In the Fishbowl - 15. Chapter 15

A/N: Thanks to Jim for editing!

Ryan Sader was going to need a bigger bed. He’d come to this conclusion before the sun had even come up, and unfortunately it had nothing to do with waking up with an all-girl Hungarian swim team. Furthermore, he didn’t see himself waking up with one girl who happened to like to swim even if he did get a bigger bed, and this early in the morning the realization was putting a damper on his whole day.

Ryan loved Aiden--he really did. Aiden had been one of his best friends for as long as he could remember: the guy who’d been there to fill the void when his cousin Leo started seeing Ben and stopped coming to sleepovers, the perfect partner in crime when Ryan needed one; and the guy he’d generally drop anything for just to hang out with. Hell, Ryan had been thrilled when Aiden moved in. Travis was a good roommate in most respects, but his idea of fun was often too different than Ryan’s for them to do any actual bonding.

Aiden was the type of guy Ryan would call in the middle of the day just to say he had a date. He got most of Ryan’s jokes, even the bad ones, and he liked cold pizza for breakfast as much as Ryan did. Ryan had hardly blinked at giving up half of his room to Aiden. Being roommates reminded him of when they were younger and slept over at his house on the weekends, and even during the week when Aiden fought with his mom over her drinking and he’d just show up. They’d stay up all night talking about nothing, or everything, depending on their moods. Ryan considered himself a social individual; he loved having one of his best friends close at hand. But damn if he wasn’t tired of waking up with Aiden in his bed.

This, of course, was partly Ryan’s fault and he knew it. He was the one who’d invited Aiden in as soon as he learned that Aiden was having trouble sleeping on his own. He’d done it because he knew sleeping next to someone would help his friend, just as it had when they were kids and Aiden wasn’t getting along with his mother. But this time, Ryan had a feeling that Aiden’s problem had nothing to do with his mom, and because of that, Ryan had decided that he wasn’t the one Aiden should be sleeping next to.

He wouldn’t tell Aiden that, though. He’d already promised himself to let Aiden figure that out for himself. Then again, nothing was stopping him from telling the source of Aiden’s problem what he thought, and being left without his covers for the third morning in a row caused Ryan to think about paying Owen Dovan a visit.

Ryan liked Owen, too. Almost as much as Aiden, in fact. But unfortunately, Owen and Aiden’s breakup, along with Ryan’s own breakup with Lacy had caused a rift between everyone, and the only time he really found himself hanging out with Owen any more was when Nicky arranged it.

Ryan didn’t believe that it was his fault, or Owen’s. It just happened to be difficult for both of them, especially since Ryan spent so much time with Aiden, and Owen wasn’t exactly distant from Lacy. It sort of made things awkward, and it was reaching the point where Ryan was beginning to miss Owen as a friend. He missed the guy showing up almost every morning to go running, or just to talk. He missed seeing Owen happy as much as he missed seeing Aiden happy. He wasn’t deluded enough to interfere completely in whatever was going on with the two of them right now, but he would be satisfied enough if he could at least get Owen visiting again, regardless of whether or not Aiden lived there. And even if that didn’t work, Ryan was about ready to admit that he needed some help of his own when it came to Lacy, and Owen seemed like the perfect person to turn to for that.

Ryan glanced at his clock. He and Owen had a classes starting around the same time this morning; maybe if he left early they could ride together. If anything, it would give them a chance to talk. Besides, it wasn’t as if Ryan was going to sleep in to use the extra hour he seemed to have.

“School?” Aiden mumbled tiredly in his direction after he’d climbed out of bed and started to gather clothes on the way to the shower.

“Yep,” he replied, deciding that he wasn’t going to make it difficult for Aiden to sleep in by sharing the rest of his plans. “Have you got anything going on later?”

Aiden squinted one eye open to look at him. “I’m shooting a wedding at one. Wanna come?”

“Do I have to act professional?”

“Not for any reason I can see if you don’t mind me pretending I don’t know you.”

Ryan grinned. “Okay, then. I’ll call you after class.”

Aiden waved a few fingers, and Ryan had to settle for that in place of goodbye, since his friend was already falling back to sleep. Hopefully, he thought, he wouldn’t find Owen in the same condition. As fun as it was to listen to the blond’s backwards sentences whenever the guy was so tired he didn’t know what to do with himself, Ryan wanted him to be coherent enough to have a serious conversation. He was looking forward to surprising Owen, though. They’d had fun the other night with Nicky, and he thought Owen might be happy to see him.

