Everything

Chapter 23

"Stefon's sleeping right now," Seth told Shy, who waltzed through the door without knocking. "And my parents are coming over, so I think you should come back later."

"Hello to you too," Shy remarked. He followed Seth into the kitchen. Water boiled in a pot on the stove and the oven was preheating. There was a covered glass baking pan out on the counter that he assumed would be going into the oven soon. "I was just coming to see how Stefon is handling the transition from his family home to your apartment."

"Like I said, he's sleeping." Seth didn't look up from the little recipe card he had propped up against the toaster. "Though I'd assume it's not much different than it was before."

Following their engagement, Seth asked his now fiancé to move in with him. He hoped it would take some pressure off of his horrendous schedule, but it was also nice to officially say he had someone to go home to. It didn't take much to get him out of the house. The rest of his clothes, a few trinkets on his dresser, a small safe he refused to let Seth look in and just left it at "you're not ready", and his laptop. He wouldn't need his mattress and Seth had more than enough space between his own dresser and closet for clothing and storage space. Living alone for so long definitely had its perks. But with Stefon's move also came the risk of Shy walking in at random, which had almost landed them in a couple of awkward situations, at least from Seth's perspective. It was a little annoying to have the other man there all the time, but he didn't want Stefon to be upset with him by telling him to stop. They just needed to set some boundaries.

"Maybe not, but I know Stefon better than you do and he's wildly inconsistent with this kind of thing." There was a long pause between the two. Seth barely paid him any mind as he stuck his pan in the oven and stirred the pot. Then Shy said, "Maybe I can help?"

The older man sighed, clearly annoyed as he faced him. "Honestly, Shy. I need you to go. My parents are going to be here in like an hour. I need to make sure dinner is ready, Stefon is ready, I'm ready. I don't have time for this."

"Look man, I just want to be your friend. I'm not good at this kind of thing. I don't like getting attached to people. But I'm unfortunately wrapped around Stefon's finger and now I'm trying to keep it civil."

"You and I have been fine these past few weeks. I thought we were becoming friends just fine. I don't hate you. I just don't think you understand how friendship works when there's another person in their life. For starters, not barging into the house unannounced."

Shy crossed his arms. "I'm familiar with the idea. You could have just told me you felt that way and I would've backed off. There's really never been boundaries between me and him. I forgot that might change." He leaned back against the doorframe. "I have a hard time reading people, and you're always totally neutral. I don't know your feelings about me. Just tell me when I'm bothering you."

"Shy, you're bothering me." The younger man rolled his eyes. "If you want to help me out, go wake up Stefon and tell him to get ready. I'll make sure my plans don't interrupt your night out."

"Bold of you to assume we were going out tonight. But sure, I can do that."

Shy straightened himself out and turned down the hall. He flicked on the bedroom light and closed the door. Stefon didn't budge between the noise or the light change. He was fast asleep. It felt a little mean to wake him up. Work and play left no time for sleep. It was even weirder that if Stefon wasn't awake and ready in the hour, Shy worried about what Seth would say. He was still pretty indifferent to the older man but seeking approval was not his forte.  Only for you, he thought.

He crawled onto the other side of the bed and got comfortable next to his best friend. "Stefon," he murmured. He caressed Stefon's face gently with his knuckle, starting at his temple and working his way down to his chin. "Come on buddy, time to get up." He shook his shoulder gently before finally getting so much as a grumble.