs, soon sitting down right by Flash.

Twilight Sparkle stood with her back to him as he ambled down the open path. Her summer outfit was different from the one she wore last summer, a plain white t-shirt, bluish-purple jeans that reached down to her knees, and some purple slip-ons for shoes. He also remembered she had cut her hair in a layered pattern, hence why it was out and a little messier than what it’d usually be.

She spoke to the others, making gestures that looked like she was checking things off with her fingers, leading him to assume she was giving the rest orders. Timber wasn’t surprised, she liked to have everything under control and straight to the point. He could practically hear her fiery voice from where he was.

His eyes moved from one face (or the back of Rarity’s head) to another, trying to remember the things the girls had told him about the three he didn’t know. Techie and Eco-Kid were two students he hadn’t interacted with for almost a year but he could see that they had grown a bit. Timber wasn’t sure why they of all people at CHS decided to tag along all the way out here but he figured they knew Twilight and Fluttershy respectively and had volunteered to help.

Then came Flash. Timber tried his best to conceal the grin climbing up his mouth. It was a good while back when Sunset introduced the two to each other at the Canterlot Celestial Society Members’ Social, almost nine months? He wasn’t going to lie, he almost didn’t recognise Flash at first with the shorter hair but he soon caught on before Sunset said his name. This time around, Timber could tell Flash Sentry apart from everyone else. Perhaps it was the attraction he had ever since that night – which definitely started as a desire for friendship but then transformed into, um… whatever this was after his breakup – that he could spot Flash in a CHS mob from miles away.

With his head cocked to one side cutely, Flash stood, his hands in the pockets of a dark blue hoodie, unzipped and slightly falling off his left shoulder. Past the white t-shirt underneath, he wore light grey shorts that were much shorter than the ones he wore last summer.

Timber would love to assume Flash was anything but straight and from looking at the way he dressed, back then and now, he might be right. Those shorts gave Timber a good reason to think Flash wasn’t but even then, doubt bounced around in his brain. To shut that voice up, Timber tried to think of the most plausible (also read: sensible) reason for the clothing choice and he came up with the heat. It was hot out here.

...No shit, smartass, it’s summer.

Timber shook his head.

“Hey, guys!” he called out. Twilight was the first to turn her head, followed by Rarity and then the rest. The former smiled at him. “Gloriosa told me you wanted to help out today.”

“Hi Timber! Yeah, we figured you might need it.” Twilight pointed a thumb over at the group of high school students they had this week. Half had their mobile phones out and Timber contained the urge to scoff. He and Gloriosa have had worse before but these teenagers came close.

“It’s also good for extra credit,” Micro Chips piped up, to which Flash elbowed him, almost robotically despite the snicker he failed to conceal.

Timber chuckled. “Thanks! We appreciate it. Even if it’s for extra credit.” He clicked his fingers at Micro with a wink. “There are two things I was planning on doing in the next two-three hours but with you here, we could get it done in forty-five minutes?”

A few of them nodded. Timber tried to ignore Flash’s eyes on him. He spotted the boy looking at him from his peripheral vision and damn… he hadn’t seen a gaze so intense before, despite his face remaining neutral. Shit.

“Since we’re here already, there are some fishing rods that need to be mended.” He caught onto Rarity’s expression to take his mind off Flash and saw her eyes widen at what he said. He let out a chuckle. “The students did it.”

Rarity turned her head to the wooden benches in search of them and as soon as she did, she pulled her head back in shock. “They did that?”

Timber’s eyes glanced over the snapped blanks and pulled out guides of the different rods. He looked back at the girl with a pained, exasperated expression. “Don’t ask.”

Rarity nodded in consideration. “Why don’t Fluttershy and I handle those, hm?” She looked at Fluttershy, her grin collapsing at the girl’s hesitation.

Fluttershy fiddled with her fingers as she chewed on her bottom lip. “Oh, I was hoping I…” She glanced between her friends and Timber swore her eyes hung on Twilight, longer than usual. “Um…” But she shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll go with Rarity!” As overly energetic as her answer was – to whatever extent since this was Fluttershy – no one seemed to mind or even notice. Rarity passed the girl a warm smile.

Twilight sealed the awkwardness before it could spread. “Okay, then it’s the rest of us with you!” She signalled to Timber.

“All right, settled,” Timber said, thankful his voice wasn’t hoarse. He watched Twilight tap Flash’s arm from the corner of his eye but he continued regardless, shooting a pointed look at Rarity. “The tools you need to fix them with are on the seats. Let Gloriosa know if you need more or anything else, okay?”

Rarity nodded, offering a reassuring smile. She turned to Fluttershy and ushered her to come with. Due to some remaining suspicion, Timber stole a glance at Twilight but quickly averted it when she looked back at him, unfortunately landing his gaze on Flash’s face. Flash’s how can someone be that gorgeous face.

He wanted to groan. If he’s straight then this would be so unfair.

Timber looked away with a blink. “We ran out of firewood this week and I was just chopping some before you guys arrived. Two or three of you could help me with that and the others could carry wood out and stack them up against the hut that’s near the tents?”

“Sure!” Applejack grinned at him and Timber mirrored it. “Should I go grab some axes?”

“Two more should be enough. Take these,” – he unclipped the keys from the belt loop of his shorts and held them out to Applejack – “and head on over there to the short, wide hut. Spare axes should be right by the door.” He pointed to the cabin by the two bright green evergreen trees, a good distance opposite them.

“All right, gimme a sec,” Applejack yelled as she sprinted off. In a few minutes (because as athletic the farmgirl was, she wasn’t Rainbow Dash), she found the axes, holding them by the middle while she ran back. “So, how much wood are you thinking of?”

“Depends,” Timber started as he turned, leading the rest of them down the trail. Applejack ran up to him. “I know you could carry twice the amount everyone behind you could with just one hand. I’m more concerned about you carrying a stack that could topple over easily. Safety hazard, y’know?”

“Ah, right. Gotcha. As long as I can carry a good load to help, it shouldn’t be a problem. Just holler if you need someone for heavy lifting, will ya?”

“Of course.”

“Did you forget what I have?” Timber snapped his head to his left, keeping his body steady to hide the scare Twilight gave him. His eyes caught the purple aura glittering around Twilight’s fingers and before he knew it, his axe slid in his grasp. Instinct raced to catch it before it hit the ground. He glared at Twilight who was already giggling. While she wasn’t as mischievous like some of the other girls, she didn’t pass up the chance to mess with Timber.

“Doesn’t your telekinesis rely on your strength too?”

“Yes, it does. However, I can carry just as much as I am able to and prevent the risk of a concussion.” Twilight snapped her fingers at him, soon turning them into finger guns.

“You have a point.”

Applejack glanced back to check on the three who were closely following behind, having a conversation of their own. He followed Applejack’s gaze as subtly as he could. He supposed Twilight asked Flash to look after Spike for her, since the purple dog looked around eagerly as Flash hugged him by the middle, clearly comfortable with where he was.

Timber turned to look at Twilight, staring at her for a bit, and then glued his eyes to the cobblestone path.

Gloriosa had said she was surprised when he and Twilight continued to be friends after their breakup. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised too. Despite her desire to communicate complicated situations no matter what, Twilight wasn’t the best at doing so. Timber could sense she had an urge to back out whenever she tried to bring up an issue between them and he always made sure to help it out of her if she really wanted to talk about it. So right after they settled that they shouldn’t be together anymore, due to mutual loss of romantic feelings, Twilight had suggested they should try being friends instead. Admittedly, he was a little baffled.

Though, if he knew he’d gain one of his closest best friends out of Twilight Sparkle, he would’ve definitely gone for it the day she brought it up.

Timber dodged his eyes to Twilight again and suddenly pressed his lips together to prevent himself from snickering. Unfortunately, one slipped out. Twilight picked up on it immediately. Though, before she could comment on that reaction, Timber reached for her hair, pulling out a small tree branch from her locks. She flinched at what he presumed was the tug, scrunching her face up, and her hand came up to the spot where the branch got stuck. He waved it around in her face, finally bursting out into laughter when Twi’s face contorted to one of exasperation and slight disgust.

“You looked like a reindeer with a broken antler,” he snorted through his laughing fit. Twilight pushed his side roughly, only making him laugh more.

“Gosh, you’re such a brat,” she muttered as her eyes whirled around. Timber cracked another smile once he caught sight of one on her face, chucking the twig somewhere in the bushes.

His red cart, partially stacked with wood, remained near a trunk lying on the grass. Sun rays dotted parts of the bark, leaving various random trails everywhere like colour splatters from a paint fight. The trunk was still damp from being half-dunked in the lake before Timber found it and there was an axe dent where he had started chopping.

“So, are we clear that AJ and Twilight will be carrying the wood back?” Timber asked. The three boys agreed in different ways. “All right! Twilight, could you two start with—”

“Ha, way ahead of you,” Applejack said, holding a bunch of logs with one hand. Timber slid his axe off his shoulder as he looked up, eyeing the pile that glittered with her orange aura. The height wasn’t so dangerous and she had stacked it properly to prevent any chances of it falling. Twilight lifted as much as she could out of the cart with her magic, testing a few more blocks but ultimately dropping some due to the weight. She carried them overhead, threading them through gaps between the tree branches to avoid anyone’s head.

“Thanks again, guys,” Timber said. Applejack waved her free hand as she walked back. He turned to the boys. “Okay, I don’t want to sound like that person, but who’s the strongest out of you three?”

The boys looked at each other before Sandalwood and Micro looked at Flash.

“I’d say you, man,” Micro said, signalling at Flash’s chest to prove his point more. Timber looked too, instinctively of course. Despite his frame, slightly thinner than Timber’s, Flash was a different sort of fit. His hoodie was a size too big yet it failed to hide his broad shoulders and Flash’s arms holding Spike only brought out more definition in his upper torso.

“Really?” Flash’s voice rushed into his ears. He had both his eyebrows raised, genuinely stunned. Sandalwood nodded in agreement, despite the tiny height difference between him and Flash. “I mean, I guess.” Flash looked down at his chest, tightening his hug around Spike who didn’t seem to mind at all.

Timber gaped at him. You guess? A snarky remark bubbled in his throat but Timber gulped it down. He had almost forgotten the boy couldn’t accept compliments without a slight hint of modesty in his reply. For some reason, that was cute. He’s always cute.

“From what I can tell, he’s not wrong,” Timber piped up with a light shrug. He did his best to hide his smile when Flash glanced down at the dog shyly; a faint red tint coloured Flash’s cheeks. If he could get that reaction out of Flash from complimenting him then he’d do it all the time. Not that he needed a reason to do so anyway.

“Like, dude, physically it doesn’t look like it compared to, for example, me, but you’ve definitely gotten stronger. I’ve seen it.” Sandalwood nudged Flash who let a small smile appear on his lips. Timber totally wasn’t staring.

