Sideways

Chapter Part 29 You & I

Sunday, May 28th

A clap of thunder startles Eddie out of his slumber. He yawns and reaches out for Buck, only to find the bed empty yet still warm to the touch. He sits up and wipes his eyes, allowing himself to adjust his surroundings for a few seconds. Once he can see straight, he looks around the bedroom. Their bedroom has no light on, but it is much brighter than usual. He wipes his eyes and looks around again, with Buck nowhere to be found. He focuses his attention on the sounds of the room, listening to hear if Buck is in the bathroom.

He has a moment to wonder what woke him up, and another clap of thunder breaks the silence. Eddie is off the bed and on his feet before the sound starts rolling in the sky above his head. He looks around the room again and finds a naked Buck standing behind their bed, looking out the large windows. The normally closed blackout curtains open, and Buck's just standing there rocking in place, watching the storm, rubbing his biceps with his hands.

Eddie doesn't stop to think or process his thoughts; he walks over, wraps his arms around Buck's ribs, and presses his chest into Buck's back. He leans his chin down onto Buck's shoulder. Buck lowers his hands to Eddie's, overlapping Eddie's with his own, and holds Eddie's arms tighter to his chest. Buck shifts slightly and then leans his head onto Eddie's.

A flash of light spreads and illuminates the sky outside the house, followed by another loud, low, and long roll of thunder. Buck jerks slightly at the site of the lightning, and Eddie holds him tighter. Neither of them says anything. Eddie stands there and holds him, providing Buck with the comfort he needs.

With another flash of light, Buck sucks in a breath and then centers himself by taking long, slow, deep breaths. The thunderclaps again a few seconds later, and Buck doesn't jump this time. Buck slowly loosens his hold on Eddie's arms and trails his fingers along Eddie's forearm.

There is another low rumbling sound, and Buck lifts his head off Eddie. Eddie turns his head to look into Buck's face before Buck lets out a belly laugh, Eddie following right behind him. "What... I'm hungry, Eds."

"That rumble from your belly was almost as bad as the thunder." Eddie teases and releases Buck from his hold. Eddie watches as Buck walks over to his dresser, pulls out a pair of blue mesh shorts, and steps into them. "What time is it?" He asks.

Buck throws a grey t-shirt over his shoulder and walks to the nightstand where their cellphones live while they sleep. He reaches down and grabs both of their phones, unplugging them. "Shit, Eddie, it's already 1 pm."

That gets them both shuffling around faster. Buck drops their phones onto the bed and pulls the t-shirt over his head. He sees Eddie tightening the drawstring on his grey cotton sweat shorts and then pulling a black tank top over his head. Buck grabs their phones again, and they rush downstairs.

The lower half of their house is oddly quiet for it being 1 p.m. There is no way everyone else is still sleeping. They hear the unmistakable sounds of swords clashing and walk into the living room. Chris is sitting at the end recliner seat of the couch, fully reclined, PlayStation 5 control in his hand. Wes is sitting next to him, reaching in front of him, where Cole sits on the floor between Wes' legs while Wes is massaging his shoulders. They look over to the other side of the couch to see Bosko lounging out, chest rising and falling.

"Chris, you need to use the phoenix summon on the boss." Wes says lowly.

"That's not going to work!" Chris says back.

"The boss is a zombie, right?" Wes asks.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, if the phoenix brings everything to life..."