Evicted

Chapter 5

   "That was a long, long day." Cyril commented as he and Ray entered the apartment, kicking off their shoes.
   "Don't they always feel like an eternity?" Ray replied, closing the door. He collapsed on the couch and patted the space beside him.
   Taking the hint, Cyril took a seat beside Ray, stretching his legs out.
   They had to listen to everyone's jokes about them living together all day, but they weren't offended; they were simply annoyed that the others were trying to make it seem like a bad thing of sorts. Work was over now, so they thankfully didn't have to worry about it again until the next working day.
   "What should we do for dinner?" Ray asked eventually after they'd sat there for a bit in pleasant silence.
   "Are you in the mood for anything in particular?" Cyril asked, brown gaze drifting towards the other man.
   Ray shrugged. "If you don't feel like cooking, we could order takeout."
   "I'll cook. No problem." Cyril assured Ray, sitting up straighter. "I'll see what ingredients we have to work with."
   Getting up and searching through the kitchen, Cyril was surprised to find that Ray had hardly anything. The stir fry ingredients were a lucky break it seemed, because all Ray had now was: a can of tomato soup, over-ripe apples, outdated eggs, a bit more pancake mix, and the typical kitchen spices and toppings. "Well...I would cook..." Cyril said eventually.
   Leaning against the kitchen cupboard, Ray didn't look disappointed, but instead, amused. "Yeah, like I said, I don't cook, so I don't have much food in the house. We can go grocery shopping tomorrow though, if you want."
   A sudden wave of relief swamped Cyril; they didn't have work the next day. "That sounds like a good idea."
   Nodding, Ray picked up his phone. "I'll order something. You like Chinese?"
   "Yeah, that sounds good." Cyril agreed. Just about anything sounded good now; he was in a better mood since Ray reminded him that tomorrow was free.
   After calling in the order, they returned to the couch and Ray turned on the tv. On screen, it was playing a commercial about some allergy medication with the usual countless listed side effects. "What do you want to watch?"
   Cyril shrugged. "I don't mind what we watch. You can choose whatever, honestly."
   Going to the guide and flipping through the channels, Ray smirked and selected one. 'The Muppets Take Manhattan' came up, playing on the screen.
   "The Muppets?" Cyril chuckled.
   "I love The Muppets!" Ray pushed Cyril's arm softly with his foot, as he was lounged, partially laying on the couch at an angle. "You said we could watch whatever."
   "It's not that. I like them too." Cyril admitted with a smile. "I just haven't watched them in years."
   "Have you seen this one before?" Ray inquired.
   Cyril thought for a moment, watching the movie as he did, then nodded. "Yeah. I actually had this one on tape."
   "Lucky bastard." Ray replied. "The only tapes at my house were...well... not for kids."
   "I assume I don't want to know the details?" Cyril asked.
   "No. No you do not." Ray confirmed, dropping his feet to the floor and moving closer to Cyril. "Who's your favorite muppet?"
   "I'm not really sure." Cyril went over the characters in his mind that he could best remember. "I had a lot of Fozzie and Kermit stuff when I was a kid though. Must've been one of them."
   "Well I treasure the Muppets enough to the point that I remember my favorite." Ray replied teasingly.
   "Oh?" Cyril grinned. "And who's your favorite then?"
   "Miss Piggy, of course." Ray answered, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She's stylish, she's proud, and she's one tough bitch. An icon, really."
   Cyril chuckled. "Did you have a bunch of Miss Piggy stuff when you were a kid, then?"
   "No. My parents didn't really approve of me watching them, but I was just so rebellious and watched the show and the movies anyway whenever I got the chance." Ray explained jokingly, then paused. "Although..."
   "Although what?" Cyril blinked.
   Ray turned to Cyril and reached out, patting the other man's chest. "This little diary you've got hidden in your pocket?"
   Cyril didn't bother saying it wasn't a diary; he was curious about what Ray had to say. "Yeah?"