“You know how to use an axe?” Timber asked. “Because it’s fine if you don’t, I can help you.”

Flash opened his mouth to speak but halted for a bit, thinking. The blush began to fade, much to Timber’s disappointment. In around half a second, he hummed mhm, his voice rising a little higher than usual due to the gentleness of the sound. “I can use an axe.”

“Great! All I want is for you to help me cut this thing down. Chop logs roughly a foot long. Does that make sense?” Timber’s voice softened at the end and he wasn’t sure why, but that didn’t matter because Flash nodded, passing him a smile. Timber wished he could film the way Flash smiled and store it because whose heart wouldn’t flutter at that?

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t used his camera in a while. Huh.

“And out of you two, um,” – he looked between them and Micro crossed his arms, an eyebrow lifted – “well, it’s obvious Sandalwood looks stronger, so could you cut the wood logs in half? There’s a wedge in the cart.”

“Oh yeah, no prob, dude. I got it.” Sandalwood smiled.

“Awesome!” Timber looked at Flash and he felt his grin falter. Flash glanced down at the dog in his arms and then held his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Um, Twilight asked me to look after Spike for her…” Flash trailed off when Timber looked to the right.

Timber spotted a tree stump, the top smooth and height low. “He can sit over there while you help?”

After peering over at stub, Flash crouched down, gingerly let Spike out of his arms, and watched him climb over the stump. “Stay there, okay?”

“Okayyy,” Spike sighed. He was about to sit but he suddenly stood, wagging his tail. “Wait, Flash.” Spike pulled his ears back and looked up at Flash who was about to walk away. The boy turned at the mention of his name and paused before rolling his eyes, a small grin playing on his lips.

He squatted down and scratched Spike’s ears, to which Spike responded pleasantly.

“Good boy.” Spike grinned at that. Flash stood again and looked at Timber. “So… should we start?”

Timber wondered what circumstances Flash got into to have learned how to use an axe. He wasn’t a master at it by any means compared to Timber, but he could cut some. Sentry must’ve learned it from somewhere and that held a curious string over Timer’s head.

Flash launched the blade into the bark, one sneaker-clad foot on the tree to keep it still. He let the haft rest on his thigh so he could roll up his sleeves. Timber’s eyes trailed down from Flash’s forearms, skin smooth, to the veins, very light against his backhand, and then landing on his hands. Flash’s hands were a blend of masculine and feminine, slender fingers but hand around the same size as Timber’s large ones. He was only looking at Flash’s hands and he wanted to know how they would feel holding his own, fingers intertwined with his. Timber’s palms wrapped around his axe handle tingled at the thought. Oh, holy shit.

He had always found Flash handsome. Handsome, pretty, gorgeous – any adjective that described beauty. While focused on his sister and the camp last summer, Timber had done a double-take when he spotted Sentry walking down from the bus behind Vice-Principal Luna. He’d never seen someone with features that fit so well like Flash’s before.

Now that he was out of a relationship, his attraction to Flash skyrocketed whenever he saw him. Timber didn’t have a typeper se – had a small list of turn-offs instead – but from what he could read off Flash, there was nothing he didn’t like about him.

Of course, he couldn’t say that one hundred percent. Yet, unlike most people he had encountered, he was more than willing to accept anything that Flash found ugly about himself, any flaws he came across. He didn’t think like that as if to say Flash’s flaws were easy to handle, he meant it in a way that when he encountered them, no matter how easy or tough they were, he’d try to handle them. Something inside his head told him Flash was worth it.

Flash swung at the same spot again. One more small cut and he’d have another log. But when he was about to pull the axe back again, he paused and then looked at him. Timber eyes widened for a second from the sudden turn.

“Is something wrong?” he asked softly, curiously.

Timber shook his head. “Oh, no, no, nothing wrong. Just seeing if you’re doing it right.” He bit his tongue. Don’t downgrade his efforts, you egg. “And if you needed any help,” he added with a casual tone as if that would save him.

Much to Timber’s surprise, Flash smiled. He looked… amused. “I’m good. Thanks, though.”

A beat passed. Timber wet his lips, drawing in a silent deep breath, and asked: “when did you learn to use an axe?”

Flash cut out his log and nudged it to the side with his foot. “My family and I were staying at our winter cabin for Hearth’s Warming last year. My Dad went to get firewood and I wanted to help so he taught me how to use one.”

“Ohh.” Timber slipped the head of the axe out of the split. “What does your Dad do?”

“He’s an architect. And, technically, the CEO of his architecture company.”

“Lemme guess, Sentry Corporation?”

Flash’s fake gasped. “How’d you know?” he giggled at the end. Please stop being so cute, I will combust. “But yeah.”

Timber struck the dent and chopped off that block. He had started in the middle while Flash worked where the roots were originally so they could get this done quicker. Timber laid the blade on the trunk and lifted it along with the two other logs he cut before.

“Are you the oldest in your family?” Timber asked, mostly for sake of saying something. He passed his blocks to Sandalwood.

Flash grabbed his two logs and wandered to them, his attention remaining on Timber. “Do I seem like the oldest?” Flash murmured curiously, tossing the log to Eco-Kid who poorly held back a smile, exchanging a knowing look with Micro.

“Uh, kinda?” he replied. In all honesty, Timber had no idea. He could see Flash Sentry being the oldest, the youngest or an only child. He knew nothing about Flash’s background life and none of the girls told him anything either. But he rather enjoyed this small talk, getting to know him better. And he muchrather enjoyed small talk with a much less awkward Flash Sentry.

Flash let out a laugh and started walking to where he dropped his axe. “I’m one of four, an older brother, an older sister, me and a younger brother.”

“Ohhh, I see,” Timber said with a chuckle. “What about your Mum? What does she do?”

“Oh, she’s an author.”

That snatched his attention.

“Really?!”

Flash nodded. “Heard of Flare Winter? Flare W. Sentry, even?”

The name rang a bell somewhere. Memories of Twilight dragging him forcefully down the corridors of a large bookstore flooded his head, then peering into a room, almost a hall, filled with people getting books signed by well-known authors. Twilight had read the names on the vertical banner outside and if he remembered right, Flare Winter was the third one down.

“Yeah, I have! She’s your Mum?!”

Flash bit his lip, smiling.

“The hell, that’s sick!”

The boy dodged his eyes away from Timber, shoulders sinking sheepishly.

“What does she write?” Timber asked, eagerly.

Flash’s eyes sparkled, a grin breaking out from his face in reaction to Timber’s enthusiasm. “Teen fiction and fantasy. Her teen fiction books are all standalones. There are around…” He looked up in thought. “Four books? Five? Four or five. And she has… one fantasy duology and a trilogy in the works.”

“What are her stories like? My TBR list has been really dry lately.”

“Hm,” he started, pulling his eyebrows in and tilting his head. “Oof, I’m gonna have to sell her stuff now, aren’t I? Hmm. What do you like in fiction?”

“Easy. Representation.”

Flash chuckled, nodding. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything, buuut all my Mum’s main characters are either gay or POC. Or both. Mainly both.” Despite his words, he passed him a proud smirk.

Timber’s brows rose. “Really? Um, what are they called, y’know, for scientific purposes.” He leaned his elbow on the end of his axe’s handle, pressing his lips together to conceal a smile. “Actually, what would you say I check out first?”

“Being the biased bitch I am, check out her fantasy stuff first,” he said.

Timber made sure his axe was firmly stuck in the log before crossing his arms. “If I don’t see magical girls with cute pony ears, wings, and a mirror portal in front of a high school leading to a land full of ponies, fake fantasy.”

Flash laughed and was it cliché to say it was the most heartwarming sound he had ever heard? Yeah. But did he care? No, not a bit.

“Wait, I know Teen Fiction demographic is for, you know, teens, but what’s your Mum’s Fantasy age demographic?” Timber asked, slipping his phone out. “I just want to know in case I need to hide the stories from my sister.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ohhh. Yeah, I gotcha,” said Flash. “You’ll be fine, they’re targeted for teens.”

“Okay, good. You know, since my parents aren’t around to scold me, Gloriosa does it for them and boy.” He stared into the distance as he heard Flash snicker. “I get shit constantly for not calling her ‘Gloriosa apu’ – Bengali honorific – so imagine what would happen if she found out I was reading sex.”

Flash laughed again, this time with his whole body. His laugh was so full of energy, so contagious. Timber could feel himself holding back from completely losing it with him. He couldn’t remember if Flash laughed at all during their first proper encounter but he hoped he had. He wanted to see Flash smiling with his whole face, nose scrunching, eyes smaller, because Jesus, fuck, he’s so adorable.

“My Mum wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if she found out the shit I have on my phone,” Flash replied, passing Timber a coy look, completely contradicting what he just said. Timber was suddenly very tempted to know what kind of stuffFlash had on his phone, but he’d save that for another day. If that day ever came (which Timber silently hoped it did). “Hang on,” Flash spoke again. “Twilight hasn’t shown you my Mum’s books before?”

“Huh.” Timber blinked and then drew his eyebrows in. “Twilight’s read them?!”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “She fangirled my ear off once she finished the fantasy series.”

“The fuck—I can’t believe she’s been hiding these from me.”

“Oop.” Flash pressed his lips together and looked away innocently. “I have nothing to do with it.”

Timber laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll get back at her.” After jotting down the book titles that Flash told him on his phone – tapping the star on the notes to make sure he remembered this next time he was aimlessly scrolling through his phone – he shoved it back into his pocket.

“We need to finish this.” Flash sighed, looking down at the trunk. Now hearing that, Timber didn’t want to continue chopping down wood. He just wanted to drag Flash by the hand – giving him an excuse to hold the boy’s hand – and take him on a walk through the Everfree Forest. To just talk. Talk about anything. He hadn’t felt this good and carefree about everything else around them since his dates with Twilight and those were months ago.

He had always tried his best to seem happy for the campers, especially when he and Twilight broke up. He was used to it, shielding his messier emotions. It was part of his job too and he had seen Gloriosa do it all the time so he could also say he learned from her. Sure, he always had fun with the kids at camp, helping them catch fish, making them laugh whenever someone got hurt so they’d feel better. But he had to admit, those moments were all short-lived.

Being around Flash was easy. He was so… Timber couldn’t even figure out how to word it. Every laugh he had with him felt real, normal, great. He felt great. Flash actually made him happy and left a lingering feeling in him that Timber knew he wouldn't be able to forget in an hour or so. He just wanted to fill this day up with as many conversations, arm nudges, giggles as possible so he’d spend days after thinking about it.

Timber picked up his axe reluctantly with an internal sigh. The quicker you get this done, the quicker you can talk, maybe find an opportunity to flirt, and ask him out. He took a glance at the boy and regret seeped into his system.

Flash bent over to grab his axe and Timber’s eyes wander to Flash’s shamelessly tiny shorts, how they slightly rode up his thighs. Then his eyes rose to the curve of Flash’s ass and—

Holy shit.

