oh my god, they were neighbors

a man with a gun

tw for guns, obviously

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He woke to the realization he didn't pay for his drinks.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, stirring out of bed at 10 o'clock. He went to the sink and splashed a bit of water on his face so he didn't look quite as exhausted, grabbed the saucepan Mateo had given him and his wallet, and headed to Mateo's apartment right away. He was polite in knocking, trying not to be too loud as to startle the guy.

The door was answered relatively quickly, but didn't open very much. Mateo was still in pajama pants and a t-shirt. He smiled when he saw Ezra, which gave enough proof that he wasn't too tired to function.

"Hi," Ezra said, extending the saucepan forward. "I need to give this back. Also, I gotta pay you for my drinks."

"You can- do you want to come in?" Mateo said, opening his door wider as an offer. Ezra hadn't planned on it, but saw no harm in doing so. He nodded and followed the bartender inside.

Mateo's apartment was different, and yet very similar to Ezra's. It was certainly cleaner, but his bed was unmade and a few dishes were left unwashed in the sink. The blinds of the windows had been drawn completely shut. An overhead light in the kitchen and some unscented candles kept the studio apartment from being completely dark. At least, Ezra assumed the candles were scentless. If they were, they were overpowered by whatever was being cooked on the stove.

"You can set the pan on the counter, I'll get to it later," Mateo said, going to his stove. He used a spatula to stir the contents of a skillet. "Ezra, I- I'm making breakfast. Papas con chorizo. Do you want some?"

"Mateo, you don't have to give me stuff. I told you that," Ezra said. "And speaking of, I hope you put my drinks on tab last night."

"I paid for them myself," Mateo replied, matter-of-factly.

"Mateo..." Ezra fished for his wallet and tried to sort out the cash "...Stop doing that. How much did you pay?"

"Only thirty. It wasn't too expensive."

"Jesus Christ! Mateo, seriously?" Ezra exclaimed. He grabbed three tens from his wallet and set them on Mateo's dining table. He looked over at Mateo who- oh, shit, he seemed a bit nervous.

"Lo sie- I'm sorry. Are you mad?" Mateo asked, innocently fidgeting with his spatula.

Ezra sighed. "No, Mateo. But you don't gotta give me stuff to make me like you. I already do."

He hadn't really meant to say it, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. He did like Mateo, who was really and truly nice, and who made his life actually interesting for once. But it also felt weird to admit that aloud, to Mateo, and to himself.

"Oh. I didn't- I've been doing that?" Mateo asked. Ezra slowly nodded. "¡Ay! I'm not...you know, good at this friends thing. I just wanted to be nice. I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay, Mateo. Really." Now Ezra felt bad. "I'm not either. I think that might be why I'm such a dick on accident, like...constantly."

Mateo laughed. "You're not a dick. I wouldn't offer breakfast to a dick."

"Okay, true."

Mateo continued to stir his breakfast dish while Ezra sat at the table.

"Are you sure you don't want breakfast?" Mateo asked, as he scooped his food onto a plate. "It's not a bribery, te prometo- I promise."

Ezra could smell the dish from his seat, and suffice to say, it seemed delicious. It was against his morals to accept the dish after all he'd just insisted upon, sure, but then again, fuck morals. "Fine, fine. If you're gonna keep insisting."