Chapter Fourteen
Preston's laughing, but he presses his lips together and drops quiet when he hears the kids snoring, shaking against Lachlan's side with the effort of keeping silent. He just grins. Preston's barely even tipsy but he always gets giggly after a couple of beers; Lachlan used to find it annoying, but these days he knows it's just hilarious, and kind of adorable, even if that's not a word Lachlan likes to throw around. Preston just seems - happy. They've only been drinking together in front of the TV downstairs, hardly anything special, but Preston's acting like it's been the best fucking night of his life. In his head, he's probably decided it was a date. Lachlan had just really wanted to watch Ice Road Truckers.
Rob's foot is hanging off the edge of his mattress, and Ruby's little chest is rising and falling under her Spider-Man sheets. The whole upstairs of the house is quiet and still in that way it only can be in the middle of the night, and Preston feels a little bad for disturbing it, when he knows any peace this house can get is a rare and needed blessing. Lachlan clearly doesn't share the same concern, though, just giggles into Preston's side for a moment longer before taking a deep breath, tugging off his pants, and falling face first onto his bed. The mattress squeaks loudly when he falls onto it. He turns his head to look at Preston, who's still standing in the middle of the room, grinning.
Lachlan knows he must look like an idiot. He just doesn't especially care. He's used to being stupid for Preston, by now.
After a second of staring at Preston, grinning, Lachlan remembers that he's bone tired and actually just wants to go to bed. He pulls off his shirt, which is actually Preston's shirt and smells really good, so he's left in just his sweatpants. Preston's makeshift bed is still on the floor, just like it has been for the last six nights - as long as he's been staying at the house again. He plonks himself down onto the floor and pulls the tangle of blankets up over his body, stares up at the slither of Preston he can see over the edge of the bed.
"Goodnight," he says quietly, feeling odd for sending his words out into the silence.
Without meaning to, Preston lifts his hand, the one closest to Lachlan's bed, and fists his hand in his sheets where they're dangling over the edge of the mattress. He knows Lachlan can't see what he's doing, but he still blushes a little.
But - as soon as he's connected to Lachlan in any way, he just feels calm. When they're kissing it's like everything else in the world disappears and Preston's heart almost stops altogether; when they're just touching, casually, wrestling or leaning a hand on the other's arm, Preston feels like all the tension in his body drains away from the point where they're joined. When they fuck Preston's brain short circuits, he goes crazy and soft and pliant and forgets about everything else in the universe, lets Lachlan do whatever he wants. And even with things like this, just holding onto his sheets, just touching something of his, or wearing his clothes, or hearing his name - it slows Preston's frantic heart, lets his breath come a little easier. He closes his eyes, surrounded by Lachlan, and feels like he could drop to sleep in a second.
He's heard people compare love to mania before, say that it's like a hurricane or a storm or something chaotic, say that if it doesn't set every inch of you on fire you're doing it wrong. But that's not how it is, for Preston. Preston's spent his whole life tense, his whole life frantic, his whole life with his mind whirring and his chest itching and his entire body ready to fight or flight at any given moment. If that's what love is supposed to be like, Preston doesn't want it - he's sick of that more than he can even comprehend. Love, for Preston, is Lachlan, who makes him forget the bad things, who makes him feel calm and quiet and safe, like he's wrapped up inside a fuckin' fuzzy blanket or something, being fed soup.
For a moment, Preston lies there and enjoys the rare silence in the house, then, Lachlan breaks the silence.
"Come here, idiot," he says. He half sits up from the bed, and Preston can see in the darkness that he's smiling fondly, rolling his eyes. He reaches a hand out and grabs Preston's wrist, pulls him up.
Preston panics for a moment. He's been staying with them for nearly a week, but as far as anyone but Preston knows, it's just because he's not at school, not because he's fucking one of them. But when Lachlan's looking at him with those amused eyes, he knows he's lost all resistance. He lets himself be pulled up and onto the bed, and settles into the crook of Lachlan's arm, pressing their bodies together as close as he can, resting his hand on the soft skin of Lachlan's arm, brushing his thumb over the freckles. Lachlan presses a kiss to Preston's forehead, and Preston feels his whole soul cave in on itself. He just feels warm, and full of something he thinks is like happiness but seems more important, somehow.