He couldn’t enjoy the side view for long as Flash stood up quickly, forcing Timber to avert his gaze. Timber almost swung the axe too harshly into the tree trunk, only a bit of the bark still holding itself together at the bottom.

Fuuuck. Timber turned his head slightly so he could screw his eyes shut and erase the many thoughts the treacherous side of his brain conjured up. He’s definitely not straight, what the fuck would a straight guy do with an ass like that anyway, holy shit.

Timber had barely gotten the chance to up his game and drop a flirt somewhere in their conversation and he was already—oh, for fuck’s sake.

Timber cut that last bit of the log and kicked it forward to move it out the way. The kick wasn’t too harsh, only harsh enough for Flash to shift his focus onto it for a split second. Timber estimated around twelve inches from the log where he finished off, his blade hovering over the bark.

“Um, Flash…” Micro spoke up.

Both of them raised their heads. They found Sandalwood and Micro with their backs turned to them, staring at the lake darkened by the trees. Micro snapped his head back and pointed his thumb in the direction of the edge of the lake, specifically where Spike was.

The dog managed to somehow jump onto a cliff-like rock, towering over a part of the lake that was nowhere near the shallow end, or as shallow as this lake could get. Timber heard the clatter of an axe behind him.

“What the fuck—Spike! I told you to stay on the tree stump!” Flash rushed past the others before Timber could reach out and grab his arm.

Timber squinted in search of Spike’s sudden motivation to move from his spot and caught sight of a brown, bushy-tailed creature. “It’s the squirrels again,” Timber groaned under his breath.

Just as he said that, he heard a voice all too familiar shout: “Spike! What are you doing?!” Timber shot his head to Twilight sprinting down the trail, Applejack speeding up behind her.

“I-I really don’t know how the hell he got up there—I’m sorry!” Flash called out, anxiety staining in his voice. An urge fueled Timber’s legs, an urge to run up and help Flash but he wasn’t sure if he should do anything. Or if he would be any help at all.

“No, no, it’s okay, Flash, this isn’t your fault,” Twilight assured him in a warm voice and then turned to her dog. “Spike, how in the world did you get up there?!” From the way Twilight’s words faltered at the word world, Timber could sense the girl biting back curses.

The squirrel jumped into the branches overhead, though it didn’t escape. It appeared to be changing its mind every second, crawling back and forth on the connecting limbs. Twilight’s scolding tone went in one dog-ear and out the other as Spike continued to ogle at the animal.

“Oh my lord,” Flash muttered in annoyance, gripping the edge of the rock to try and jump up.

Amongst the other three’s yells, Twilight taking cautious steps closer and attempting to avoid all the brambles and sharp-ended plants that could scratch along her shins, Flash grabbed onto a tree branch above his head. When pulling himself up, he almost reached the end of the rock to safely crouch down.

Twilight looked up from the ground. “Flash, it’s okay, you don’t need to—”

Before she could finish, the squirrel leapt onto the branch Flash’s fingers gripped, specifically on Flash’s fingers. Spooking him, he instinctively shook his hand off and lost that grip.

“Ow!” He stood from his fall and staggered away from the stone cliff. His body jittered in pain, hand sliding to his inner right thigh. Flash squeezed his eyes and he removed his hand in an instant, his jaw tightening. The second Timber caught red smears at the heel of his palm, he dashed to his cart, pushing the logs out of the way to pick up the first aid kit he kept around in case he got a splinter or cuts. He squeezed past AJ, Micro and Sandalwood, kneeling on both knees to inspect the injury.

“I’m okay—it’s nothing,” Flash said through a couple of forced laughs. Timber gripped Flash’s left ankle so the boy wouldn’t shy away and lifted his hand, thumb brushing lightly along the bigger tears. Flash cussed loudly.

“It’s nothing, my ass,” Timber deadpanned, but his hand momentarily rose to try to soothe the pain for him, only for him to realise he probably shouldn’t. Instead, he tapped his backhand against Flash’s calf for him to spread a little so Timber could access the cuts better.

Flash followed suit and moved his free leg to the side a bit. Timber clicked the kit open after brushing the blood off onto his shorts, fingers digging around for wipes.

The chime of Twilight’s telekinesis fluttered into Timber’s ears along with an apologetic whine from Spike. Flash, who was originally looking down at Timber as he tended his wounds, stared up and breathed a sigh of relief. Timber assumed with his back to them that the chaos had solved itself with magic and Spike was in safe hands.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not run after squirrels?” Twilight chided. “Flash, are you okay? What happened to your thigh?”

“S’all right, nothing a first aid kit won’t handle.” He plastered a smile for her, yet Timber could feel the pain behind it.

He wondered for a few seconds – as he unfolded the wet wipe with a flick of his wrist – about how well Twilight and Flash knew each other. He didn’t think anything of it, just curious. They spoke so softly and friendly to each other but not to the point where they seemed like they were trying to avoid awkwardness, it came naturally. Maybe it was just how their friendship was.

Speaking of awkwardness, he turned back to the others. “You guys can continue with what you’re doing, I’ll just take care of this.”

Applejack nodded, shooting Flash a warm and slightly pitying smile as she walked over to the cart.

“Seeing as you can’t behave around Flash since he’s too nice, I’ll keep an eye on you,” Twilight grumbled. Spike dodged his eyes over to Flash and whimpered, genuinely sorry for what happened.

“Twi,” Flash said and raised an arm, calling her to him. Once a puzzled Twilight reached them, Flash scratched Spike behind the ears, fingertips running through the dog’s purple fur.

“I’m sorry, Flash.” The dog frowned.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine,” he replied. He took a glance at Twilight and let out a chuckle. Timber assumed she made a face at Flash. “I forgive you. Don’t beat yourself up over it, ‘kay?” Spike nodded. “And you, don’t scold him too much.” Flash teased, swatting Twilight’s shoulder.

“Fiiine.” She rolled her eyes.

Faint footsteps in the wet soil faded into the background. Timber dabbed the wipe along the bleeding cuts, barely touching them at first in fear of hurting Flash. He paused for a split second when Flash’s hand came up to the edge of his shoulder. His chest tingled. This wasn’t the time to panic about the fact Flash was touching him so he carried on, forcing himself to forget about Flash’s hand on his body. When Timber wiped along the deeper tears, Flash’s fingers dug into Timber’s right shoulder as the boy grunted through clenched teeth.

“It’s okay,” Timber comforted. “It’ll be over soon, I promise.”

A gentle breeze overtook the splashes of the river. Flash spoke up again, but in mutters, “I wanted to help but I ended up getting injured instead. And it turns out I didn’t do much.” Timber frowned and glanced up.

“I mean, you tried,” he said in the softest voice he could.

Flash pulled the corner of his mouth into his cheek.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Timber smiled at him. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, you already help enough.”

From all the magic stories Twilight and Applejack tell him, they always loved to point out Flash helping them. Not only did he like hearing what they had to say about him, he just loved hearing how much of a genuine angel Flash was.

Before Flash could deny that again, Timber shrugged a shoulder, going back to the cuts. “I can get the girls to lecture you on how much you help.”

Timber gladly accepted the chuckle he brought out of the musician. He sensed a smile in the laugh before he touched the larger cut and Flash hissed. “Shit.”

“M’sorry.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Not your fault.” Flash caressed Timber’s shoulder he gripped onto too tightly. “Did I hurt you?”

“Nah. You’re good.” Timber waved it off. Still, Flash’s freezing fingers slid up to the crook of Timber’s neck. A good kind of freezing but the idea of Flash’s hand on him made Timber warm up more.

He continued to clean up the blood and did so quickly, yet Flash’s hand remained on his neck. He didn’t mind it there, of course, he just didn’t want Flash to notice how worked up he got over him. Honestly, Timber’s ego would’ve gone off the charts if he knew someone felt the same way towards him the way he did for Flash.

Flash’s other hand scratched the back of his injured thigh to distract himself from focusing on the pain. They were almost done – Timber just needed to peel off a large white plaster and stick it onto the wounds. The marks started closer to the front of Flash’s thighs and escaped down his inner thigh, so Timber had to position the plaster diagonally. He fumbled with it as he realised how close he was to Flash’s thighs now; it didn’t help that Timber was such a leg person.

He flattened the plaster twice more with the heel of his palm, making sure it was on Flash nicely. Timber groaned internally, wanting to scream at his dumbassery, as he closed the first aid kit and stood. He had to keep his eyes off Flash’s thighs now since he wasn’t in a position to gawk at them, but from what he could see in the image he etched into his mind, Flash had the thighs of a motherfucking dancer. The simple thought of Flash being a dancer alongside a musician was… really attractive.

Timber relaxed his hand on his own thigh as he got up, Flash removing his hand from Timber’s neck. For a moment he could feel how sweaty Flash’s hand had grown on his neck and he didn’t know if it was because of Timber or the contact between them.

Flash smiled and it was only then Timber realised Flash had a dimple in his right cheek. A fucking dimple. No wonder his smile is so addicting. “Thanks, Timber.” His name had never sounded so good out of someone’s mouth before.

“Don’t mention it,” Timber said. “Be careful, all right?” He didn’t think twice before resting a hand on Flash’s shoulder, feeling the firmness of it under his hoodie.

“All right,” Flash said. Timber wanted to coo at how tiny his voice had turned. Flash’s left hand came up to Timber’s bicep and Timber pulled his hand off Flash’s shoulder. “C’mon, we gotta finish with the wood.”

Timber let him go first, finally smacking his forehead with his palm. The shoulder thing meant bro. Fucking bro, who even was he, a straight white boy? He rolled his eyes, shoulders sulking. He was better than this.

He wasn’t aware of the time, and before Timber did, Flash had pulled out his phone. His fucking phone of the latest model. Timber had stared at it in awe before interrupting Flash with a mess of stutters and three enthusiastic what the fuck’s, causing Flash to laugh. He apparently had a model from three years ago before buying this one so he said he wasn’t one of those kids who live to burn off Daddy’s money – in Flash’s words. Still flabbergasted, Timber looked over Flash’s shoulder, studying the phone’s fancy design and how new it looked.

“You need to visit the city more,” Flash giggled, smiling with his eyes.

“Hm, maybe I will.” I want to visit it with you, though.

They eventually got all the wood cut by twelve past two, the incident at the lake bay having been fifteen minutes ago, and the four boys were making their way back with the remaining logs.

“You guys go ahead of me,” Timber had said to Micro and Sandalwood. “I’ll stay behind you to protect you from Gaea Everfree.” He was pleasantly met with Flash laughing and smacking his arm and the other boys rolling their eyes with a smile. However, when Flash had begun walking with the other two, Timber reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Uh, maybe I could use another hand to take on Gaea.”

Flash had looked back with a sweet grin and walked with Timber on his right. So there they were, behind Micro and Sandalwood.

