The Geek Trap (M/M Romance)

1

Winston slides onto the couch beside his best friend, Gareth Winters. The TV screen is bright in the dark room, the smell of popcorn tickling his nose until he sneezes. The couch is scratchy beneath him, and Gary hands him a handkerchief [but normal paper, i don't remember what's it called...] which he gratefully blows his nose in. "What did I miss?" Winston asks, then, pulling his legs up onto the couch and under the heavy blanket. He winces somewhat as adjusts the popcorn bowl onto his lap and picks up his glass of sparkling soda, sipping from the straw.

Gary restarts the show with the quick press of a button. "Nothing," he says, putting his feet on the table and nearly knocking over an unlit candle. "I paused it while you were gone." Gary worries his thin bottom lip, glancing at Winston and scooting a little closer to him, hand discreetly sneaking toward the popcorn bowl. He adds, "But did you know that Jason Hill is at the mall with Samantha St Claire right now?"

"No," Winston gives a perfectly appropriate scandalized gasp, holding up his hand in horror. "What a tragedy," he adds, shivering in disquiet.

Gary snorts, "Hilarious," and kicks his foot. Winston giggles, leaning his head against the backrest and popping a few popcorn into his mouth, munching down on them loudly. The TV screen draws his attention; the show's main character pops back up in the middle of an asteroid belt, hunted by hideous space pirates searching for fame and fortune in the cold universe.

Gary's shoulder leans against his as the show goes on, their attention thoroughly captured. Winston is only vaguely aware of Gary's mom moving through the living room occasionally, his concentration so focused. It's warm under the blanket, the light bright from the TV, the air-conditioner recently turned off with the arrival of autumn.

"Everything good?" Gary's mom asks at one point, Winston and Gary both making vaguely confirmatory noises. She shuffles (?) their hair, leaving them to their entertainment. Gary's phone is perpetually in his hands, the guy looking down at it every now and then and checking social media. Winston looks over his shoulder sometimes, but it's always the same thing and the many pictures of Samantha having fun with her friends get boring quickly.

Gary's expressions are fun, though. Winston pokes his cheek at the latest pout, murmuring, "You're so cute," and giggling when Gary—softly—slaps his hand away and pouts at him.

"This is serious business," Gary says in a mock-serious tone, frowning at him. "I am doing very serious business here."

"So serious you wanna pause the show?"

Gary gasps, "Absolutely not, you heathen."

Winston laughs, stretching out and plopping the now empty bowl of popcorn on the table. The table in question is full of stray things; old gossip magazines, half-empty bottles of nail polish, unlit candles, multiple decks of cards and more. It takes him a second to find a good place to put down the glass bowl, or it might tip unto the floor, but once he finally does he carefully places it down with both hands.

An alarm goes off on the TV, Winston flinching and looking up to red warning lights. Gary pats his shoulder, grinning at him with a, "Don't worry, dear, I'll protect you," and Winston snorts in reply. But he relaxes into the couch once more, readjusting the blanket.

As time passes, his eyelids slowly lower, a yawn breaking through his defenses every now and then. The next episode autoplays, Gary stretching out next to him and taking up over a third of the couch. In a moment of great self-control, Gary also chucks his phone onto the armchair in the corner beside the TV, wincing when it almost slides right off.

"Pfew," Gary audibly breathes out when it stays put, relaxing.

It's Winston's turn to pat his shoulder. "Lucky," he says, smiling when Gary rolls his eyes with a put-upon sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. Their heads lean against each other as they continue to watch the intrepid show with the intrepid hero working hard to ensure the system doesn't change.

Gary's mom pops her head through the doorway at one, asking a low volume, "You staying for dinner, Winny?"

"Yeah, if it's no trouble," responds Winston, tilting his head back to smile at her. She grins back, waving at him, and returns to the kitchen. Gary snuggles down further under his blanket, and Winston joins with a quiet sigh.

When the episode is over, the screen returns to the menu page. Winston hides a yawn behind a pale hand, muddy eyebrows furrowing as his lips twist in a small frown. Gary looks at him for one second, then tosses himself across the room and slides to his knees before the armchair. "Yes!" he announces as he gets the phone in hand, Winston giggling behind him.

"Did it survive?" Winston dryly asks, untangling his legs from the dark blanket.

Gary scoffs, standing with his phone in a knuckle-grip. "I am a master at tossing things, my hand-eye coordination is among the top 1%. According to my school nurse in third grade, and quite frankly she was way overqualified."

"Sounds true," says Winston, believing his friend 100%.

Gary's already got Samantha's social media page up when he returns to the couch and Winston hooks his chin on his shoulder, watching as Gary scrolls and scrolls. "New posts?" he asks, the TV shutting down from the inactivity and dooming them to utter darkness. Gary hisses at this, then shakes his head and sighs. Lately, he's been checking on Samantha's socials almost every day, but Winston knows he's got a crush on her, so he allows this in good humor.

"Have Jason and Samantha gotten back together?" Winston asks. He adjusts his position so Gary's bony shoulder isn't digging into his throat anymore, and discreetly plops the last popcorn into his mouth, crunching down on it with a satisfied groan.

There's a clatter behind them followed by quiet swearing as Liam enters the living room. He flicks the overhead lamp on and grumbles, "Losers," and Gary tosses some inedible popcorns at him. Liam hisses swearwords at them as he almost runs out, and Winston hides his face in Gary's shoulder, snorting.

"That little dude is weird," Gary tells him and Winston hums. Then Gary shakes his head and says, "And I haven't heard anything about them getting back together." He scoots back a little so he can look at Winston, and Winston lets go of him in turn. Gary's got a serious look in his green eyes, reddish eyebrows furrowing as he says, "He's barely popping up on her social media posts anymore. And besides, it's been months now, you know."

Winston hums, tilting his head against the backrest. "I know," he says, tone musing. His eyelashes flutter as another yawn shatter his carefully crafted defenses. He's starting to think it's not very good.

Gary pats his knees, standing and stretching. "I'll pop the next DVD in?"

"Definitely," Winston confirms, then he slowly frowns. "But I've gotta head to the toilet first." Gary's lips twitch, waving him off, and Winston looks to the large—noticeably empty—glass.

It's possible that he shouldn't have drank all that soda.