He sat back on his side of the sofa and turned his head to look at Chris, who had his legs folded up but was lying down.
"So," the latter broke the silence, "your family, where are they tonight?"
"Mom and dad took my older brother to grandma and grandpa. William lives in Norway and is visiting."
"Right, right, the reason you can't stay out on weekdays and Sundays."
Dylan nodded.
"And what about your sister?"
"Riley is staying at a friend's whom I am pretty sure she's dating."
Chris chuckled. "What a nice brother you are, letting your sister sleep at his house."
"Firstly," Dylan held up a finger, "I am in no position to say who she can and can't date, and I won't rat on her. And secondly, it's not a boy, unless 'Nelly' is just a codename. Plus that they're the same age, so I'm not worried."
"Why do you think that they're dating?"
Dylan smiled softly, scooping up a handful of popcorn and stuffing them into his mouth. "Because she blushes when I ask about her... And she was a pro at helping me heal the hickeys that you gave me."
Chris laughed, he, too, grabbing some popcorn. By now, the movie was all forgotten.
"What about your parents," Dylan avoided bringing up the brother, "what are they doing on a Saturday night?"
"Dad's probably working and mom might be out? I honestly don't know," he put one leg up in the air, then down to rest on top of Dylan's legs. Then, he reached over to the popcorn bowl and grabbed a handful.
"What do they think- did you just throw popcorn at me?" Dylan snapped his eyes to Chris, who was giggling like a little boy. He was so unlike the person Dylan had thought, so far from the hard exterior that he showed strangers.
"Maybe I did," he stuck his tongue out. Dylan smiled mischievously, grabbing the entire bowl, and started throwing handfuls at a time at the other. Chris laughed, trying to catch as much of the small snacks as possible in his mouth.
Dylan didn't stop, and after only a few moments, Chris couldn't fit anymore and laughed before mumbling:
"Now kiss me you fool!"
And Dylan did. He threw himself over the dark-haired boy, connecting their lips mid-laugh and sighed, feeling very self-satisfied. He shifted closer, gently stroking Chris's hair out of his face as the latter hummed and repositioned his legs to make them easier to sit between.
Dylan couldn't help but smile into the kiss as their lips parted and reconnected in a rhythmic dance. It was all so easy when they were alone, even though they'd been together for such a short time. It felt like floating on water, so effortless and making you feel so light, without a care in the world.
Alternatively, it felt like laying on the clouds in the sky, looking down at the small buildings and the even tinier people, feeling like an ethereal being, born from the sky and not earth. Like being a god.
He felt bubbly, a giddiness that he hadn't felt in a long time resurfacing from the depths of his soul. He moved his lips downward, kissing the side of Chris's cheek, then jaw and neck, making sure to leave some marks along the way, just for good measure.
Chris sighed from above him as his lips met his defined collarbone, nipping lightly at them.
Then, a loud sound made Dylan start, looking up. Chris met his gaze and laughed at his startled facial expression, then nodded toward the TV. Dylan followed his gaze, finding that there was a gunfight on the screen.
"A little jumpy, are we?" Chris grinned and Dylan hit his shoulder gently.
"Well, I didn't know what it was!" Dylan exclaimed, he, too, grinning, though against his will.
"You're so cute," Chris pinched one of his cheeks, making Dylan jump away from him with a frown.
"You weirdo," he laughed, reaching to grab a popcorn, only to find that the bowl was basically empty. He looked around, seeing the heaps of small pieces of corn littering most of the floor under the sofa.
Chris must have noticed his gaze, 'cuz he smiled. "Yeah, that's on you."
"You started it," Dylan countered.
"You ended it, though," Chris laughed, "still, I'll help you clean... because I'm special and different."
Dylan laughed at the other's antics. "How noble of you," he grinned and let their lips touch for just a second before pulling away and walked out of the living room to find a broom in the broom closet.
When he returned, Chris was sitting up on the sofa, scooping up some of the mess up with his hands. Dylan nudged his hands away and started sweeping the kernels up with the broom instead.
On the TV, the credits rolled.
"We really didn't watch that movie, did we," Chris huffed. Dylan hummed.
"Maybe not," he smiled, "but I had a good time nonetheless."
"Me too."
He finished the cleaning and threw out the leftover kernels in the kitchen. Then, he returned to the living room but didn't sit down.
"Do you wanna move upstairs?" He asked, leaning against the opening. Chris smiled.
"Sure," he replied, walking over to Dylan and stole a quick kiss before continuing toward the stairs. Dylan followed close behind, playing with the end of Chris's shirt.
"Tell me about the ocean, Dylan," Chris threw himself on the beg, propping himself up on his arms. Dylan grinned.
"It's really deep," he smiled, "and it has these really cool creatures, like the Greenland Shark which is really, really slow, has toxic flesh and lives for over 400 years."
"That's terrifying... but kinda cool," Chris laughed.
"Yeah, and they're usually blind since parasites eat their eyes."
"Ouchie," Chris mumbled, making Dylan laugh.
"You mock me for saying 'alrighty' but you say ouchie?" He accused, sitting down cross-legged on the bed.
Chris hummed, then made a kissy-face. Dylan ignored it, not satisfied with the answer he'd gotten. Chris huffed, reaching out and pulled Dylan down to lay next to him. He wrapped his arms around the shorter, then his legs as well. Dylan relaxed, not realizing the trap until it was too late.
