27 27- Sleepover

"Hey, sorry I missed your call a few days ago, bro. I was riding high on the horny–mone train. You didn't leave a message or call back or nothing, so I just assumed things were Gucci."

The overnight shift at FedEx started half an hour ago. It was just Michael and Ryan loading a small truck, their other teammate, Jack, had been pulled to work the forklift for the warehouse.

"Mick, did you really just call your heat the 'horny–mone train'?" Ryan couldn't help it, he cracked up a little.

"I did, indeed!" Michael proclaimed proudly, "And guess what? I'm in love!!!"

"So, who's your crush this time?"

Mick swooned as he picked up another box. "Channel 5 news weather man, Edwardo Sanchez!"

Michael tended to have a new crush every time he got his heat. They were usually some celebrity, or occasionally, a vlogger. But, according to his own words, such relationships were preferable. A little "one-sided fling" that the other party knows nothing about. He gets the relief he needs, and no one gets hurt. Ryan tried it a few times, but it didn't work as well for him. Only recently had putting a face to the fantasy brought any satisfaction.

Ryan didn't have cable. He'd never seen the Channel 5 News as far as he could remember. He teased his friend a little. "So, is this guy an alpha?"

"Does it matter? He did his job and then some! Damn eyebrows for days! Voice smoother than a shot of good tequila... Did you know he's a photographer? I follow him on Instagram."

Ryan let his friend talk. He'd been on this topic since the shift started. Ryan wanted to share his own news so bad, his news of having been sick, of beds having been shared, of Scott's marvelous chest fluff, of the "I love you's exchanged... Maybe after lunch. Breakfast? Meal break. After the meal break he'd do his own bragging. Truthfully, he thought Mick could take another day off after his heat. His hormones always seemed to take longer to go back to normal.

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In the end, Ryan never did get to share his news. They'd been split after the break, and he didn't get a window that seemed appropriate to interject his own story.

Later on, his shift at the grocery store was about as normal as anyone could expect. There were an average amount of customers, and an average amount of cleaning, and an average amount of headache.

Tonight was date night, and he couldn't afford to lollygag. He headed straight home after work. He needed to go to sleep as soon as possible, so he'd be rested enough for tonight. To assuage his empty belly, a spoon of peanut butter sufficed. It was quick, it was protein, and it stopped the hunger.

Ryan had been out of peanut butter for a while, but since his paycheck dropped, he was able to get groceries again. Not that he ever got much, seeing as he had to carry

everything, but he tried to keep some staples around at least. There was one serving of the broth Scott had given him left. It stretched very nicely with the addition of some frozen vegetables. His fridge still looked pretty bare, notwithstanding the half case of Gatorade.

He slipped off his pants and crawled into bed. It felt so empty. It took all of a night and a half to spoil him, it seemed. He wanted to share a bed with Scott again. He hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. Was it selfish to want something like that? There were extenuating circumstances, after all. Would it even be fair to ask for? These were the thoughts that plagued him as he forced himself to get some sleep.

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"Can I come up? I've got something for you." Scott's voice came over Ryan's phone speaker.

"Sure, I'll meet you down in the lobby!"

Ryan was nearly ready to go, he just finished downing the last of a cup of cheap, strong coffee. Every time they had a date it seemed something was cut short because he couldn't stay awake. This was his solution. If they were only going to see each other once a week, he was going to make it count, damnit!

A quick tooth brushing and he was out the door. You can't have coffee breath when you meet your boyfriend. Or at least, he didn't want to have coffee breath. Scott may have seen him as low and pitiful as he could possibly be, but he wanted to keep up appearances.

When Ryan came out of the elevator, Scott was there, just outside of the security checkpoint. That somewhat lopsided grin, hair still impeccably styled from work, blue scrubs, lab coat, and arms held open for hugging. He was, indeed, holding a bag of something. Ryan wasted no time in getting himself to the center of those arms. They shared a quick kiss, with complete disregard for the presence of the security and front desk staff.

The security check revealed Scott to have two containers of food, one of which contained a selection of fancy cookies.

"It's not from me, it's from my parents," Scott explained as they made their way to Ryan's unit. "I told them how sick you'd been, and they insisted on sending this for you."

Scott also may or may not have hinted at Ryan's suspected food scarcity, but Ryan didn't need to know that.