“So, what are you into?” Flash asked. This was the first time he had initiated any small talk between them so Timber couldn’t help but straighten his posture, growing a little excited.

Flash already had the opportunity to learn about Timber’s family, or lack thereof, from CHS’ time at Camp Everfree, at the CCSMS, and probably from stuff Twilight might’ve told him, but the idea that he wanted to know more gave Timber additional hope that Flash didn’t hate him.

Flash probably didn’t hate him at all. Maybe it was just that little voice in Timber’s head that liked playing Insecurities with him.

“Hobbies, I mean. You know I love music and, now, reading; what about you?”

“Hm… well…” Timber trailed off with his train of thought, the passing sound of his cart’s wheels rolling on the dirt track filled the comforting silence. There were a few things he could say – star gazing, also reading, drawing… oh. Wait. “Sometimes I like filming and video editing in my free time.”

Flash’s eyebrows tilted upwards and Timber’s heart jumped, revelling in that reaction. “Filming and video editing—what the fuck, that’s awesome! What do you, like, film in particular?”

Timber was about to answer when he thought of something. “Pretty things,” he said while looking directly at Flash. Even if Timber knew what he was doing, he hoped the red in his cheeks wasn’t obvious.

Flash seemed to pick up on the flirting too as the end of his left eyebrow rose. Timber would’ve missed that completely if he hadn’t been staring attentively at his reaction. And maybe Timber’s mind was playing tricks on him but Flash’s vivid cornflower eyes twinkled with intensity, such intensity that caused heat to pool in Timber’s stomach.

He still blushed, but there was something different about it. It wasn’t the pretty red he had seen before; it was pink. It felt different too, less shy, more cheeky. Timber liked it. “Oh? What kindof pretty things?”

“Like,” Timber began, reaching up and lifting a tree branch out of their path, Flash ducking his head with him. Flash raised his axe and leaned the handle on his right shoulder. “Pretty flowers, pretty views, pretty people…” He trailed off with the tilt of his head. “Just to name a few.”

“I see,” Flash replied, fingers fiddling with the haft of his axe. “Cute.”

Timber watched the blush fade from Flash’s cheeks as the boy turned to look at the path, a small smile playing on his lips. He wasn’t sure what to take from that response other than the obvious: Flash was flirting back. There was a decently sized rock in the middle of the dirt path and if Timber didn’t look down to try and calm his cheeks down subtly, he probably would’ve tripped over it.

He chuckled, deciding to take the conversation more seriously now since he clearly couldn’t handle the possibility of Flash reciprocating his flirtatious antics. “So, most of the footage I have is, really, just day to day shit I do at the camp with my sister – of course not filming any of the students. I have a few clips of Twilight and me but not as much. I think I’ve been filming since I was… eleven? And editing ever since my sister caught me watching those fancy how to edit videos on YouTube and bought me video editing software for my twelfth birthday.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet! So you’ve done it for five to six years?” Flash looked at him again and he looked endeared. Timber’s heart drummed in his chest.

“Yeah, basically,” Timber said, shrugging the shoulder of the arm that was dragging his cart. Wait, did that look too dismissive? He didn’t want to seem uninterested in the conversation when it was practically the opposite.

“That’s amazing, oh my gosh.” Flash smiled at him. Okay, phew. “Have you shown them to anyone? Like, Twi?”

“Not Twilight, but I’ve shown one to Gloriosa. And not to be, ahem, me or anything but she really liked it.” Timber tried not to soundtoo proud of himself, but he couldn’t help it.

“That’s good! I’m glad.” Flash smiled fully. “I take it the films are personal?”

“Pretty much. Even though I don’t have that many people to share them with.” Timber felt himself frown and as soon as he noticed, he blinked out of it and pulled on a happy-neutral face.

“Oh, is it because you’ve been, like, stuck here for most of your life?”

“Mhm. I’ve recently been going out more ever since I became friends with the girls. They’ve taken me out to parties and such.” Not to mention numerous dates with Twilight before but he didn’t reaaaaally want to talk about them. Especially with Flash. “But yeah, I’ve been stuck here mostly.”

“You like going out a lot?” Flash asked.

“Yeah! While I love it here, it gets boring after a while, y’know?”

“Yeahh.” Flash repositioned the axe on his shoulder. “So where have you been? Outside of Camp Everfree?”

Timber blew out some air as he thought. “The Planetarium, Rarity’s Boutique for, like, literally a minute, a few restaurants here and there. And again, parties but I don’t know where they happen. Oh! And Canterlot Celestial Society Members’ Social.” He looked at Flash, wiggling his eyebrows at him to which Flash giggled and nudged him with his elbow. “But yeah, I think that’s it, to be honest.”

“Oh, wow. So, you really haven’t been out a lot. But you want to?”

“Yeah,” Timber said with a shrug. “It seems like so much fun. I also still want to go to the mall.” He glanced at his boots, making faint footprints in the dirt and dust.

“You still haven’t hung out at the mall?!” Flash jaw dropped.

Timber simply laughed. “I know, right?!”

“Not even with Twilight?”

He shook his head.

“Man.”

“You’d think the reason I haven’t is because I’m a sheltered kid, right?” Timber joked and then waved a hand. “It’s fine, I’ll convince Gloriosa someday.”

“You’ve got good convincing skills?”

“Only the best at Camp Everfree.” Timber clicked his tongue with a smirk.

Flash sighed out a chuckle. “You and your ego.”

“What? You gonna roll your eyes?”

“Nahh. But I’m tempted to punch you.” Flash said, lips vaguely pulling up to counter Timber’s smirk.

“You can punch me anywhere but my face.”

“Who’d wanna punch a face like yours?”

“People who think I’m too good-looking to be real.”

Flash laughed, pushing his shoulder. The cart behind them rattled from the movement. “Timber, I swear to God.”

Timber laughed with him until he processed Flash’s words. His smile dropped from his face as he looked down at the track, wonderstruck. A face like mine? Did that mean…? Timber stole a glance at the boy, blood rushing to his cheeks. He didn’t mean that. Right?

2. Flirt With Me

2. Flirt With Me

HE WAS SURE the boys ahead of them grew at least a little annoyed from hearing him and Flash go on and on behind them. But Timber couldn’t help it. He didn’t care either. He was almost addicted to talking with Flash, not just him. He was so much fun. Timber knew whatever feelings he had for him boosted after actually keeping multiple conversations with him and boy, he wasn’t complaining. Timber, also, should probably grab some water due to how many times the boy made him blush. God.

When the boys had gotten back, Flash had raced to the benches where Fluttershy and Rarity sat, jerking his head back when Rarity shoved her fixed fishing rod in his face, all decked up with ribbons and sparkles. Timber had no idea where she got them from but he had learned not to question the Fashionista’s capability.

The others had crowded around the table too, discussing how the fishing rod fixing task was. Timber slid a glance at Fluttershy’s rod, a complete contrast to Rarity’s. His eyes darted to Flash who picked Rarity’s rod up, smacking it against his palm to test its sturdiness. Rarity whined comically, arms wildly chasing after it. Flash laughed and pulled it away from her. Timber felt a grin climb up his mouth.

Gloriosa soon hurried up to them, tapping a finger twice on Sandalwood’s arm so she could squeeze past. “Hi, guys! We’re almost done with lakeside activities so the teachers were thinking of switching to making floating paper lanterns for tonight. I was wondering if you guys could—”

Her eyes caught the fishing rods on the table.

“—oh, wonderful, you guys fixed the rods! Mind if I take these?” She grabbed Fluttershy’s one with careful fingers and gazed up at Flash. He dropped the rod in her open hand and clamped his hands behind his back as if he was a kid who got caught messing around. “Thank you, sweetie. Back to what I was saying, could you guys lay out the tools, paper and instructions onto the benches?”

“Sure thing, Gloriosa!” Micro Chips gave her a thumbs up.

“Thank you so much, guys. Timber, come with me for a sec,” she said, her hand ushering him away from the group. They had discussed the rest of today’s activities while Timber dragged his cart to the hut. He practically had them memorised by now. Paper lanterns meant Timber had to stay up to watch where they floated off to, follow them and catch them before they set some part of Everfree on fire or contaminated the lake water.

It took some time to stack the rest of the wood back against the wall of the hut. Once he wandered back to the courtyard, Gloriosa ahead of him (who dipped into the cabin stack to grab something), he spotted all the students spread out amongst the tables.

Conversation buzzed louder from different tables. He could hear Rarity and Micro by one of the guys’ tables. Timber held back a snort when he saw most of the boys were ogling Rarity. Typical. She didn’t seem to be focusing on that, more so on what the boys were creating.

His eyes looked over at Fluttershy and Twilight, standing together while talking eagerly to a few girls. The Shy one had her chin hooked over Twilight’s shoulder, arms wrapped around the latter’s waist. If he asked, he knew Fluttershy would use her shyness as her excuse for standing too close to Twilight. He rolled his eyes at the idea, hoping to tease Twilight later.

Timber walked up to join his sister, eyes dodging to TwiShy every now and then to see if anything changed (and so he could cheer on Twilight because that was what best friends did). Gloriosa stood in the middle of the first five of tables, looking over everyone else, while the teachers took care of the three further away.

“How’s everything?” Timber asked in a whisper.

“Going great!” She whispered back.

“These lot are tiring.”

“You haven’t even been around them long, shush.”

Timber was about to retort when Gloriosa smacked his arm with her backhand to get his attention.

“Wait, why is that girl on her own?” She pointed a subtle thumb at the three tables near the docks, making sure she wasn’t obvious.

A girl sat by herself, snipping the card with her scissors. Her frame was almost similar to Fluttershy’s but less on the shy side. Nervousness enveloped her as she seemed to be forcing her eyes down on her table and not around.

Timber pulled his brows in, confused. Why was she on her own?

Without a second thought, he said, “I’ll take care of it,” before Gloriosa asked him to.

His walk turned casual as he ambled up to the girl, coming from in front so he didn’t scare her. The closer he got, he soon recognised her a little from when they were introducing Camp Everfree to the group. Jubilee Decor, he remembered and from quickly glancing at the name sticker on her Camp Everfree t-shirt, he remembered correctly. She looked average for a teenager, hair up in a pony-tail, quietly snipping into the card.

“Hey there!” He said once he was around a metre and a half away. The girl looked up and threw him a puzzled look before smiling a little, politely.

“Hi!”

“Mind if I sit here?”

Jubilee paused, most likely to think about it, and then shook her head. Timber sat in front of her, hands clamped together on the wooden table. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice why he decided to come here since he didn’t want this conversation to be tense and uncomfortable for her.

“Having fun making the lanterns?”

She nodded.

Timber chuckled. “You don’t speak much, do you?”

Her eyes widened. “Sorry… it’s not that. I’m new here.”