Or at least, Owen might have been happy to see him if Ryan hadn’t missed him by mere seconds. Ryan spotted Owen’s truck heading down the street just as he reached the Dovans’ driveway. He honked once, not that it did him any good. He supposed he could follow Owen, doubting that he’d be going very far, and deciding on that course of action, he pulled out of the driveway, backed into the street, got about fifteen feet and hit his brakes when something in the rearview mirror caught his attention.

Ryan had been too distracted watching Owen drive away to notice Lacy Chapman’s familiar junker parked on the street, but he noticed now that the pretty blond was walking to it. As he parked across the street, he continued to watch as she stopped on the sidewalk a few feet away from the vehicle to fish through her purse. As usual, he imagined that it was packed full of receipts, snack wrappers and plenty of other unnecessary obstacles, since her fingertips didn’t seem to be reaching whatever it was that she was looking for. The look of frustration on her face made him smile as he got out of his car, only because he knew that she was silently swearing to herself to clean out her purse later (a task she would come up with a reason to avoid later) and his smile widened when she paused in her searching long enough to unwrap a red sucker and pop it into her mouth.

Deciding that maybe he could get by without Owen’s help after all, Ryan was just about to call out to her when someone else beat him to it, and she spun around to face Owen’s house. Ryan looked, too, and saw Chris standing in the doorway, holding out what Lacy obviously wouldn’t be finding at the bottom of her purse: her car keys.

Ryan continued across the street as she went to retrieve them, deciding that he’d meet Lacy at her car, and hoping that he didn’t surprise her too much, since lately she didn’t seem to like that. But then, as he watched Lacy Chapman reach Chris Dovan at the front door, he was the one who was in for a surprise.

Lacy took her keys, but that wasn’t all. As Ryan watched, she grabbed Chris’s hand, too, and lifting herself onto her toes she stretched her neck and placed a kiss right on the side of his chin. Usually, this wouldn’t have grabbed Ryan’s attention at all--Lacy had never been anything less than affectionate with her friends and family. But, something about this time just wasn’t like kissing her grandmother.

Maybe it was the way she looked at Chris when she finally did step back, or even his reaction to it, the way his surprised expression turned accepting and flattered as he lifted his fingers to touch the spot where her lips had been before he smiled at her and went back inside. There was something Ryan never would have expected there, and he stood back to evaluate the situation further, beginning with why Lacy was at the Dovans’ house in the first place.

He hadn’t thought anything of it because there was nothing to say about Lacy being there to see Owen, just as he was. But maybe she hadn’t been there to see Owen at all. Ryan took a moment to consider the day. Lacy didn’t have class until later, so unless she was opening the video store, she’d be running errands in her pajamas. Maybe she was running errands, but today she’d left the pajamas at home. In fact, she looked pretty, a little more than usual, as if she’d put an effort into it. Ryan knew her well enough to know that she only ever did that if she had a reason to. And this morning, he had a feeling that reason had just gone back inside the Dovan house.

Ryan supposed that he was surprised; if he ever imagined two people together, Chris and Lacy weren’t on the list. But then, Chris was older, and while he’d always been around, he’d also always seemed to be just on the outside of the circle Ryan was familiar with. That Lacy was familiar with. Ryan didn’t think his assumptions were all that strange, though. He supposed that Lacy had always had a hero-worship type of crush on Chris. Most of the girls he knew did. It could have been because he happened to be the only Dovan brother who made himself available to women. Whatever it was, Ryan knew girls liked him. Lacy was a girl. It made sense.

He decided to ask her about it, anyway, just in case he was wrong. So, when Lacy started heading back to her car, she found Ryan waiting for her in front of it.

“Good morning,” he said cheerfully, hoping for an equally cheerful response. Which, he obviously wasn’t going to get. She looked as annoyed to see him as he expected her to be. “Am I allowed to get tired of you looking at me like that?” he remarked. “Because I’ve gotta tell you...”

“This isn’t what it looks like,” she quickly interrupted. “And even if it was, it’s none of your business.”

