Title: little white lies
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Characters: Pinocchio | August Booth, Mad Hatter | Jefferson
Pairing: Pinocchio | August Booth/Mad Hatter | Jefferson
Rating: Mature
Word Count: 1,535
Warnings: Sexual content, mostly implied and fade to black.
Summary: August and Jefferson meet up at a new bar in Storybrooke and then go home together.



August wasn’t sure where he had heard about The Buttercup. He didn’t know who owned the new bar. Storybrooke had been a one bar town for so long, it almost seemed wrong when the new place opened up. August told himself that it wasn’t this sense of wrongness that made him so eager to pay the place a visit. It was just a small lie.

He made his way there on a Friday night a few weekends after he had caught word of it. He was bombarded with noise as soon as he walked in. There was music from a jukebox in the corner, and the drone of conversation overlaying that. The place was nearly packed. August looked around for a place to sit and spotted a free stool at the bar. He smiled at the woman tending bar and ordered a beer. He took a quick look around the place. There was dancing over in the corner, several scattered tables in the center and a few booths on the other side. A menu on the wall showed that they served a range of appetizers to go along with the assortment of booze. It was a nice setup. August was impressed.

___________

Jefferson had been frequenting The Buttercup since the very first week it had opened. He wasn’t there every night of course. He wasn’t that far gone. Yet. He noticed the stranger before he sat down next to him. It was obvious this was his first time there. Jefferson thought he seemed familiar but he didn’t think he’d met the man before. He would have remembered those eyes, and those lips.

The stranger was definitely attractive. He had a roughness to him that Jefferson really liked. The leather jacket he was wearing was kind of hot too. He smiled and moved his leg just a smidge closer to the other man’s, so their thighs were touching, but only a little. The other man turned and looked at him. “I haven’t seen you around here before”, Jefferson said.

“I’m not from around here.” He didn’t move his leg away.

“What do you think?” Jefferson said.

“Of the bar or the town?”

“Neither.” Jefferson put his hand on the other man’s thigh.

___________

August wasn’t sure exactly where this was going, but it seemed as if Jefferson was trying to pick him up. Not that he had introduced himself or anything, but August knew who he was. How could he not? He paused a moment then smiled. “I think I like it.”

Jefferson’s smile turned wicked. August took a swig from his beer and wondered exactly what he thought he was doing. He hadn’t planned to lie about being from Storybrooke. Not that it was a complete lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth either. Lies seemed to slip off his tongue too easily sometimes. He took a second swig and decided that he was doing entirely too much thinking. He pressed his thigh closer to the other man’s and looked into his blue eyes. Jefferson squeezed his thigh. It felt like falling.

“Want to get out of here?”

August nodded. “What did you have in mind?” He felt the man’s hand trail further up his thigh.

“My place? I have beer.”

“Sounds good to me.” August had a moment of disappointment when Jefferson’s hand moved from his leg, but then the man was pulling him out of his chair and out the door. August didn’t even have a chance to wonder what the hell he was doing. He barely registered the car ride there. Jefferson drove with one hand on the wheel and one hand on him. Miraculously they make it in one piece.

In the hall, his back pressed against the wall, August unravels the scarf around the other man’s neck. If he had any doubt about his identity the thin scar wrapped all the way around his neck would have put that to rest. August tentatively brushed his fingers along the thin line. When Jefferson didn’t back away he moved in and kissed his neck. He could feel the other man’s groans beneath his lips. Fingers unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, slipped inside his boxers, and then it was his turn to moan.

___________

The sun streamed through the window. Jefferson shielded his eyes and sat up. He was in his bed, alone. He got up to look for... had they exchanged names? He laughed and shook his head. They hadn’t. Down the hall, he heard the shower running. He contemplated interrupting but decided to wait. He didn’t want to push his luck. The night before had been fun, but it wasn’t going to turn into anything. His guest wasn’t even local though Jefferson wondered if that had actually been the truth and if it even mattered. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, just a momentary distraction. Something to chase the shadows away.

The bathroom door opened and steam hit him in the face. He smiled at the man standing in front of him, still wet from the shower and wearing only a small towel. Nice.
“We never did grab that beer last night, interested in breakfast?” he asked. He wasn’t ready for this to end yet.

“I’m not really a beer for breakfast kind of guy.”

Jefferson smiled, “There’s tea.”

The man laughed “I’m sure there is, any coffee?”

“I could make coffee, pancakes too if you’re interested.” Jefferson wasn’t much of a cook but he could manage pancakes.

“I’m interested.”

________

The pancakes were from a mix and the coffee was instant but the maple syrup was real and August liked the company. Jefferson drank his tea and looked at him as if he was trying to figure him out.

“We never did exchange names”, Jefferson said.

“August.”

“I’m Jefferson.” He held out his hand as if they were supposed to shake hands after everything they had done to each other’s bodies the night before.

“I know.” August took his hand despite the ridiculousness of it. It would have been rude otherwise.

Jefferson tilted his head, hand still holding August’s across the table. “I thought you weren’t from around there.”

August blushed. “I may have stretched the truth a little there.”

Jefferson dropped his hand and sat back in his chair. “You’ve been here before. When?”

“I’ve been in Storybrooke since before the first curse broke.”
Jefferson stared at him then shook his head. “No, here -- in my home.”

August didn’t really want to have this conversation. It was beyond embarrassing. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I would remember if I brought you home before, so that can’t be it.” He rubbed his chin.

August shook his head and sighed. Jefferson would figure it out eventually, he might as well get it over with. “It was a few years ago -- a birthday party.”

____________

The only parties Jefferson had thrown were for his daughter, Grace. He wondered why would the man in front of him have attended a child’s birthday party? A smile grew on Jefferson’s face as he figured it out.“You’re Pinocchio.”

August looked down at his empty plate. “I prefer August, but yeah.”

“Weren’t you like eight then?” It was all coming back to him now. Pinocchio had been turned back into a child for a while and then back again for some reason. That’s what happened when people got too close to the major players. Jefferson did his best to avoid Regina, Emma, and the others as much as possible. He didn’t need that kind of drama.

“Yeah, can we not talk about this?”

August seemed so uncomfortable. “Don’t worry, it takes a lot to freak me out, and this doesn’t even come close.”

“The reversion to childhood wasn’t awesome, but it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t like I remembered ever being an adult -- that would have been so much worse.”

“You remember now?”

“Yeah, I remember everything.”

“Even before -- before?”

____________

August knew what he was asking. Everyone knew the Pinocchio story, he couldn’t get away from it. Did he remember before he was real? He shuddered just thinking about it. It never wanted to go back to that. He’d relive his childhood a thousand times before going back to that. “I should get dressed.” For some reason, he was still wearing a towel.

Jefferson followed him to the bedroom. “Let me see your phone.”

August zipped up his jeans and handed over his phone.“Why?”

“Exchange of numbers, it’s this weird thing people do after they have sex with someone new.” Jefferson handed his own phone over. August put his number in the contacts and handed it back, though he had no expectations of Jefferson actually calling him. It had been fun, but August wasn’t looking for his happily ever after, at least that’s what he told himself. A little white lie to keep the pain from overwhelming him.

They said their goodbye’s and Jefferson gave him a ride back to the bar so August could get his bike. Later that night when home alone in his room his phone dinged telling him he had a message. A smile crossed his face when he saw who it was from. Jefferson wanted to see him again. Maybe there was hope for him yet.