It started one day during winter. Snow fell so heavily school was cancelled for nearly a week and a half, which meant Sal and Larry were stuck at the apartments and the treehouse for the entirety of it. Every day they'd meet up and hang out, spending the empty time painting or listening to music or just enjoying each others company. The time with nothing to do and nowhere to go was best spent together. So, over the break, the two were inseparable. Their parents were never surprised to find them curled up in bed together with their video games still running. More often than not, they were together in Larry's treehouse with heaters running from every outlet or curled up on the couch together, Sal with his head on Larry's lap taunting him as he played games on his GearBoy. The walks back from the treehouse were some of the best parts. They'd have snowball fights, smoke, and talk about whatever they wanted. It was the day before the snow began to melt that was the most memorable. Larry and Sal were walking back to the apartments. "I never thought weed would taste so.. Yeah." Sal mumbled, passing the joint back to Larry. He laughed and took the last hit of it, then exhaled the smoke into his hands. "God damn my hands are so cold." He said while shivering. He let them drop to his sides, then reached over and grabbed Sal's hand. "Keep my hand warm?" Sal's face went bright red and he nodded, rubbing his thumb over the back of Larry's hand gently. They didn't speak about their hands being interlocked, nor did they let go when they got inside.
"Dude, they're so soft!" Larry exclaimed as he laced his fingers through Sal's. Sal laughed and squeezed his hand, leaning onto Larry's shoulder. "Your hands are so fucking rough." He commented. "Like how many callouses can one person have?" Larry rolled his eyes and powered on his GearBoy, sticking a game cartridge into the small slot at the top. "How are you going to play with one hand?" Sal asked as he stretched his legs out onto Larry. He got comfortable with his back against a wall, then pulled his prosthetic off. "I don't know. Maybe it'll be a challenge." Sal rolled his eyes and flopped down onto Larry's lap. "I moved out of my comfortable ass position in the corner of your bed and got in your lap so that you can play. Now play." He demanded, sticking his tongue out at him. Larry scoffed and began the game, but still grabbed Sal's hand.
"Why do you have such an obsession with my hands?" Sal finally asked as he chewed on a bite of his pizza. Larry considered the question for a second, then shrugged a bit. "I don't know. They're soft and nice.. I feel happy when I hold your hand." Sal's face went red, and he grinned. He slid his hand over into Larry's. "Maybe you should hold it more, then."