With Lachlan wrapped around him, Preston falls asleep within seconds.
• •
When Rob wakes up the next morning, he sees Preston and Lachlan tangled together on Lachlan's bed. They've so obviously been dancing around the whole couple thing for a while now - Rob's overheard about ten conversations between them, arguments really, about whether or not they should tell the rest of the family. Rob couldn't actually care less.
Finding a shirt that seems clean enough, he pulls it over his head, and then begins the hunt for socks. It's a cold morning, still in the middle of Chicago winter and the heat in their house is off again, so his toes are freezing where they curl into the floor.
There aren't any socks in Lachlan's sock drawer. The sock drawer is instead full of dirty laundry and a roll of condoms. Rob starts hunting on the carpet, under the beds.
Which is why he's nose to nose with Preston when Preston wakes up.
Rob quickly jumps back when he sees Preston's eyes flutter open. It seems to take Preston a moment to realise what's going on, his expression at first blissfully happy, more peaceful than Rob's ever seen as he snuggles back a little into Lachlan's arms. Then he spots Rob looking at him, and his whole body tenses, eyes shooting wide open. He sits up with a jerk, ripping Lachlan's arms away from him.
"It's - I'm - it's not what it looks like," he says frantically, arms flailing about like he can't decide whether he should beg or reach for a gun.
Rob rolls his eyes.
"I've walked in on you sucking his dick like, five times, chill already," he says, pulling on the first two socks he finds - one blue and grey striped, the other baby pink with a hole in the toe - and heading towards the door, ignoring Preston's terrified expression.
Jerome looked up from the breakfast he was heating as Rob stumbled down the stairs tiredly. Rob didn't acknowledge him until he was seated at the table and blearily looking around for food. "Hey," the younger boy nodded at Jerome and yawned.
"What's with you?" Jerome asked as he started putting together a plate of food for himself.
"Lachlan and Preston went to bed late last night, woke me up." Rob answered yawning once again and stretching.
Jerome glanced to the stairs and walked to the table, sitting beside Rob and pulling a fork out to eat with, "Preston's still here?" Rob nodded and grabbed a fork of his own, casually picking food off of Jerome's plate, He smiled and pushed the plate over to Rob before standing to make up another for himself."So what do you think of him living here again?" Jerome asked, trying to keep his question sounding casual.
Rob shrugged once again (what was it with teens and being nonchalant?), "I like him better than Mitch so I guess I'm okay with it."
Jerome took a bite and watched Rob, "what does Mitch have to do with this?"
"Well Mitch basically lives here, and now Preston's Lachlan's boyfriend and he lives here." Rob took a large bite of food and continued talking while he chewed, "but I like Preston better so I guess it's okay."
Vikk nearly choked from where he was standing at the counter, "Preston is Lachlan's boyfriend?"
Rob looked up from his plate at Vikk, "isn't he? He sleeps on Lachlan's floor all the time instead of the couch."
Jerome found himself the one to be shrugging this time as Vikk went back to his breakfast.
• •
"Oh, you want it? That's what you said was it?" Lachlan grinned as he held the last pop-tart back from Preston.
"You know that's what I said," Preston said, his own smile breaking through as he grabbed at it, only for Lachlan to pull it out of his reach. "Oh come on, you know I called it."
"Don't think you did," Lachlan said and Preston made a quick move for him.
Lachlan dodged and ran out of the kitchen and around the table with Preston hot on his tail. They both laughed and Lachlan flicked his eyebrows at Preston, dodging again before Preston grabbed his arm and spun him around to pin him against the wall.
"Ow! Easy there, tough guy," Lachlan said as Preston wrapped him in his arms and held him tightly in a bear hug. "Okay, okay, you win!"
