cozy cup

XVIII.

She had thrown her hair up into a messy knot on top of her head, phone in her hand. She rushed past them to the door, slipping her shoes onto her feet, looking over at Mason, who was moving as slowly as usual. "Well, come on, dude," she said, sounding almost out of breath. "We gotta go, go, go."

Mason rolled his eyes, grabbing his keys and phone from the coffee table and gliding his way over. As soon as his shoes were on his feet, Lola was pressing her small hands against his broad back and calling back to them, "Be back in about half an hour!"

Vinny blinked as silence settled back into the apartment, and Owen chuckled, moving to settle on the couch beside him. "What?" Vinny finally said, still blinking, lips settled in a tiny pout.

Owen couldn't help himself as he wrapped an arm around the other man's shoulders and pulled him into a short, sweet kiss. He pulled away way too quickly for his own liking, but the look on Vinny's face, eyes wide and sparkly, lips parted on a dreamy sigh, more than made up for it.

"Roommate day?" Vinny mumbled as Owen coaxed him into leaning against his chest. "What's that?"

Humming, Owen wrapped his arms tightly around Vinny, hand settling comfortably on his back. "Just something we do every week, if we can," he said, rubbing his chin against the top of Vinny's head, some strands of red sticking to the stubble there. "We drink and eat and catch up with each other or talk through things that we might be struggling with. Then we just have fun."

Vinny nodded, nuzzling his cheek into Owen's chest. "That sounds nice," he said softly. "I'm really happy you all have that together."

Owen looked down at him at his words, heart swelling in his chest at the pure sincerity in his voice. He brushed some hair from Vinny's face, thumbs brushing over his cheekbones lightly. "They're going to make sure you have that too, baby," he murmured. Vinny's eyes sparkled, tears threatening to wet his lashes as they welled up. "Once they drag you in, they aren't going to let you out," he joked, hoping to get him to smile. His stomach did a silly little turn as Vinny's giggle filled the air.

"You make it sound so threatening," he joked back, fingers smoothing over Owen's chest, leaving tingles behind that sent shivers down his spine.

"They aren't against threatening to keep their chosen people close. Especially Lola," Owen mused, letting himself relax against the back of the couch, pulling Vinny as close as he possibly could. A tired sigh fell from Vinny's lips, and Owen brushed a kiss over his forehead. "Just rest for now, baby. You'll need your energy when they get back."

The two men sat in silence, enjoying each other's presence. Owen hadn't felt so at peace in years, like he could finally relax, enjoy his time. That he could finally be himself and live for himself. He savored the quiet security of that moment, of his time with Vinny. There was no way to stay grounded, mind fuzzy and full of clouds, floating entirely in his weightless happiness.

His fingers curled, gripped onto Vinny's shirt as he tugged him impossibly closer. He ignored the way his heart sped up in his chest, the way fear threatened to take hold in his moment of euphoria. Owen's eyes closed as he nuzzled his face into Vinny's hair, inhaling the scent of his shampoo.

It wasn't long before their peaceful moment was interrupted, the door being pushed open to unleash the sounds of huffed breaths and the rustling of plastic bags. Owen craned his neck to look over the back of the couch, not wanting to disrupt a dozing Vinny, and could barely contain his laughter. Mason was carrying everything, arms straining to carry bags of takeout and alcohol.

"Didn't even fucking help," he grumbled, breath puffing out as he marched right to the kitchen.

Lola came in right behind him, lips tugged up into a smug little smile. "Don't make bets that you know you can't win," she said, arms crossing over her chest as she watched him take everything out to line them up on the bar separating the kitchen from the living area.

Vinny stirred against him, and Owen looked down just in time to see him blinking up at him, brows furrowed and lips pouted as he rubbed a cheek against his shoulder. He looked so much like a sleepy kitten that Owen couldn't stop himself from cooing, cupping the other man's cheeks to pull him into a quick kiss.

"Rest time is over," Owen murmured, letting his nose lightly brush against Vinny's, adoring the pink that dusted Vinny's cheeks at the move.

"Let's drink!" Lola exclaimed, from the kitchen, raising a bottle over her head.

The rest of the evening passed with Vinny and Owen hashing out all that had happened in the last few weeks. Mason and Lola were sympathetic, unsure how to help Vinny, but trying nonetheless, and Owen felt a renewed sense of thankfulness for his years-long friendship with the two. His eyes were wet as he allowed them to comfort him, to ask questions, how they knew just how to read him to know when to drop a subject. Maybe it was the alcohol influencing him, but he wanted to sob with how much he adored his friends in that moment.

Swallowing harshly, he took a sip from his drink and let himself lay across Vinny's lap. The red head hadn't had nearly as much to drink as everyone else had and was currently nursing his second glass. He startled when Owen's back made contact with his lap, snapping him from whatever reverie he had been in, and Owen found himself laughing at the cute wide-eyed stare and red cheeks. "Sorry, baby," he murmured, brushing his fingers down Vinny's jaw when the other man's fingers tangled in his hair. He looked down the couch at Mason, who was watching them, eyes crinkled in amusement, maybe even tenderness, and Owen lightly kicked his friend's leg.

Mason shook his head, a low chuckle rumbling in his chest as he relaxed back into the couch. Silence followed the moment, the atmosphere tense but light, with everyone just thinking, mulling over the previous conversations. It stretched on for less than a minute, and Owen noticed Lola shifting from her spot on the floor. He watched as she sat up properly, back straight and shoulders back.

"Dude, I haven't properly talked with my parents since I came out," Lola said softly, voice forced casual as she swirled her drink around before tossing the rest of it back. Her nose wrinkled as she swallowed it and her head fell back against the sofa cushion behind her, right between Mason's legs. Absentmindedly, Mason busied himself with tidying the blue strands, and her eyes fluttered closed at the gentle tugging on her hair. Vinny's fingers stilled in his hair, lightly gripping the strands in his surprise. "Though, who knows if it's for liking women or for having multiple partners at once."

Owen's brows raised at this new knowledge, but he didn't say anything. Mason, however, couldn't suppress his surprise, choking on his drink and nearly tipping off the couch in the process of regaining his breath. "Sorry, sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to react like that. Just surprised me a bit. But not in a bad way!!"

Lola simply laughed, head thrown back and face flushing with the force of her giggles and the alcohol in her system. Vinny's giggles mixed with Lola's and Owen couldn't keep the smile from growing on his face at his friend's flustered state.

"Chill, Mason," Lola said, breathing through her laughter in order to take a drink from the glass in her hand. "I know."

"Oh," Mason mumbled, head ducking down to hide his reddened cheeks. "Good, good."

"Do..." Vinny paused for a moment when everyone turned their attention to him. He swallowed before continuing. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head in response. "I've already talked about it enough with my therapist," she said, chuckling. "I just realized that I had never shared that with my best friends."

"Thank you for sharing, Lo," Mason murmured, staring down at her.

Owen hummed his agreement as he watched his friends, as Lola looked up at him, their eyes locking, a tender look passing between the two. It was a moment for them, and he looked away, giving them privacy. Without even meaning to, his eyes wandered up to Vinny's face, flitting over his features, ingraining them into his brain: his pink lips, his soft cheeks, his pretty blue eyes. He hoped, in that moment, that he would be able to look at him for a very, very long time.

(word count: 2,133)