Comfortable Silence |Virgato|

Chapter 6

Joel is sweating despite the chill in the air as he lounges in the one single chair on his balcony patio. He hasn't asked someone out, like, ever. He's always been the one getting asked. And that's not a brag, that's just how little experience he has in the area, thanks to The Ex coming into his life when he was still so young.

And he's not really asking Chris out, exactly. He's asking him to hang out. A thing they already do occasionally! Just - in a new location. And with ulterior motives that he's not sure how to make clear to Chris. Or if he even wants to make them clear. Like, is he even ready for something like this? Just because he's kind of infatuated with Chris doesn't mean he should be pursuing him romantically.

On the other hand, goddamn, it's been almost two years. He better be fucking ready.

And he is ready. It's the possibility of rejection that he's not ready for. If that happens, it's possible he'll never emerge from his apartment again for the rest of his life.

He'd planned on texting Chris the invite, because he's better that way, when he can think about what he's saying (and no one can see him cringing). Chris must have some kind of radar, though, because just as Joel's about to compose his perfect asking-Chris-out text, Chris appears on his own balcony just a few feet away.

"Joel!" He sounds unsurprised to see Joel. He sounds like he came outside with the express purpose of talking to Joel. He sounds like he could break Joel's heart. "I made a pie!" he exclaims proudly, a wild grin on his face.

"You did?" Joel doesn't mean to sound so disbelieving, it's just - he really didn't think Chris would ever even attempt to make another pie, let alone successfully finish one. He gets up and wanders over to the edge of the balcony, hands resting on the cool metal bar between them. "What kind?"

Chris's grin turns wicked. "Blueberry."

"Bullshit."

"I'm not kidding." It comes out in a haze of barely suppressed laughter. Chris is so pleased with himself, and it makes Joel feel warmth swirling in his chest, a lethal combination of hope and confidence. Whether or not Chris made a blueberry pie at all, he's making the callback, referencing the inside joke, and doing it with intention.

"Show me," Joel demands, leaning over the railing in a completely useless attempt to peek through the open patio door into Chris's apartment and magically see the alleged pie.

"Come over and I'll give you a piece." Chris puts his hands on his hips like it's some sort of challenge. Like spending time with him and eating pie isn't basically a dream come true for Joel. Then. Then. He raises his eyebrows suggestively.

Joel's stomach flips, and without bothering to answer, he speed-walks back inside, across his apartment, and out the front door, then knocks on Chris's door loudly.

Chris's smile is smug when he opens the door and gestures dramatically for Joel to come in. "I guess you're hungry."

This is when Joel realizes he's not at all equipped to keep up with whatever is happening. All that confidence that hit him thirty seconds ago wavers dangerously. "Do you want to go see my friend Richard's band with me this weekend at The Continental Club?" He blurts it out while he still can. "Show me the pie," he adds, an incredible tactical maneuver to make it seem like Chris's answer barely matters to him.

Chris's forehead pinches and he smiles curiously, one eye squinting at Joel playfully. "The pie is this way," he says, leading Joel to the kitchen, which does actually smell like freshly baked pie. But smelling good and tasting good are two entirely separate concepts. He reaches behind him and taps Joel's hand, just once, gently. Joel's skin breaks out in goosebumps, sending a pleasant shiver up his spine as Chris says casually, "And yeah, I wanna go with you to the thing."