“You mean you and Chris? It looked like you came to see him. What did you do, bring him breakfast?”

Lacy’s eyes narrowed, a sign that Ryan had the situation pegged. “What do you want?” she demanded. “Are you following me?”

“No. I’d give you fair warning before becoming a stalker. I was here to see Owen, to talk about you, but obviously I missed him.”

“Why were you going to talk to Owen about me?”

“Thought he might help me back on speaking terms with you. So, do we get to talk, or should I keep looking for Owen?”

Lacy released a breath, rolled her eyes, and as usual, decided that she’d faced Ryan long enough. “I have to go.”

“No you don’t. If you had somewhere to be, you’d already be there. You didn’t stay to eat with Chris... and even if you did, you’re probably still hungry... wanna go to breakfast?”

“Why, so you can interrogate me?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

“Um... Chris.”

He shrugged. “Why would I do that?”

Lacy frowned. “Just because you have no right to be jealous doesn’t mean you have to pretend you’re not.”

“But I’m not,” Ryan said honestly. He was feeling confused, and more so when she seemed upset about him telling the truth. “Okay, if I said something wrong, you’re gonna have to spell it out for me here... I just wanna go to breakfast.”

“Forget it. You didn’t say anything wrong, alright? And I do have to go. See you later.”

She started to walk around her car, and deciding that it was too early to argue with her, Ryan shrugged and headed to the Dovans’ front door, only to have her call after him.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“You don’t wanna go eat, so I’m gonna see if Chris has any food left,” he explained, and the look Lacy shot him was incredulous. “What?”

Ryan was pretty sure the sound he heard was Lacy growling at him before she got into her car and slammed the door, and as she drove away he stood there shaking his head. Maybe it wasn’t so bad sharing his mattress with Aiden. Females were too damn impossible.

***

Owen’s top lip was curled up, his blond eyebrows arched as he focused on the source of his current bemusement and sipped a cup of coffee that was still hot enough to scorch his tongue.

It had been a while since he was last in Leo and Ben’s condo; not because he wasn’t welcome, but because until recently, Aiden had made the place his home, and it was one of the few places where Owen hadn’t purposely attempted to run into him. Owen found himself wondering why. It was nice to be back. Ben and Leo could be welcoming people and it showed in their home, even with unfinished renovations in practically every room. He was glad he’d decided to stop by before going to an early morning class.

In the living room where Owen was sitting, the furniture had been pulled back from the walls, one of which was halfway painted, and the others... well, that’s what Owen couldn’t seem to stop staring at. Just about anything that was still white and peeling had large clowns drawn in permanent marker--ugly clowns-- and Ben was busy drawing more in every space that was left. It seemed that he was confident doing this would get Leo to finish painting the living room, which he’d promised to do after Ben finished the kitchen and two bathrooms.

“Leo’s going to hate you,” Owen finally remarked, unable to keep quiet over the matter any longer.

“Only until he paints over it,” Ben said confidently. “I can live with that.”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to just paint the room for him, instead of... all this?”

Ben turned, regarding Owen as if he’d lost his mind. “Of course, but it’s the principle. He said he’d paint it.”

“Right,” “Owen remarked, and went back to watching Ben for a few more minutes before he asked, “Ben? Do you think Leo ever gets bored with you?”

Ben looked over his barely passable artwork as he considered the question. “Absolutely not,” he decided, and then made a point to look offended. “Why would you ask me that?”

Owen shrugged. “People get bored, right?”

Ben put a cap on his marker, and moved towards the sofa, regarding his blond guest with interest. “People?”

“People... people named Aiden. Whatever.”

“What’s going on, Owen?”

“You know Travis Beltnick?”

“Kyle’s friend?” Ben nodded thoughtfully as he fell back onto the couch, lifting his feet onto the cushions. “Cutie. Definitely gay. The last time we were at the club he was checking me and Leo out so hard he might as well have been all over us. I wouldn’t have minded,” he added, just in case there might have been any confusion.

Owen rolled his eyes. “Leo would have.”

“Probably. So do you have a point?”

Owen nodded. “I was talking to him yesterday. He kind of said that Aiden was probably bored with me.”

“He said that?” Ben asked incredulously.

“Not in those words... more like suggested it.”

Ben thought that over. “He just up and said that, huh? No reason?”