“Oh! My bad,” Timber replied. Jubilee being left alone made much more sense. “But that’s fine. How long have you been at this school for?”

“I haven’t transferred properly, I’m meant to go in for September this year.” She paused to finish cutting out what looked like a word in a different language. Timber almost tilted his head, impressed with the smooth cut of the fine details. Maybe he could do something like that with Bengali for his lantern next time. “I’m sorry if I seem shy, I’m not usually like that. At all, to be honest.”

Timber shook his head slightly. “That’s okay, I understand! It’s not a problem. So, why are you here with these guys if you haven’t transferred yet?”

“My Dad wanted me to join Summer School before I went in and this trip was part of that; he said it’d make my first day easier if I make friends here. But… I’m sure you can already tell that’s not working out.”

Oh. She caught on. Timber probably shouldn’t have assumed she wouldn’t.

Jubilee continued, “it’s okay, you’re a Camp Counsellor. It’s your job.”

Timber relaxed his shoulders. “My sister and I saw you on your own. I wouldn’t have approached you if you actually wanted to be alone, but I could tell you didn’t.”

To Timber’s slight surprise, the girl laughed a little. “You’re pretty observant.”

He felt himself smirk. “Thanks, I try.” Timber caught the girl rolling her eyes for a second but it wasn’t like he didn’t expect it. Besides, she was still smiling. “So, have you tried?” he asked.

“I have. I mean—well.” She pulled the corner of their mouth into her cheek. “I, um, kind of have.”

Timber raised his eyebrow.

“It’s just… awkward. And I’m new here so…” She frowned.

“Have any of your classmates gone out of their way to talk to you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to make them seem bad or anything, they are just living their own lives.”

“Yeah, that’s true. And besides, you guys are teenagers, it’s not really that surprising if I’m honest. Do you think you just need a bit more confidence?”

Jubilee shrugged. “As much as I’m not a shy person, my confidence levels aren’t… the highest.” Her shoulders fell.

Timber looked up from the card on the table, seeing the girl’s eyes dashing over to the students on the table behind them. It was decently packed and filled with chatter, the girls laughed and nudged each other, playing with their coloured card.

“Do you want me to help you in any way?” he suggested.

The girl cut a five-pointed star from her card. “Um…” She looked like she was going to respectfully decline the offer until her face changed. “Yeah! If that’s not too much to ask—”

She cut herself off when Timber glanced up at another student making their way to their table. He had seen her at the table behind this one, shifting out of her seat, as Jubilee was talking. He kept a neutral face when the other girl – he read off her nametag, Lotus Festivity – reached their table, leaning closer to whisper into Jubilee’s ear. Lotus looked at Timber every now and then, puzzling him. After she was done, she scurried off back to her table a few seconds after Jubilee nodded, albeit hesitantly.

“Thanks, Jubilee!” Lotus shouted, looking back with a grin.

“What was that about?” He chuckled to relax the girl’s nerves.

“Uh… she wanted to…” she mumbled. Jubilee looked down at the table and then groaned a little. “How do I say this…”

Even if it was rhetorical, he answered anyway. “Just say what she told you.”

“She wanted to know if you are single.”

Timber stiffened. “Oh.” He chewed on his bottom lip as his eyes darted to the girl and then back at Jubilee. He laughed to ease the awkwardness. “Wasn’t expecting that. But I can’t say I’m surprised either. She’s using you as a messenger?”

Jubilee shrugged. “She said it’s because a friend of hers, Night, wanted to know and I seemed to get along well with you, so she told me to ask you that. I can tell them what your answer is, it’s fine.”

Timber wet his bottom lip as he thought about it. Of course, he wasn’t going to try anything with her when he clearly didn’t want to, especially when he was set on someone else. But he didn’t want Jubilee to do it when it was his thing to say.

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll tell Night.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okayy.” She dragged it out with a sigh. “Can I know what your answer is?” Jubilee raised a teasing brow as she reached for her scissors again. For some reason, the shift from the soft and politeness in her voice to cheekiness suited her more so Timber assumed she was warming up to him.

Timber let out a light laugh and then answered, trying his best not to sound too awkward. “I’m… just not interested.”

“Ah. So you are single?”

“Yeah, I’m single all right. But…” Timber’s eyes rose above Jubilee’s head as soon as he caught a certain blue-haired guitar player walking by with Fluttershy, the two giggling like wild. They were a good distance away but he tensed when Jubilee shot around in a quick, and probably noticeable, motion.

“Oh.” Then, she smirked back at Timber. “Which one?” she wiggled her brow.

He held his tongue from going the one with the fucking angelic face. “The blue-haired one.”

“Oh.” Jubilee’s oh this time was much more playful. She spun back around. “You’ve got taste.”

Timber pouted subtly as he blushed. Well, she was right, he did have taste; anyone who thought Flash was hot had superior taste.

“Have you asked him out?” She asked cheerfully after quickly cutting out a heart from her card.

He leaned back to shift his legs, clicking his fingers at her. “I’m going to.”

“Ohhhh, I see. It’s a crush, then,” she teased.

Timber was about to bite back with it’s not! but if it wasn’t a crush, then what was it?

If it wasn’t a crush then why did his heart flutter, as fucking cheesy as that sounded, when he thought of Flash? Or why did he almost stumble on his feet when he caught Flash on the dance floor at one of those parties Pinkie had brought Timber to?

When he and Twilight met, that was more of a hey, you’re cute, I like you, want to go out sometime? which was normal, there wasn’t anything wrong with that. But with Flash, they knew each other for nine months at worst? And they knew of each other for longer. They didn’t have history but they had crossed paths more than thrice, enough times for Timber to take a liking to the boy and eventually grow attached (if that was the right way to put it).

Timber grew giddy around him. His heart beat a little more when Flash came into mind. He could almost say he was overflowing in dopamine during those times where he was just laying in bed, the thought of Flash passing through his mind and subconsciously coming up with little scenarios where they interacted.

And. Well. He hoped Flash liked him back, at least a little bit.

So yeah, his conceited ass aside, the strange feeling he had for Flash was a crush.

“You’re not denying it,” Jubilee said in a sing-song voice, to his ego’s slight chagrin but Timber brushed it off. To be honest, having a crush on Flash didn’t seem awful. And Flash seemed to like him back too (again, he hoped so, but if Jubilee was right about Timber being observant, then Flash liked being around him), so, win-win.

Timber shrugged a shoulder, a small smile forming upon his lips.

“You’re around our age, right?”

“Yeah. Why?” He joked.

Jubilee giggled and shook her head. “I figured you were a high schooler too, just checking to see I wasn’t teasing a college student about his gay-ass crush.”

Timber chewed on the inside of his cheek, almost pouting at the last bit.

“But yeah, regardless, good luck. With him and her.” She threw a look at the other table and Timber chuckled. It’ll be fine.

“Hopefully,” he said. “So, do you want me to bring someone to you so it doesn’t feel awkward? You can take it up from there. Because even while you should get yourself out there more, it’s common decency for someone to come up to you to ask if you wanna hang out.”

Jubilee nodded.

“So, how does that sound?”

“Good!” She smiled. “Uh, can I have a suggestion?”

“Oh, sure, go ahead.”

“Since you’re already going to be talking to her, could you ask Night, and, maybe, Lotus? You know, the—”

“The girl that came by, yeah,” he finished for her, nodding. “You want to be friends with her?”

Jubilee opened her mouth and then bit her bottom lip. Her eyes fell to the side of her bench and Timber caught on right before he saw the girl blush. “Oh.” He felt himself hold back from teasing her too. So I’m not the only one with a gay-ass crush. “Well, doesn’t hurt to help a fellow gay out.” He wiggled an eyebrow.

They shared a laugh. Jubilee dropped her scissors and card to flick her hands, probably to get rid of any hand cramps. He was going to start another conversation about the lanterns but then Fluttershy walked up from behind Jubilee with a friendly grin. “Oh, hi, Fluttershy.”

She waved at him. “Hi, Timber! How are things going?” She asked. Timber would’ve answered if his eyes didn’t follow the boy catching up to her. His lips unconsciously pulled back up into a smile when Flash’s eyes met his own. They were bright, so adorable, less intense and intimidating unlike before but Timber didn’t want to speak too soon.

“Going well,” he said before the silence turned awkward.

“Who’s this?” Flash asked and Timber felt his back teeth clench at Flash’s voice, just realising that he loved the sound of it.

Oh, he definitely had a crush on him. Who else would melt at that voice and say they didn’t? Jubilee lifted her head to try and see them but then decided to just turn around.

“Hello!” she said cheerfully.

“Hi!” Flash waved, equally as joyous.

Timber forced a smile, hoping Jubilee doesn’t snitch on him. “Hiya,” He said, tossing him a wave. Flash gazed up at Timber and his close-lipped smile widened.

“Hi,” he said, tone much softer. If Flash’s smile didn’t make his heart pump ten times more per second, then this did.

“Wait,” Jubilee interrupted, looking between Fluttershy and Flash. Timber was unsure if he was (pettily) annoyed or thankful she intervened but he didn’t think too much on it. “I don’t want to assume but…” She focused her gaze on Fluttershy. “Are you Korean?”

Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! We both are.” She pointed a finger between her and Flash.

“Are either of you from Busan?” she asked with wide, curious eyes.

Fluttershy giggled but sulked her shoulders while this time Flash’s face lit up. “I am!”

“I’m not,” Fluttershy said. “I’m from Seoul.”

Timber watched as Flash eagerly gestured his hand so they’d shuffle down the bench seat, making room for him to sit. “Are you from Busan too?” he asked Jubilee.

“Yeah! I am!” She grinned. Timber glanced down at the word the girl had cut out from her lantern card and it definitely looked like Korean.

“Can you speak it well?” Flash asked.

“Ehhhh. Barely,” she responded sheepishly.

Flash waved a hand. “Oh, honestly, same.”

Fluttershy scoffed. This was probably the first time Timber had heard her do something not so… sweet. “As if. You’re literally fluent in Satoori.”

Flash glared at the scoff. “I’m literally not, do you know how many times I’ve got Seoul Standard and Busan Satoori mixed up?”

“Wait,” Jubilee butted into their banter. The next sentences that came out of her mouth were in a thick accent, voice going a little deeper, and obviously words Timber didn’t understand. He couldn’t tell if she had a western accent but she sounded like she was fluent. Flash laughed at what she said and replied in Korean too.

Timber would be lying if he said his eyes didn’t widen at the change in voice. He wasn’t sure why but it might be due to the fact it was Satoori and not Seoul Standard; Timber had heard of Seoul Standard before and as far as he was aware from watching K-Dramas with Twilight back then, Satoori was more tonal.

He felt his cheeks heat up from the slight change in Flash’s voice and he knew there wasn’t anything to be attracted to, but Flash’s accent sounded… attractive? Timber’s cheeks heated up more at that idea. There was something about hearing someone – who normally had such a soft husky voice – talk in a slightly raspier voice due to a dialect that Timber didn’t know he liked until now.

