With boughs of Molly

Dealt

Saturday came around too soon. Joseph stood awkwardly in front of the mirror in his  90's rock, brick- walled apartment. He and Mary used to have a house, but she kicked him out after they divorced.

He wiped the image from his mind as he stared at himself in the mirror. He had on a blue tie and a white, ironed dress- shirt, but refused to be so formal that everyone would make fun of him, so he slipped over that a thick, cyan blue, zip- up hoodie.

He then trotted the down the stairs of his apartment complex and reached the 1st floor. He would've used the elevator if it had not been out of order. It was going to be fixed in spring. Joseph only wished that spring would come sooner. 

After exiting the building, he walked at a fast pace down the street, looking at his phone occasionally for the map to George's house. He wondered if a lot of people were going to show up, or more likely its just going to be bunch of boring adults sipping wine and starting stories with "Back in my day..." like they already have grandchildren. Once he arrived at the house, snow littered in his hair, he knew he had underestimated office workers in the stereotype.

He could hear music from outside and not just Christmas music. It didn't seem like much of a Christmas party to Joseph, but he told himself to keep his promises, so he went and knocked on the door. 

Low and behold, Chelsea opens the door, and as soon as she recognizes Joseph's face her yellowed teeth form a charming crooked smile, reminding Joseph of his dead aunt.

"Joooeeeyyy, Nice to see ya Hun!" Chelsea sneers. Joseph smiles back and tries to break away from Chelsea's telekinetic grip, meaning the awkward situation of 'I do not want to talk to you please go away'.

"Hey Chelsea." he strains and moves to walk past her. She tries to block him but hes already gone and looking for the booze. Joseph spots a table full of sugar cookies, eggnog, fruit punch, and cheese and crackers. The spread doesn't surprise him. He takes 2 sugar cookies off the table and bites out of one, the overwhelming sensation of sugar flowing through his taste buds. Suddenly feeling better, Joseph tries to find George in all the madness, surrounded by adults who looked way younger than him. A hand grabs Joseph by the arm and swings him around to see the host. 

"Nice to see ya Joe" George smiles and lets him go, letting Joseph slowly back away onto a nearby couch. He relaxes and listens to an old version of 'Jingle Bells' as he finishes the cookies. Maybe this wont be so bad, Joseph thought.

Jingle Bells ended, and a new song that was nowhere near Christmas-y came on the speakers. A bunch of cheers and hollers were heard from the crowd. Joseph could make out some shouts, hearing mostly 'Finally!' and 'He's here!". With curiosity, Joseph got up from his spot, but soon turned away from not wanting to get involved. He head back to treat table and took a cup of eggnog, sipping on it. This sip soon turned into a gulp.

This gulp soon turned into a few cups. These cups lead to Joseph being piss-drunk at a random coworkers house, listening to George Michael sing 'Last Christmas'. He sang along softly because his eyes were tired and he bagged for sleep. Joseph knew that if he slept here he'd regret it in the morning, so he decided to leave. As he was making his way to the door, he tripped; not on something, more on someone.

Stevie groaned under the weight of the drunk adult. Once he opened his eyes he recognized the face of the heavy male. Joseph quickly rolled off Stevie and apologized hazily as he continued for the door. Stevie, who had grown bored of the party which he got paid to bring weed to, followed Joseph outside. Joseph only noticed half way on the walk back to his apartment.

"Why are you following me?" Joseph asked the shadowy figure.

"Well, I figured I should make sure you don't pass out pissing in some alleyway. Do you recognize me?"

"...no. Should I?" 

"Don't worry, I didn't expect you to. There is also the fact that you're drunk."

Stevie noticed Joseph stumbling and jogged up to beside him, putting Joseph's arm around his shoulder as an attempt for a crutch. Joseph didn't even try to push him away, he was too tied to try.

They got to the apartment safely, with Joseph's direction of course. Joseph felt tired, but not so tired that he was going to pass out. The cold air had woken him up some, along with sobering up his mind. There were still clouds and a bit of fog in his brain. Stevie absent mindlessly followed his orders.

Stevie followed Joseph into his apartment to help him get settled. Joseph searched his apartment and wallet for a ten he could give Stevie for helping him. 

"I like your apartment, its pretty sick. The vibe is amazing." Stevie laughed, examining the brick walls. Joseph held out the bill and looked at Stevie's face. They locked eyes and it seemed to stay that way. Stevie's chest pumped, and his heart skipped a beat. The tension was killing him, and there was a sudden urge to see this man in a different way. Stevie looked at him again. A soft stubble, a strong jaw, followed by a muscular build wrapped in a blue sweatshirt. Blueish green eyes in a haze, staring into his emerald orbs.

Stevie approached Joseph and grabbed him by the sweater. He wasn't confused with himself, he had always been sure of his actions, but his curiosity just got worse and worse. Stevie just got closer and closer to Joseph's face, gazing into his eyes. Joseph didn't pull away, he didn't exactly know what was happening. 

"huh." was all Stevie said and then he locked his lips onto the others. The ten fell from Joseph's hand but he didn't pull away. The warmth felt nice on his lips. His frost frozen hands reached for Stevie's neck, feeling how slender the smaller male was. A break between lips was quickly erased as they took sharp breaths and long kisses. They were both veterans at the act, but neither had experienced it in a long time. Stevie's arms wrapped around Joseph's neck as they got closer, their chests pressed together. Joseph switched from Stevie's lips to his jaw and slowly followed down his neck, pressing soft kisses to the now red flushed skin. Stevie engrossed his hand in Joseph's unkempt flayed hair, feeling the soft material stroke his rough skin. Joseph nipped on his skin lightly and fell away from Stevie's neck, backing his head enough to look in Stevie's eyes once more.

They were both sure of their actions.