"You'll have to thank them for me!" Ryan replied enthusiastically, leading his boyfriend further into the apartment complex.

Ryan's apartment was just as sparse as Scott remembered it being two days ago.

"Sorry for the mess, I didn't know you were coming over today."

The place was nowhere near what Scott would consider messy. There was a single sock on the floor, and the bed was unmade. After Ryan put the food away, Scott hugged him from behind, planting a delicate kiss on his ear, earning him a blushing boyfriend.

"Where do you want to go today?" Scott's voice was soft, his breath warm against Ryan's face, "I'll take you anywhere you like."

Ryan had to consider for a moment. Usually, Scott had a place picked out beforehand, and he just went with it. Where did he want to go? A little thinking and he knew exactly where, and what he wanted to do. Would Scott go for it? Maybe if he didn't, he could play it off as a joke? One way to find out...

"How about pizza...? And maybe some video games...? At your place...?" Ryan asked uncertainly.

He loved him. Oh god, did Scott ever love this guy! He squeezed Ryan just a little tighter

"...Sleepover?" Scott questioned eagerly.

"Would that be okay??" Ryan spun so he was face to face with Scott, his own eagerness plain to see.

Scott kissed his nose, wearing a matching stupid grin.

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Now this, THIS was fun! They sat side by side on the couch, close enough for their thighs to touch. A demolished pizza sat in its box in front of them, and there was nothing left of their cinnamon bread but crumbs. They were playing an older version of a mini game tournament, and even though Scott was throwing some of the games on purpose, there were a few Ryan actually gave him a run for his money on. In the end, Scott won two tournaments out of three, but they were all close.

Next came showers. Scott went first. Ryan wondered if he would ever get used to seeing his boyfriend shirtless and wet haired, it was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Scott felt the same about a certain post–shower omega, clad in his t-shirt and underwear, with damp curls hanging loosely around his face. Speaking of which, Scott helped him with that particular issue, leading him back to the bathroom to thoroughly dry Ryan's hair and braid it back.

Ryan sighed in contentment. "You're spoiling me, you know? How'd you even learn how to braid?"

"There's about nine years between my sister and me. I used to help her get ready in the mornings. It's come in handy, I'd say."

Scott tugged the braid playfully and Ryan stuck his tongue out at him. When Scott turned to brush his teeth, Ryan noticed something and saw his opening.

"Hey, did you know you've got a few pimples on your back?"

"Dzoo I?" Scott mouth was occupied, but his tone was teasing. "Chan ya get'm?"

Ryan lightly tapped an area of skin. "Tense this muscle..."

A few minutes, and several winces and some hissing from Scott later, Ryan declared himself done. He was dabbing some spots with a tissue, which Scott happened to see had little dots of red on it.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, "Does the blood bother you?"

Ryan's tone indicated how unperturbed he was. "I know it sounds weird, but as long as I know it's not mine, it doesn't bother me as much. So long as it doesn't start dripping, I'm good."

Scott caught his hand and kissed it. "Want me to do you next?"

"Um.. s-sure, if you want..." Ryan wasn't expecting to have the tables turned on him like that. He didn't take his shirt off, but instead pulled it up to his shoulders, exposing most of his back, and hiding his collared neck and face a little. He nodded ascent when Scott told him to tell him if it hurts.

Scott used a deliberately gentle touch. Ryan, surprisingly, had very few blemishes. Now that he was able to get up close and personal though, Scott noticed something else he considered very important. Ryan had some very fine scarring on his back. The numerous marks were barely perceptible, the faintest of slightly lighter colored lines against tan skin. Scott decided against asking about them for now.

With both of them now clean and free of their hard-to-reach acne, it was time for bed. They'd already stayed up fairly late playing the game, and they were planning to go for breakfast before Scott has to be at work in the morning. It would be an early start. Ryan was regretting drinking that coffee. He didn't feel tired at all, not that he'd admit to it.

With the lights out, they snuggled in close, Scott wrapping himself around Ryan's slender frame. It was quiet, and peaceful. Each was taking in the smell of the other, drawing comfort and promoting intimacy. Scott made his move, now was a good a time as any. Unfortunately, Ryan beat him to it.

Keeping his voice low, he asked, "Cuddle Bug, do you think I'm attractive?"