He kept his cool, though. Plastering on a small smile, he carried his gaze onto the table, occasionally looking at the pair speaking in front of him as well as stealing a glance at Fluttershy.

Jubilee finished her conversation with a giggle before turning to Fluttershy. “Do you—” she stopped when her voice was still stuck in that tone she used for Korean. Jubilee cleared her throat. “Sorry, I was going to ask if you know Seoul Standard Korean?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, I do and I can speak it too! But I can understand and speak Busan Satoori because my Mum speaks it and I picked up some stuff from her. I just sound weird when speaking it.”

Flash muttered something to Jubilee in Korean to which the girl burst out laughing and Fluttershy’s jaw dropped.

“I don’t sound like a dying cow, excuse you!” huffed Fluttershy and Flash snickered, using his backhand to cover his mouth. Timber pressed his lips together to not laugh too. “Rude.”

Timber felt a tap against his shoulder, bringing him away from the conversation between the three and he saw Twilight. He grinned and moved a little so she could sit.

“They seem to be having fun,” Twilight said, eyes dodging to the trio, or mainly Flash and Fluttershy poking fun at each other while Jubilee laughed.

“Yeah, they are.”

“You’ll get used to seeing Fluttershy like this. Flash manages to get the older sister out of her. In a good way.” Twilight crossed one leg over the other, one elbow on the table. She stole another glance at the pair once more before jabbing his arm with her finger and gesturing to him to come closer. He tried to not make a face as he leaned in.

“What?” he hissed.

“I’ve never seen you get so worked up over a boy, Spruce,” Twilight teased, wiggling one brow. Timber’s eyes widened and he felt his cheeks burn. “If anything, I saw you eye up boys at those parties Pinkie forced you to go to only for you to sleep with them. Nothing like this.”

“H-hey.” He pulled back and sat properly on the bench seat, hiding his face from Twilight.

“Please.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Don’t act shy now, it’s not like you’re hiding it well. I’m sure everyone can tell you like him.”

“Good. I’m not trying to hide it.”

“Oh?” Twilight raised a brow. “Well, what are you planning? Something big?”

“If something big you mean asking him out, then yeah. Just need to find the confidence.” He said the last bit to himself more than Twilight. But she noticed.

“Confidence? Why? You’re confident enough,” Twilight retorted, swatting his shoulder with her backhand playfully. “What more do you need?”

“Uhhh…” Timber looked at her and then his eyes dodged to Flash for a second. “Well… confessing is going to take a lot of that. And I want to ask him out too while making him blush,” he said, voice dropping quiet at the end. “I kind of want it to be as close to perfect as possible.”

Twilight smiled at him. “Do you like him that much?”

Yes, yes I do. “I guess you can say that.”

“That’s so adorable,” Twilight giggled and punched his arm.

“Stop doing that, idiot.” Timber rubbed the spot. “But yeah, he’s just…”

“Amazing?” Twilight finished for him and Timber simply responded by looking at his hands in his lap, pulling one corner of his mouth into his cheek sheepishly as his cheeks flared. “It’s not like I disagree. You want it to go well, I understand. Good luck, Timbie.”

“You know you’re not allowed to call me that anymore, right?” He glared.

Her shrug almost got him to snarl at her. “Also I think you should know that you’re not even the tiniest bit subtle about the fact you like him in all departments.”

“The fuck do you mean by all departments?” Timber eyed her.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Twilight replied, eyeing him back with a grin. Okay, she wasn’t wrong; he just didn’t want to admit it to anyone other than Flash.

Timber muttered a series of embarrassed noises, maybe he added a little whine in there, under his breath as he looked away from her. “But—says you.”

Twilight looked slightly taken aback by the sudden remark but she hid it as quickly as she could. “What.”

“Don’t think I don’t see you cuddling up with Miss Shy over there.” Timber leaned his head on one hand, all too proud of himself for catching his best friend off her guard.

“It’s not like you’re not affectionate either.”

Timber held back his snicker at her miserable attempt at a comeback. “Shy wrapping her arms around your waist and hooking her chin over your shoulder doesn’t have a heterosexual explanation to it, Sparkle,” he sang.

She stayed quiet, lip curled as she tried to avoid her defeat in this. Timber remained silent with her, holding back his smug smile just in case she whipped something up. When she didn’t (instead, she sighed), Timber let that smile break free.

“Cocky bastard,” she spat.

Timber barked out a laugh. “I’ll give you a deal. If Flash ends up going out with me, I’ll tell you all about it.” Twilight’s eyes sparked in interest. Of course. “Only if you tell me about what’s going on between you and Fluttershy, ‘kay?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him before rolling them up to the corner in thought. It only took around fifteen seconds for her to give in and agree. “Fine. Deal.”

“Great!”

“By the way,” Twilight said, bumping her shoulder against his. “Someone likes Sentry’s Satoori accent.” She literally cackled at Timber’s expression. “Gosh, you are so fun to tease.”

“I hate you.”

“Hate you too.” She pulled at the tip of his beanie, ruffling his hair with her other hand, before simply chucking the hat back onto his head. “Oh.” Twilight’s voice collapsed to the quietest it could go once she looked away from Timber. “Pretty boy alert.”

“Twilight, I swear to—”

“Hiii,” Flash said cutely, poking his arm. Timber swore his mind malfunctioned for half a second before he grinned, fixed his hat and returned the gesture, poking his arm too. Timber’s mood sweetened and he was starting to think Flash Sentry had something to do with that. Flash rested his chin on his arms, crossed on the table, and asked: “whatcha up to?”

“Nothing much,” he said, stealing a glance at Twilight who got up from her seat and made her way over to Fluttershy and Jubilee. “You?”

“Decided to take a break from those two.” He pointed his thumb at the two next to him. Flash took a look at them before deciding to move, to which Timber shuffled along his seat so he could sit next to him. Timber watched the gap between their thighs and it wasn’t much.

“I was wondering actually.” Timber crossed one leg over the other. “Do you know how to write in Korean? Seoul Standard?”

Flash rolled up his hoodie sleeves that had slid down his arms. “Yeah. But the only reason I do is because I’m studying it outside of school,” he chuckled. “What about you? Do you know how to write in Bengali?”

Timber’s heart skipped at that. He remembered? Timber recalled mentioning he was Bengali once in their conversations and he almost forgot that he mentioned that to Flash. So the fact he remembered…

Okay, maybe it was something Flash did naturally but that didn’t mean Timber didn’t feel good about it.

“Yup! I’d say that’s because I found books for learning the written language in my parents’ old stuff and I had too much time on my hands.”

“That’s so cool!” Flash gazed to his side, focusing on the spare pieces of card Jubilee had on her table. “I think I know what Bengali looks like but I’m not one hundred percent sure. So…” He reached out for the card, essentially finishing what he was going to say and Timber grinned.

“You want me to write something?”

“Yeah! If you don’t mind.” Flash snatched a pencil too and placed it in front of them. His hands slipped between his thighs in shy anticipation of Timber’s answer. As if I’d say no to you.

Timber picked up the pencil and hovered it over the card, tapping his foot as he thought of what to write.

I like your smile. Timber pressed his lips together as he wrote out all the letters in Bangla. His arm lost some of its steadiness along the way when he reminded himself that Flash was watching him, causing him to curse internally. “There.” The lines and curves of his letters were okay, just inconsistent in some areas.

Flash moved closer and turned his head to look at. His thigh brushing against Timber’s totally didn’t make something in his pants heat up. Totally. “Your handwriting’s so cute.”

Timber bit his lip, giggling. “Why don’t you write something?” He pointed the end of his pencil at Flash.

Flash took the pencil and twirled it around in his fingers. Timber watched in awe until he spoke again. “Hm… I don’t really know what to write.”

“A lyric, maybe?” Timber suggested. Flash looked at him, a smile breaking from his lips before he placed his hand over the card. He chewed his bottom lip for a bit before it looked like something clicked in his head and he went ahead to write something down.

Timber peered over and watched him write Korean words out. He assumed Flash would write something in English and not in Korean but it wasn’t like he minded, not at all. His eyes flittered over his handwriting and then at the curves and lines of Flash’s words too. “Your handwriting’s better than mine,” Timber laughed, leaning closer to see the words.

“Oh, shush, you,” Flash said playfully, swatting his shoulder. “So, this is from Trivia: Love.”

“What does the lyric translate to?” He asked almost instantly, nearly bouncing on his seat in curiosity.

Flash recited it in Korean first, the pencil tip running over the sentence he wrote. The words came out so smoothly and the smile Flash had on, along with the blush decorating his cheeks, gave it a different feeling. And then he said it in English.

Timber felt his jaw hang low. “Whoa,” he said. “That’s so pretty and poetic, oh my gosh.” Flash jotted down the English translation under the Korean.

He giggled at his reaction. “It is! There’s so much to this lyric in particular and why I like it so much but I’m probably gonna blunder on about it sooo…” Flash placed the pencil down.

“Nooooo, tell me!”

“I’ll tell you later!” Flash replied with a grin.

“Later?” His arms went slack for a bit, genuinely puzzled at what that meant. “As in later today?”

Flash shook his head. “As in the next time I see you.” He smiled.

His mind definitely malfunctioned then. The next time you see me? What did that mean? It wasn’t what he was thinking, right? Because if it was, he probably wouldn’t be able to—

“You…?”

“Want to see you again after this? Hell yeah, of course!” Flash said like it was obvious. “Why wouldn’t I? I like hanging around you.”

Holy fuck.

Timber’s mind, at this point, was replaying that like a broken videotape, amongst a few questions added with the mix. Flash liked being around him? Is he being serious? Does he actually like being around him? Holyfuckholyfuckholyfuck.

So, yeah. Timber was losing his shit.

Though, he couldn’t stop smiling. “I mean, I am a great person,” he said, really, just to get the laughs out of Flash. And he succeeded.

“You are,” Flash agreed, the quick moment of laughter relaxing a bit.

It didn’t matter if Flash meant that in a friendship or a romantic way, all he could think of was that Flash Sentry enjoyed his company and wanted him around more. And that, forgetting his ego, felt so fucking good. He really couldn’t describe it. His cheeks pained a little from smiling so much but it was a good sort of pain, one that didn’t bother him, not one bit. His chest? Completely warm, wonderful, like, flowers, roses, daisies, cornflowers blooming inside? Was that a good way to word it? Not to mention his heart going completely bonkers in here, thumping in his ears too.

Just. What the fuck.

“So, yeah, I’m just… I’m interested in someone else. I’m sorry.” Timber said with an awkward smile.

Night shook her head. “It’s all right, don’t worry about it.” The look on her face clearly spoke disappointment but there wasn’t much Timber could do about that without jeopardising his own feelings. “But yeah, thanks for telling me straight to the point.”

