Against All Odds | Tyrus

Epilogue

It was getting warmer. Normally, Cyrus loved a warm, spring morning, but he only felt sad. He'd grown so accustomed to wearing the scarf TJ gave him for their one-month anniversary. And now that he couldn't wear it anymore, his neck was left feeling bare. He let out an audible sigh, leaning his head against Buffy's shoulder. She glanced down at him, her mouth full of baby taters.

“Urh oo ohay?” she tried to ask a question, only to spit a tater onto Cyrus's hair in the process. He recoiled from her with a look of disgust.

“Swallow your food first,” Andi laughed. She was sitting across from Cyrus, handing her napkin to him. He gratefully accepted it, using the napkin to wipe crumbs from his hair.

“Eh uh ee! Alloh er oo!” Marty, also filling his mouth with taters, attempted to chastise Buffy. He sat across from her, beside Andi.

A lot had happened over the past few months. Jonah and Andi broke up, Marty was back in Buffy's life, Cyrus lost his Bubbe Rose... And TJ, to Cyrus's appreciation, was with them through it all. He and Cyrus had their disagreements from time to time, but it was certainly rare for either of them to be angry at the other for long. They always talked things out and never held on to their anger.

“Oo urse,” Buffy said while glaring at Marty.

Cyrus rolled his eyes, “Can you guys just call it a tie already? How are we even supposed to know who won? Are you gonna spit out your taters so we can count them?”

Andi nodded, “Ooh, I didn't think about that.”

The chime of the door opening grabbed Cyrus's attention. He craned his neck to look at it and smiled at the sight of his boyfriend. TJ pulled up a chair next to Cyrus, staring at Buffy and Marty with curiosity.

“Uh... What's up with them?” he asked.

“They're seeing who can fit the most baby taters in their mouth,” Andi answered.

TJ grabbed a tater from Cyrus's basket, holding it to his lips, “It's obviously me. Just watch!”

“Nope! No way! Don't encourage them, Teej. And stay away from my taters!” Cyrus swatted TJ's hand away before he could grab another.

“You're just holding me back from my full potential.”

“I'm ‘holding you back’ from a choking hazard.”

“It's for the best,” Andi said, smiling at TJ in sympathy.

The three of them watched hopelessly as Buffy and Marty shoved more taters into their mouths. Their cheeks puffed out to the point of looking ready to explode, and Marty's eyes began to water as if the taters were blocking his air pipes. Cyrus and Andi turned away, unable to bear the second-hand pain they got from watching their friends. TJ, on the other hand, continued to stare in passive envy. He missed his rival days with Buffy. As glad as he was to have her as a friend, he enjoyed competition as well. It kept things interesting.

He looked away, opting to stare at his boyfriend instead. Nothing was ever boring when he had Cyrus, so TJ gladly gave up his rivalry in order to be with him. And he'd do it again a thousand times.

“What is it?” Cyrus asked, glancing at him curiously.

“I was just thinking...” TJ started, staring out the window to avoid eye contact. “That blue suit you wore for your bar mitzvah... It looked nice.”

Cyrus raised a brow, “It's been, like, six months. Isn't it a bit late to be complimenting my bar mitzvah suit now?”

TJ shook his head, ignoring the question and asking one of his own, “Wouldn't it be a shame to only wear it once?”