"No-" he tried, the word cut off by a loud yell as Chris dug his fingers into Dylan's sides, "st-stop!" He squirmed aggressively, trying to get out of the strong grip.
"Only if you kiss me."
"O-okay! I surrender, please!" His words were cut off by fits of laughter, but then Chris released his hold and Dylan could finally breathe. He turned around on the bed and leaned closer, giving the other a slow kiss before immediately moving farther down with his lips, opting to suck marks along his neck.
__
This time, when he woke up entangled with Chris, there was no panic or hurry. He cuddled closer, burying his nose into Chris's collarbone and kept his eyes closed, fully content with knowing that his parents wouldn't come home until much later.
After about half an hour of just feeling cozy, he carefully untangling himself from the embrace and went over to his closet, picking some sweatpants, and then went out of the room, heading toward the bathroom.
It was nothing short of a miracle that he'd actually slept comfortably since he'd been wearing jeans all night. He quickly pulled them off and instead got into the, way more comfortable, sweats.
"Good morning," Chris mumbled from the bed as Dylan returned from the bathroom.
"G' morning," he grinned.
"Are your parents home?" Chris sat up on the bed and looked out the window.
"No, they get home tonight."
"When does your sister get home?"
Dylan shrugged. "I don't know. She'll probably call when she wants me to pick her up."
"That's sweet of you," Chris said, smiling.
"Yeah, well, I try," he sighed and sat down on the bed. "I kind of look forward to my brother leaving again."
"Why?" Chris frowned.
"Because then Riley and I can be out whenever we want again, do what we want."
"That's hardly your brother's fault, though, is it?"
"Maybe not intentionally, but he's the reason mom introduced the grounding," Dylan shot back.
Chris shook his head. "Shouldn't you be happy that he's home?"
"Why would I be that?"
"Because he's your brother, and he loves you."
"That's a sudden change of heart on his part, and yes, I kind of enjoy his company nowadays, but I still want my freedom back," Dylan countered, staring at Chris.
"I'm just saying that you should be happy that he's here while he's here. I would do anything to spend time with Sam," Chris retorted, making Dylan roll his eyes.
"There's nothing stopping you! You and I obviously have had very different experiences of being the little brother," he snapped.
"Obviously," Chris bit back, huffing angrily and looking away from Dylan's eyes. Then, he looked back, tilting his head. "What do you mean 'that's a sudden change on his part'?"
Dylan sighed. That was something that he'd rather not talk about with anyone. Well, with Felicia, it had been unavoidable since she was there, but no one else knew. It was his turn to look away.
"You don't have to tell me," Chris said gently, catching Dylan's uncomfortable expression.
"I'll tell you one day," he said, "we just didn't have a good relationship."
"I'm sorry," Chris said, reaching his arms out to grab Dylan's hands. Dylan let himself be guided back to the bed, sighing in relief as Chris nosed along his collar, up to his neck. "How bad is my neck?"
Dylan couldn't help but grin. "It's pretty bad," he chuckled.
"That's not going to do anything to help with my reputation, you know."
"Maybe not," Dylan wrapped his arms around his neck, "but I know how you got them, so I don't mind." Chris laughed.
"I bet you don't. But... maybe I have to get back at you now."
"No, you can't get back at me for getting back at you," he exclaimed, pulling his neck away from Chris's lips, "that's just going to create a vicious cycle."
Chris hummed. "Yeah, but is that such a bad thing?"
Dylan pulled away completely. "In this case, maybe not, but we should get out of bed, it's almost-" he looked at the clock, "-eleven."
"That's not even late!" Chris groaned aloud, throwing himself back onto the bed and wrapped a blanket around himself. Dylan laughed.
"Come on, Chrissy," Chris stuck his head out from under the blanket, both eyebrows raised, "I'll make pancakes-"
"Did you just call me Chrissy?"
Dylan stood completely still, not saying anything. So, he didn't like that..? Then, seeing a glint in Chris's eye, he bolted toward the door. Chris was only moments behind him, throwing the blanket away and hurrying to catch Dylan.
"I'll tickle you to death, you hear?" The taller panted, barely a step behind. Dylan squealed at the threat quickened his pace, jumping the last few steps of the stairs and aiming for the kitchen. Once he got behind the kitchen island, he stopped, gripping onto both of the sides for leverage.
Chris was in front of him in an instant, the only thing between them being the countertop.
"I'll make you pancakes if you don't, though," Dylan negotiated, holding out a hand. Chris narrowed his eyes.
"Fine," he replied slowly after a minute of silence, taking Dylan's hand.
Dylan took a breath, turning around to the pantry to get the needed ingredients. Chris came up behind him and placed his hands on Dylan's hips, but didn't do anything more than to rest his head on the shorter's shoulder.
Only a few minutes later, Dylan was flipping the fifth pancake while Chris was sitting on the kitchen island.
"You really like sitting where you're not supposed to sit, don't you?" Dylan laughed.
"I like feeling tall," Chris smiled, making Dylan huff.
"You're literally like six-three."
"Six-two... and a half," he chuckled.
"Same thing!" Dylan exclaimed as he put yet another pancake on the stack that he was working on.
///