“Of course. And…” Timber tossed a look over at Jubilee who was talking with Twilight, Fluttershy helping her cut pieces out of her lantern card. “If you don’t mind me asking, have you guys spoken to Jubilee outside of… well, telling Lotus to ask Jubilee to ask me if I was single?”

She pulled her lips into an embarrassed grin, eyebrows drooping down. He knew that face, had seen it too many times to know what it meant. “No… not really.” She bared her teeth and he couldn’t tell if she was faking it or she genuinely felt bad.

“Well, maybe you should. You don’t have to introduce her to your group of friends if you don’t want to. Just talk with her.” Timber said.

“I knowww, but…”

“But what?”

Her response was a face he also knew. Do I haaaave to? Oh, for goodness sake.

“Think about it from her perspective. Be in her shoes, even. Wouldn’t you like it if someone came up to you and made you feel more comfortable because you’re new here?” Timber explained. He had to go at this as patiently as he could because if he scolded her, he doubted it would make any sort of difference.

The girl nodded, one hand holding her other arm behind her back. “Yeah… I see your point.”

“Right? If it doesn’t work out, that’s completely okay. But trying doesn’t hurt, does it?”

She shook her head. The first time he had done this sort of ‘pep talk’, he felt extremely weird, especially since he was only sixteen around the time and the person he was talking to was his age, perhaps older. But now he had more experience in the Camp Counsellor aspect (or as much as he could since he technically wasn’t an official Camp Counsellor, but whatever). And he was used to it after two years, so it didn’t feel so strange anymore.

“Understand?” He said with a smile, hoping the girl knew she wasn’t in trouble of any sorts. He was also wishing she wasn’t playing one of those teen tricks they used on teachers just to get out of doing stuff they didn’t want to do. “And y’know, you don’t have to do it by yourself if you don’t want to either. You can bring Lotus, for example, along if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

The girl nodded. “Yeah. I’ll try.”

“Good.”

He stole a rapid glance at the person standing by the docks, who he had caught walking there while he was talking. Timber’s chance was right there, out fresh, in the sunlight and he’d be fucking stupid to not take it when he could. Go, go, go.

“I need to be somewhere right now, so if you would excuse me.” Timber prompted, but just before he tossed her a wave, he gestured to Jubilee’s table with his chin. The girl followed his gaze, realising what he meant and then nodded, turning around and jogging her way to her table. Timber kept his eyes on her as Night lingered around, standing by Lotus for a few seconds before making their way to Jubilee’s table.

Timber took that opportunity to sprint to the docks, soon slowing down his pace once he reached the bit where grass turned into wood.

Flash had taken off his hoodie, leaving him in his white t-shirt. Timber was not and probably could never get used to Flash’s body proportions. Seeing him from a distance made the slight dip of his waist much easier to point out, especially with the light breeze blowing at his shirt. The idea of Flash being so pretty inside as much as he was outside made every interaction Timber had with him much harder to believe.

Flash had his arms crossed once Timber stepped foot onto the wooden planks. The wood creaked once under his feet and Timber cringed a little at the sound. Flash turned his head a fraction in his direction, catching him from the corner of his eye.

“Nice view, huh?” Timber went with, knowing very well how suspicious he sounded.

Flash playfully scoffed. “You’re gonna start a conversation like that?”

“Listen, I’m trying to set a mood.”

Flash arched his eyebrows.

“Also, off-topic, but,” Timber said. He signalled to Flash’s leg. “How’s your thigh?”

“It’s all right. Feels weird every now and then.” As if on instinct, Flash lowered a hand to the area, itching the skin around it. “It happens though, so I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Mhm,” Flash nodded and then adjusted the length of his shorts, pulling them down further his thighs. Timber stopped himself right there, knowing he’d go on about them for days upon end. “So, what brings you here?” Flash asked.

“Honestly? I wanted to talk to you.”

“Again?” Flash laughed.

“Hey, you said you liked hanging around me,” he said, jutting out his bottom lip.

Flash giggled and pushed his shoulder. “I do, silly.”

“What brings you here?” Timber took a step closer, hands behind his back, steadily cutting down the space between their hips.

“I actually needed some fresh air. Being social has tired me a bit,” Flash chuckled and somehow Timber could feel the exhaustion in his voice.

“Oh.” Timber bit his bottom lip. Should he wait until later? But there was only so long he could wait and he had no idea when they were leaving. He doubted they’d stay late. But, even then… he wanted to be considerate of Flash’s space. “I could leave you alone for a bit if you want? I’m good with that.” He held his thumb pointing away from the docks, turning his body away to start walking.

Flash turned his head and grabbed for Timber’s wrist, fingers so tenderly touching the heel of his palm but grip firm to stop him from walking away. That, or the fact Flash was touching his hand caused his brain to stop functioning, setting a chain reaction all over so his body would stop too.

“No, no, I don’t mind! I, um, want you here. And… I did say I liked hanging around you.” Flash tugged at his hand. Timber could practically sense shock waves tingling his fingers and he hoped Flash didn’t feel them too. For the sake of his dignity.

“Oh, okay. That’s good too.” He, instead, smiled at him and returned to his place but this time closer.

Their hip proximity had lessened even more now, barely leaving room for their hands. Not only did Flash not let go of Timber’s hand, but his fingers also slipped into his and clasped around his hand. Saying their hands fit perfectly into each other’s was corny enough as it was, but they did.

Hardly any part of Flash’s hands were rough, aside from his fingertips maybe, but Timber knew that was probably from the guitar. Timber shifted his fingers a little, insecurity sneaking up on him, worming its way into his head. He knew his hand was anything but as soft as Flash’s, most of it because of camp work. He felt it against Flash’s, how rough and worn they were but judging from how Flash’s fingers tightened his grip, Flash didn’t mind. Timber could almost go with the thought that Flash liked how his hand felt. His hand tingled at the thought.

“You okay?” Flash said after a moment of silence. Timber had zoned out for a bit by relishing the feeling of Flash’s hand in his but he noticed Flash was looking at him.

“Yeah,” Timber replied, though he didn’t expect his voice to come out as hoarse as it did. “M’fine.”

“You sure? Because I’ve been meaning to ask…” Flash sounded uncertain, as well as a bunch of other things that Timber couldn’t decipher. “The thing is, you like being with me and stuff, but you seem so… nervous? Like, I’d catch you staring at me or zoning out around me. So, I’m just confused, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Timber wet his bottom lip before biting at it. “I…”

“Yeah?”

“I…” Timber then groaned. Just say it.

“Just say it, it’s okay,” Flash said with a comforting smile. He looked so warm, so compelling. Seeing him alone brought the words up his throat.

Say it, say it, say it, come on, say it.

“I like you.”

Flash froze, smile faltering. Timber’s mind collapsed into a pool of fear. He felt so vulnerable, bare, unprepared, and not confident. He had no idea why he turned so fucking nervous, why he wanted to melt into a puddle and drip into the lake at that moment when he confessed. Was this what it was like when confronting the person he liked about his own feelings? If it was, he didn’t like it.

Timber hadn’t realised the boy had let go of his hand to hold his shoulder until now. He expected Flash to frown so he winced in preparation. But when he looked back at him, he was smiling again. Almost in a state of surprise and shock but also solace.

“You like me?”

“Yeah.” Timber pulled his mouth into a straight line. His chest felt like he was a laptop overheating and if Flash didn’t say anything, he’d bust.

“Wait, so…” Flash’s hand slid down to Timber’s bicep, falling to his side as he looked away. His brows furrowed. “When you were staring at me… that was you checking me out?” He turned to Timber again.

Timber tilted his head in semi-agreement. “…Half of the time. The other half was because I… I like looking at you.”

Flash opened his mouth and then closed it, eyes looking at the lake and then back at him. “I’m so—you like—are you serious?”

“Yes?” Timber responded, worry clouding his thoughts. Despite the boy still smiling, genuinely happy, Timber’s body grew restless by the minute. He needed an answer, any answer. Say yes or no, I like you or I don’t like you like that, just—anything.

“Sorry, I’m just—” Flash took a deep breath. “I-I like you too.”

If Timber was walking at that moment, he definitely would’ve tripped over his own boots. Or maybe his entire body would’ve paralysed itself and completely stopped operating. Timber’s eyes grew wider, heart completely pounding in his chest. Regardless if that was its way of celebrating or freaking out, he had no idea how to get it to stop.

“You do?” he managed to force out, his voice coming out at a higher pitch.

“Yes? Wasn’t it obvious?”

“No?”

“How was it not?!” Flash spoke back in a similar tone, body jolting slightly in laughter, disbelief and relief mixed. “I literally held your hand! Fingers intertwined!”

“I hold hands with my friends all the time so how was I supposed to know based on that?! Anyway, I wasn’t even sure if you were gay!”

Now Flash stared at him in utter perplexity, stuttering out an um, what? He took a step closer, their chests almost brushing. Timber also realised, with entirely unwarranted realisation, that he was just the tiniest bit taller than Flash. That idea dropped something into his pile of thoughts, thoughts he couldn’t even begin to figure out because of how messy they already were.

“You didn’t think I was straight,did you?” Flash whispered, still confused but smiling in a slightly cheeky way.

Timber brought his hands up in a stuttering attempt of defence. “Okay, listen, I don’t like to assume—I was eighty-nine percent sure you weren’t straight, but I—”

Flash pinched the fabric of his shorts and lifted it up a little to signal to them. “What straight guy would wear shorts as small as this, please.”

Timber sputtered some noises out and then pointed at Flash’s shorts. “That was exactly my point but I wasn’t sure!” He paused. “Wait, did you tell anyone?”

“Everyone who came with me knows.”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah, all of them were teasing me, couldn’t you tell?”

Timber shook his head slowly but thought back to the other guys exchanging looks, Twilight’s amused and endeared expression. His shoulders collapsed once he figured it out, letting a sigh through his nose.

Flash laughed and then pushed his chest. Timber wished he would do that again. He didn’t care if Flash pushed him, he just wanted him to touch him somewhere. Anywhere.

“But yeah, I do like you, what the fuck. Wait.” Flash’s face fell. “Do you like me in a romantic way?” he asked. Timber was about to respond but Flash continued. “Because I, um, like you romantically and I think I saw you staring at my ass or something so do you—”

“Oh,” Timber said. “I-I don’t—I mean, well, I do—I-I like you in both ways! In all ways, actually,” he corrected, holding his hands behind his back.

He giggled again, resting a hand on Timber’s arm. Literally, who told you to be this cute. “Well, good. I like you in all ways too.” He beamed. “So wait, were you staring at my ass? I’m still not sure.”

“Um.” Timber clasped his mouth shut, eyes darting to the water and its soft currents.

Flash cheekily grinned and then burst out laughing, almost collapsing onto Timber. “You know what, I’ll leave you be.” He pats Timber’s shoulder.

