Lestappen : As Long As We're Together

Two Shots Of Blue

CHARLES

My head being in the toilet was not how I intended for my night to end. And it didn't because, luckily, Carlos pulled me back before it could get there.

"Charles, how drunk are you?"
"Thirteen."
"What?"
"On a scale of " I gestured one, thought it may have been two, "To five, thirteen."
"How much did you drink?" He asked.

"Two shots."
"Of?"
"Blue."
"Blue?!" Lando exclaimed from behind Carlos. "You idiot!"

MAX

The call came at three in the morning from a contact saved as 'Papaya Head'. I answered it after a moment of considering pretending to have slept through the rings, "Yes, Norris?"

"Can you come get Charles? He's drunk on two shots of absinthe and-"
"Where?" I was already pulling on my pants.
"Eden's, it's on-"
"Yeah, I know where it is." I cut the call before he could say anything, going down to the car.

When I reached, Charles was retching into a bag that looked to be full. "Hi, Max!" he called, smiling, "Look guys," He said, tugging Lando's sleeve, "It's Max!"
"Yes," Lando said, gently, "And now Max is taking you." Carlos mouthed a silent 'thank you', as his boyfriend handed me Charles by the arm, "Good night, Charles."

"Hi Charles," I said, trying to stop worrying, "how much water is in the blue?"
"Three."
"Three parts?" I asked, trying to keep my eyes from flying open. It was supposed to be five to one.

"Mhm."
"And how much absinthe?"
"Absinthe?" He asked, "No . . . no jus' two blue."
"At least it wasn't three."
"Well, you said you wanted to go to sleep, right?" I asked, as I led him to the car, hoping the lie would work.
"No sleep, Maximilian, just partying."

I decided not to correct him, instead, "No, you called me from Lando's phone and said you wanted to sleep."
"Sleep with you." He laughed a little.
"What?" I swerved out of the way of a car I hadn't seen.
"What?" He asked, innocently.

Oh god, let that have been a dream.

I gave Charles a glass of milk when we got to the hotel, turning to see he had promptly stripped to his boxers and was brushing his teeth with one of the hotel toothbrushes, "My mouth feels so clean!" He exclaimed, toothbrush still in, "I love it so much. I wanna drink this." He started to squeeze the toothpaste straight into his mouth and I snatched it away, resulting in the squeezed out bit landing on his cheek.

He laughed a drunken laugh as I cleaned his face with a damp towel, "It's cold."
"That's because it's toothpaste, Charlie."
"I like that."
"Yes, you tried to drink it."
"Charlie." He said, and I realised I had said it.

"Go to bed and I promise I'll call you Charlie forever." I did not at all intend to keep my word. Tonight was full of empty words. I hated it.

"Only-" He stepped into my personal space and I took a step back, keeping a useless hand on his chest as he stepped forward again, "Only if you kiss me."
"Believe me, I want to," I wish those words were empty, I pushed him away, "But you're drunk."
"So what?"
"So I will not. Now, go to bed or no more Charlie."
"Fine." He said, sulkily, huffing as he went to bed. I tucked him in, playing with his hair in the silent dark till he fell asleep. He was going to wake up with the worst hangover in history.