He grinned. "Of course I win, you've got no where to go from here."
"Alright, you had your fun, wanna ease up on the death grip?" Lachlan said.
"I don't know, I kind of like you where you are," Preston said, dipping his head to kiss him.
Lachlan let him for a moment before shaking his head. "I said 'ease up', I didn't say 'let go'," he said and Preston smiled, swaying his hips a little and kissing him again.
They didn't even notice Jerome and Jess walk in from the living room.
"You two are so adorable, you make me sick," Jess said, shaking her head and Jerome chuckled.
Preston rolled his eyes and finally let Lachlan go, taking the pop-tart from his hand and walking back to the kitchen.
"It is kinda sweet, isn't it?" Jerome said with his usual smug grin.
Lachlan held up his middle finger at the two of them and straightened his shirt a little.
"Fuckin' love," Jess said.
"We don't use the 'L word' here, gets 'em all jumpy," Jerome grinned.
"Oh shut the fuck up," Lachlan said.
"Hey, you should see 'em down at the bar, thinkin' people don't see em talkin' and smilin' at each other. Wouldn't think they'd give a shit after the way he came out," he said, pointing his thumb at Lachlan.
"Do you want something or are you just asking for me to punch you in the face?" Lachlan asked, staring him down from behind the bench.
"Yeah, you comin' down to the bar today or are you gonna be here spooning Preston all day?" Jerome said and Jess leant in.
"Don't forget the exchanging of adorable nicknames," she said and Preston threw a plastic cup at her head.
"Yeah I'm comin' down, Jesus," Lachlan grumbled.
"Do you mean coming or going?" Jess said and Lachlan huffed loudly.
Jerome just laughed and nudged Jess with his elbow. "Both probably," he said and they both laughed to themselves.
Lachlan put a hand to his forehead and rubbed his temples. Fucking idiots, he thought.
"Are you guys done now?" Preston asked, leaning on the bench and raising an eyebrow at them.
"Yeah, we're done," Jerome said, walking through the kitchen and giving Lachlan a pat on the back. "Come on, come give me a hand with this fuckin' thing."
"Later lovebirds," Jess said with a wink as she followed Jerome out and into the back yard.
Preston looked over at Lachlan who was still shaking his head and walked around to stand beside him. He leant his face in close, looking up and off into space.
"You know, you're sort of blushing really badly," he said and Lachlan huffed again, turning to look at him.
"You're as bad as those two assholes," he said.
"Yeah but you let me get away with way more than they ever could," he said, slipping his arms around Lachlan's waist.
"Yeah well no shit, you spend half the night with your mouth around my-" he was cut off when Preston planted his lips against him, parting them slightly and silencing him completely.
Lachlan's hands reached up instinctively to cup Preston's face, his eyes closed as he let himself get lost in the kiss.
Of course though, Jerome walked back in at that moment, covering his eyes and exclaiming loudly as he did so.
"Whoa, sorry, not interrupting am I?" he said and both Preston and Lachlan turned only their heads towards him with exasperated expressions on their faces. "Alright, alright, I'm going. Was just wondering if I left my keys in here."
"Probably still in the truck," Preston said and Lachlan just glared at Jerome.
"You're probably right, you know I'm always doing that? I don't know why-"
"Oh would you get your ass out of here?" Lachlan said impatiently. "I'll get down to the fuckin' bar in like a half hour."
"That all?" Jerome said with a grin and Preston pursed his lips as he tried not to smile.
Lachlan's nostrils flared and Jerome put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, alright, I'm gone. You know I'm just teasing you guys, right?"
"We know," Preston said and Jerome gave them a friendly nod as he turned to go back outside, yelling something at Jess as he did.
"Never a dull moment here is there?" Preston grumbled.
"Not when you're here," Lachlan said softly and Preston rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, you heard me, you got a half hour so make it good," he said and Preston's lips turned up into a smile as they leant in to leave Lachlan with another searing kiss.