“Flaaash,” he whined, slightly pouting. “I swear I thought I’d be the confident gay,” Timber muttered under his breath.

“You know what, me too. I didn’t think you’dget so flustered over me,” Flash commented, poking his tongue into the corner of his cheek.

“Who wouldn’t, though?” Timber turned his body fully around to face the end of the docks. His shoulders relaxed at the breeze coming in heavier, allowing the coolness to wash away the heat he gained from standing too close to Flash.

Flash mirrored his actions, arms still crossed. “What do you mean?”

“As in, you’re amazing? Talented? Gorgeous? I could go on.” Timber glanced at the ground.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Flash holding his head low to hide what looked blush on his cheeks. Red. “C’mon,” Flash muttered out in a shy voice.

“I’m being honest.” Timber’s cheeks flushed. “There’s a reason I’ve had a crush on you for months.”

Flash looked at him. “Is that why you got so apprehensive around me today? Because I’m sure someone who simply likes me wouldn’t be so keen on avoiding eye contact with me or be so flustered about me touching them.” He said, hip-checking him.

Counter to what Flash said, Timber attempted to not panic at that movement. “Was it that obvious?”

Flash lifted his eyebrows at him.

“I see.” Timber looked away. “I’m sorry I’m not as, I don’t know, myself? Right now? I think that might be because of my crush on you. It probably blew my confidence into the fucking water for all I know.” He glanced over at the lake.

Flash shook his head. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’m completely okay with you being more flustered as much as I am with you being more flirty. Even if I didn’t get to see Flirty You much today.” He poked Timber’s chest.

“You sure?” Timber asked, voice faint.

“Mhm,” Flash said, nodding.

“You sure sure?”

Now Flash rolled his eyes, a sound coming out of his mouth that sounded like a fusion of a scoff and a snort. “Come on, the idea of me, theklutzy dork who stutters literally twenty-four-seven, flustering you, the guy I like as well as the flirting expert with a shitload of confidence? I’d be stupid to not enjoy the hell out of that.”

“Klutzy?” Timber furrowed his eyebrows. “As if those thighs aren’t dancer’s thighs.” He meant it as a joke because he couldn’t deny Flash was klutzy. Sure, it wasn’t a personality trait but he did make it cute. Plus, he wasn’t even sure if the comment on his thighs was accurate.

He didn’t expect Flash to gaze down at his thighs before staring back up at him with a smirk. “You’ve got a good eye. They are.”

Timber’s face fell. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” He grinned, cheeks gaining that infamous pink colour again.

“Fuck.” Seriously. How did he get so lucky?

To no surprise, Flash snickered at Timber’s response. “But I’m still a klutzy dork either way. I trip on my own fucking shoes when I’m heading to Dance class. And yes, my laces are always tied.”

The scene played in his head and Timber giggled.

Thinking about that, he took the opportunity to look Flash up and down, where he felt allowed to. “Since we’re playing Honesty right now, I’m still not over how hot—”

He didn’t notice until now that Flash wasn’t looking at him. Okay, he was looking, but not directly at him. The blood found its way to Timber’s cheeks yet again when he watched Flash’s eyes raked over his own figure. Those enchanting, intense cornflower eyes hung around his half-exposed arms, falling to his torso and then his shorts. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel as ego-boosting as it felt fucking amazing.

Some kind of calm adrenaline passed through his system once it clicked in his head that Flash was blatantly checking him out. Like he wantedTimber to know he was taking him all in right where he could see him.

“What are you doing.” It came out more like a statement than it did a question. Flash’s eyes shot up to meet his gaze.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He replied, smug.

“Well…” Timber really didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just turned his head, letting his cheeks flare.

Flash cocked his head, tongue poking the inside of his cheek. “I’m just… really surprised you didn’t notice me feeling up your arm and shoulder in the woods earlier.”

“What.”

Fuck, he did. He so did. Flash most certainly had his hand on his shoulder when he got that injury, then his hand had slid to his bicep, not to mention right before they went into the woods that Flash was clearly staring at him. Timber is so stupid. This crush had turned him stupid.

Flash pressed his lips together to either stop himself from laughing or smirking and Timber just couldn’t look him in the eye while he still felt the tingles of Flash’s hand on his arm.

Timber wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He knew he was far from ugly. But thinking, or in this case, knowing this absolute angel found him attractive sent all kinds of signals in his brain. He could bury himself in a hole, force a flirt out, panic, say something back. And out of all of that, the very former seemed the most appealing. Oh, what the fuck.

“Are you able to bring Flirty Timber out now?” Flash asked innocently.

“Why yes, I can definitely ask him to come out but I’m sure he’s gonna say no,” Timber grumbled. Flash nudged his side. “I still need to register the fact you like me back.” He said, adjusting his beanie.

“Oh, okay.” He tossed him a mischievous smile. Jesus. “So, I guess you’re not gonna ask me out then.”

“I—what.” Timber blinked at him.

“I swear that’s what you’ve been trying to do all day, ain’t it?” Flash continued, intentionally ignoring his intervention. Timber swore he caught Flash snicker.

He let out a tired groan and leaned his head on Flash’s shoulder. “Flash, give my heart a break.”

“How about… no.” Flash made a heart shape with his hands. Timber lifted his head up to see his face and he closed his eyes, sighing again. Flash was the best and most wonderful kind of unbearable he’d ever met. Flash chuckled. “Hey… you know you can just ask me out, right? No need to force yourself to do anything to impress me, just do what feels natural, okay?”

“Okayy. I got this,” he muttered to himself.

Flash grinned. “You got this.”

Timber steadied his breathing and cleared his throat. “Okay, so you can say no, but—”

Flash pulled his eyebrows in, as if to say are you serious.

“Shush.”

He laughed.

“Flash Sentry, do you want to go on a date with me?” A smirk finallyformed itself naturally upon Timber’s lips and he bowed, holding a hand out to him. Flash said he could ask him out normally but natural instincts were natural instincts.

Flash threw his head back, overdosing in laughter as he took Timber’s hand. “Yes, Timber Spruce, I would love to go on a date with you.” Timber took it a bit further and tugged Flash closer to him. The inside of Timber’s chest burned in delight when the boy squawked and grew shy against his body. “I feel tingly,” he said, hand squirming in Timber’s. He pulled away to wipe what he assumed was sweat off his hand and then it slipped back into Timber’s again.

“Now you know how it feels.”

Flash kissed his teeth. “As if I don’t feel like jumping when you touch my shoulder.” He took a step back, returning to their normal positions.

“Wait, really?” Timber’s eyes widened. He glanced down at his shoulder and brushed it against Flash’s.

The boy shuddered. “Timber!”

“You’re so, so adorable.”

“No, you.”

“No. You.” Timber booped his nose. Flash blinked and glanced down at it. Yes, you. “You flirting is something so new to me. How do I get more of it?”

“You like it?” Flash asked, playing with his hands.

“I’d be stupid not to.” Throwing his words back at him made Flash smile. “But, no, yeah, I do like it. A lot. I… think I like being on the receiving end, if not more so.”

Flash dropped his head, cheeks reddish-pink. Perhaps he liked that colour on him the most.“I guess, if flirting is the easiest way to get what I want then why not?”

Timber pressed his lips together.

“Is it bad to also say I feel more confident and flirty from knowing you’re stuck in My Crush Likes Me Back??? mode?” he said. “Because I know that as soon as you come to terms with the fact I like you, your flirtatious antics will come spiralling back.” He made a spinning motion with his finger. “I wanna enjoy this as much as I can.”

“Touché. Maybe less so now that I know you can fluster me.”

Flash shook his head, passing him a soft smile. “That doesn’t mean I won’t yelp when you casually rest your hand on my ass on a date.”

Timber’s eyebrows rose. “On the first date? I know I’m pretty daring and forward, but I’m not that daring, Flash.”

“Dude, who said anything about this happening on the first date?”

Timber’s face turned stunned. Flash winked at him. There it was again, the fluttering in his chest.

“But, you can’t just say that and call me dude.”

“How about bro?” Flash countered, crossing his arms.

Timber paused and then his arms dropped to his sides. “You know what, call me bro again and I’ll pin you to a wall.”

“Oh.” Flash wet his bottom lip. His arms shifted. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Timber wiggled his eyebrows at him in return.

He gazed out at the lake. The sun seemed brighter but not hotter, the breeze around them thankfully keeping it cool while they kept at it with the back and forth. Honestly speaking, this was perhaps the most fun he had in ages, with someone he liked who also liked him back. His chest had never felt so light, he had never felt so fidgety but mischievous at the same time and it worked. It worked with Flash.

He looked over at the boy, barely turning his head. The proximity between them had his arm itching, wanting to wrap it around Flash’s waist or over his shoulders. That feeling he had when he had Flash in his arms moments ago was exhilarating, the negligible space between them had him wanting it back and more. But Timber kept his arm where it was.

He can wait. It’d be worth it.

Speaking of waiting…

“So,” he said. Flash looked at him. Timber really needed to get used to that face and those eyes having their full focus on him, God. “What day are you free?”

“For the date?”

Timber nodded.

“How does…” Flash hummed. “This Friday sound?”

“Works for me.”

“You’re just gonna beg Gloriosa to give you a day off, aren’t you?” Flash raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, I told you I have the best convincing skills in all of Camp Everfree.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Hey.” He swatted Flash’s arm. “But true.” His fingers found their way to Flash’s, his stiffening once they came in contact but they soon moved to slip into Timber’s properly. “I’m not missing this chance for the world.”

“Timber!” an all too familiar voice yelled from a good distance away.

Both boys flinched at the sound, Flash more obviously than Timber. He wasn’t yet used to Gloriosa Daisy shouting.

Timber let out a groan. “Darn it.” He turned back to where Gloriosa stood and he tossed her a scowl when she gestured aggressively for him to come over. She always does this. “Catch you in a bit?” he said, expression sweetening once he looked at Flash.

“Of course!” Flash smiled. “Now go, before she starts nagging you.”

“Okayyy,” he replied, reluctantly. But just before Timber’s fingers fell out of Flash’s, he halted and scurried back. “Wait, hang on.”

“Huh?”

Timber brought his other hand up to Flash’s jaw, turned it to the right before planting a quick kiss on his cheek, where the tiny indent of his dimple would be. The boy squeaked, fingers tightening his grip on Timber’s hand.

“O-oh.”

When Timber pulled away, the boy’s eyes were slightly dilated, cheeks the same shy, the pretty red he saw from the very start of today. With pride filling his chest at last, alongside the never-ending warmth swirling around in there, he grinned at Flash, tapping his cheek with two fingers. Flash grinned back.

“See you around.”

Author's Note

They're cute.

I have a gist of what I want for a TwiShy spin-off but I don't think the actual fic will come around in the next month or so. But, don't fret, you'll see FlashSpruce in the next one too.

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