   "I had a diary too when I was a kid, and it was covered in Miss Piggy." Ray explained triumphantly. "I took it from some girl I went to school with 'cause she was a mean little shit. I kept it hidden pretty good, but I found out somewhat recently that my dad burned it. I just pray to god he didn't read it."
   Feeling Ray's hand leave his chest, Cyril replied when the man finished speaking. "I was too afraid to have a diary when I was a kid. I was convinced my dad would read it and talk about how disappointed he was with the things written in it. Then he'd confront me about it and I'd try to defend myself, but end up crying. Then he'd say that only girls cry and that I needed to toughen up and-" He cleared his throat. "Um. Anyway; what did you write in it?"
   "Just about cute boys and stuff." Ray answered shamelessly, kind enough to not comment on Cyril's rant. "I'd write about which ones I'd date, which ones would kick my ass if given the chance, which ones already kicked my ass. Just a bunch about boys."
   "I get why you hope your dad didn't read it then." Cyril laughed lightly.
   Ray was going to agree and talk further on the point, but someone knocked at the door. "Food's here." Ray hopped up from the couch.
   "I'll get it." Cyril said, rising to his feet and digging in his pocket for his wallet.
   "That's alright-" Ray began to object.
   "I'll pay for it." Cyril insisted. "You're letting me stay here rent-free. It's the least I could do."
   Ray gave in and Cyril answered the door.
   Exchanging the money for the food, Cyril closed the door with his foot, his arms full.
   "We can eat on the coffee table." Ray nodded to it.
   Cyril placed everything down on the small table and they both dug in, selecting boxes and utensils.
   As they ate and watched the movie, Cyril spoke. "I just remembered that I still haven't brought in all of my things from my car."
   "That's another thing we can do tomorrow then." Ray shrugged. "Just as long as you've got what you need for the night, anyway."
   Cyril nodded to confirm that he did, and continued to eat, watching the movie.
   The characters began singing a catchy tune at one point, causing Ray to nod his head to the music. "This is one of my favorite muppets songs."
   The characters sang:
      "Look at me. Here I am. Right where I belong. I see that face coming back to me, like an old familiar song. What better place could anyone be? 'Cause you're here with me; it's all I've been looking for, and so much more. And now I'm here. Nothin' can go wrong, 'cause I am here right where I belong!"
   Ray joined in with the characters with the song. "Look at us!" He nudged Cyril. "Here we are! Right where we belong!"
   As Ray was fixating him with eyes that seemed to beg for him to join, Cyril gave in, surprised that he actually remembered the words.
   "The curtains' up and the lights are bright, and they're playing our old song! What better place could anyone be? 'Cause you're here with me!" They finished together, laughing and poking fun at each other for being dorky enough to know the words to the song. "So here we go! Let's start the show!"
   Eventually, after more sing-alongs and small talk, the movie was over, they'd eaten their fill, and the hour was late.
   As the men put the left overs in the fridge, Cyril was humming the same tune they'd first sung.
   "Catchy song, hm?" Ray teased, closing the fridge.
   "I've got the damn thing stuck in my head!" Cyril admitted, not even fully realizing that he'd been humming it until Ray brought it up.
   "Yeah, it's stuck in my head too." Ray replied, but he didn't seem unhappy about it.
   Splitting ways, Ray and Cyril prepared themselves for bed. Cyril waited outside of his room so that he could say goodnight to Ray.
   Ray exited his bathroom a few moments later. "Night Cyril. Good luck with trying to sleep while you have that song in your head."
   "I was just forgetting about it, and now you reminded me of it!" Cyril complained, the tune making its way into his mind again.
   "Whoops!" Ray smirked.
   Cyril rolled his eyes and took a step into his room, Thor lumbering up and walking past him. Chuckling, Cyril looked at Ray. "Guess he'll be with me tonight again."
   "Just close the door so that Miss Helsing won't get you in your sleep." Ray teased. "Goodnight."
   "Goodnight." Cyril stepped all the way into his room and closed the door. He knew Ray was joking, but he was still secretly kind of afraid of Van Helsing.