BLUE [BXB]

TWENTY

Ethan stirred in his sleep, feeling a light touch press against his cheek. "Hm?" he shifted, mumbling incoherently.

He heard a soft chuckle, then the touch was back, this time ghosting on his forehead. "You gotta get up, Sleepyhead."

Grudgingly, Ethan opened his eyes, not at all regretting his decision when he saw bright blue ones staring back at him. Almost involuntarily, a massive grin broke out on his face. "If you're gonna keep waking me up, I don't think it's gonna work out between us."

Vincent hummed, smiling at the amusement in Ethan's tone as his hand tangled itself in the boy's dark locks. "Don't be such a Grinch. It's Christmas."

Ethan smirked. "Oh yeah? Then I'd like to stay in bed and spend some more time with my gift," he said, rubbing Vincent's exposed thigh.

Vincent rolled his eyes, but blushed nonetheless. "That was the cheesiest thing you've ever said."

Ethan laughed, sitting up to capture Vincent's lips shortly. "Still can't believe I get to do that whenever I want."

Vincent chuckled, winding his arms around Ethan's neck and puling him back in for another kiss. "We have to go downstairs and spend time with your family," he protested when the jock started kissing down his neck.

"We can stay here a while," he mumbled against Vincent's skin, arm snaking beneath his shirt to caress the warm skin. "Nobody will miss us."

"Wow, you think so highly of us," Drew's voice rang through the room, startling both of them. Ethan looked horrified, and Vincent feared he would panic and kick him out. To everyone's surprise, though, he regained his composure a second later, wrapping an arm around Vincent's waist and glaring at his brother.

"Fuck off, Drew," he snapped at his brother who smiled knowingly.

"I'll let that slide just because I know how much it sucks to get interrupted," he teased.

Ethan's face scrunched up in disgust, "Ew, Weirdo. Didn't need to know that."

Vincent laughed, lightly slapping Ethan's shoulder. Ethan gasped mockingly, grabbing Vincent's arm and pulling him closer to attack his face with kisses.

Drew cleared his throat, but that failed to catch the attention of the boys who seemed to be lost in each other. "Mom and Dad sent me up here to get you," Crickets. "Fine, but if I were you, I'd go downstairs before they come up here."

That managed to snap them out of it. Getting caught by a sibling was awkward, but getting caught by parents was just disgusting. Vincent threw on a pair of sweatpants—much to Ethan's dismay—and the pair descended down the stairs into the living room. There, their nostrils were assaulted by the mouth-watering scent of waffles that wafted from the kitchen.

They were met with muffled greetings from stuffed mouths, everybody looking up at them with kind smiles—except for Drew, who stayed smirking. Vincent pulled out a chair, about to sit down when Ethan grabbed his arm and stopped him. Vincent looked back at him with questioning eyes.

It came as a surprise for everyone—except Drew—when Ethan planted his lips straight on Vincent's right where everyone could see. When he pulled away from the short-lived peck, he linked his hand with Vincent's and stared back at his dead-silent family with feigned confidence. Vincent could feel Ethan's fingers shake, so he tightened his grip on them. "I just thought everyone should know."

Everything was eerily quiet, up until Steven Gray swallowed his mouthful, looked Ethan dead in the eye and said, "Well, it's about time."

Ethan's jaw went slack, spluttering unintelligible words he didn't even realize were coming out. Steven merely shrugged, sipping on his orange juice. "Ethan, honey," it was Stephanie who spoke this time. "You didn't really think we hadn't picked up on what was going on, did you?"