Devil's Effect

A Hard Reset

It was a rough night. There had been lots of calls and text messages back and forth with Mike over what had happened, but Chester felt good about it. Despite the terrible situation Mike had walked into, with Jason at the loft waiting on him and calling him out on where he'd been all weekend, Mike had told him the truth, and had stood up for Chester and the love between them. He'd sent Jay on his way, and just the knowledge - the reality - that Jason Wakefield was on his way to Seattle and wasn't coming back, was a source of comfort for Chester.

He was almost excited when Ryan walked into his bedroom with breakfast from the shop around the corner. Chester had so much to tell him, and if his ankle wasn't propped up on two pillows, he probably would have jumped up and hugged him. "You're here," he said instead, a large smile on his face as he stayed where he was on the bed. The television was on, but turned down low, and Chester left it that way as Ryan closed the bedroom door and sat down beside him.

"And why wouldn't I be here?" Ryan asked as he handed one of the two coffees he'd brought in over. He watched as Chester grinned and took a sip, not even looking under the lid to make sure it was mixed right. It had been a rushed morning, waking up late at the hotel, with Jason in his arms. Ryan let out a soft sigh as he thought back over how things had gone, not just last night as he and Jason reunited physically and sexually, but how they'd woken up, and more kisses had happened. They hadn't had time for breakfast, which Ryan was bummed about. He'd been ready to make the sacrifice and have breakfast with Jason first, and then again with Chester. Second breakfast. I was ready for it. But it worked out really well anyway.

Ryan had taken Jason back to LAX himself, and had walked with him all the way to security, holding hands. Right out in public. He took me by the hand and we were all over that airport before I had to leave him. He even kissed me goodbye. A real kiss. It was on that blissful memory that Ryan took a good look at Chester. "You look happy," he mentioned, not missing the bright aura around his friend. It was the first time in a long time he'd actually seen Chester look like Chester. Even over the last week, after he'd sat and listened while Chester confessed he was going to spend time with Mike, he didn't look happy. Not really. He looked like a sad person trying to be happy. But not anymore. Something's changed. Something happened.

"I am happy," Chester chirped as he grabbed for the paper bag Ryan had sat on the bed between them. He could already smell the fresh made pancakes that were inside, and his stomach screamed at him to eat all of them. He pulled both planet-friendly, biodegradable containers out, handing one to Ryan and putting the other one in his lap as he dug further into the bag. "I hope you got extra syrup."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever, crack addict. You know I got plenty of syrup. And if not, Amir's got some."

Chester's jaw dropped. "I am not a crack addict," he stated, just as he pulled six baby tub containers of maple syrup out of the bag. "Fuck, how sexy are these?" He held them up, a full grin on his face.

Ryan's heart swelled a little. Sitting close with Chester was always a pleasure. He was his closest friend, the person he could tell anything and everything, too. It had been a hard reality to swallow when Chester had turned down his offer for them to be more than friends, and even though Ryan respected that, and deep down he knew Chester was probably right, that they'd never be more than friends with benefits, a part of him wished they'd still give it a try. Or I did. I don't know now.

Ryan cleared his throat as he nodded. "Sexy as hell, Chaz. Half of those are mine," he made sure to say as he took the bag and dug out their plastic silverware and the two little containers of butter. I know Jay and Mike broke up yesterday. I don't want to tell him I know though. It would probably rub him the wrong way to know I saw Jay twice over the weekend. Spent the night with him last night. He's not Chaz's favorite person right now, which is understandable. "So, how did your weekend finish up?" he asked, as they started to spread butter and syrup over their pancakes.