“Well, first I asked if he was sleeping with Aiden since they’re roommates now.”

“And?” Ben asked, all ears now.

“They’re not.”

“Well... why would you think they were in the first place?”

“Because Aiden likes him.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Okay... you’re gonna have to get better about the details here, Owen.”

Owen grinned. “Sorry. The last time I talked to Aiden, I got the idea when he warned me away from Travis.”

“Because you like Travis?”

Owen shook his head. “I didn’t even know him, but Aiden thought he might like me... He was definitely warning me off, then he said Travis was out of my league. I guess I haven’t mentioned that?” Owen asked, when Ben’s eyes widened. “It’s okay now, I guess. He said he didn’t mean it like that, but I don’t know... I’ve just been thinking a lot lately, you know? Why we broke up and all. I always thought it was a lot of things, but maybe... maybe we weren’t working because he was bored with me.”

Ben frowned. “You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

“Well, maybe Travis is right. I’m predictable. Maybe Aiden got sick of predictable.”

Ben sighed. “I don’t know, Owen. I’m pretty sure he liked you just the way you were. If things were... boring, then it couldn’t have been just you. It can happen with relationships, though... same thing every day can get old. I’ve had my slumps with Leo.”

“So what do you do?” Owen asked. “To get past it?”

Ben grinned as he looked around the room. “We fight.”

“Fight? That works? How does fighting help?”

“Well, if you can do it without going out of your way to hurt each other, it clears the air for one thing. Not every problem has to be a big deal. A lot of little things can be a big deal, too, if you don’t let them out. And the fighting isn’t so much the important part... it’s working things out. Sometimes after a really good fight, a relationship can feel brand new again.”

Owen sighed. “Aiden and I never fought until after we broke up... do you think he wanted to? Before?”

Ben frowned. “Owen, maybe we should stick to what you wanted... What wasn’t working for you when you broke up?”

As always, Owen felt the need to think that question through. “I don’t know. I think the one big thing was... I wanted to feel like me, away from him. And some of it was him. I felt like every day there was a bigger wall between us, and I think I was afraid that if something didn’t change I’d lose him completely.” Owen paused to snort at the irony he saw in the situation. “I thought if we split up for a while, we could end up together again when we were ready--at the very least, be friends. Now it’s like I lost him, anyway. And this whole thing with Travis has me thinking... not just that Aiden thinks I’m boring. I mean, even if he does think that, and even if I did change to try to give him what he wants... I’m not sure it would be enough. I think he wants something new. Someone who’s not... me.”

Ben regarded Owen with utter sympathy, and maybe a little of something else. He opened his mouth a few times, closed it, and chewed at his lip. Since Owen knew that Ben always knew what he wanted to say, it only meant that he was wondering if there was something he should say, and this got Owen’s attention.

“What?”

“It’s just...” Ben started, and then stopped himself again, sighing in frustration. “You know, ethics suck when you can’t figure out if you’re talking to someone as a patient or a friend.”

“Aiden said something to you?” Owen asked.

Ben shrugged. “We talked a lot when he first started staying with us, just before we went on our trip.”

“And you can’t tell me what he said?”

“Well, technically Leo was there when he said it, so it’s not like...”

“Ben,” Owen said seriously. “Is it something he wouldn’t want you to say to me? Because if it is... don’t.” After all, Owen thought, he wouldn’t want that kind of treatment.

Ben nodded, and then suddenly rolled his eyes as he sat up in his seat. “Oh forget it. You’re both my friends and I can’t stand miserable people. Owen, I don’t know if the two of you are ever going to make it as a couple. That would be up to you. But, what I do know is that you two should talk if you want to make it as anything. Aiden might want to explore seeing other people now, yes. But breaking up wasn’t easy for him, either, and I won’t let you think that it was the first thing on his mind when you split up. Actually, his biggest concern was that you were interested in seeing other people. I think he wanted to give you a chance to.”

Owen nearly ended up on his feet, and might have if Ben hadn’t been quick to pull him back down. “What? Why would he say something like that?”

“I guess that’s how he was feeling. And that doesn’t necessarily make him wrong, Owen. Why don’t you calm down and think about it for a minute. You had a reason to think that you and Aiden needed distance to eventually close the distance... Is there any reason why he might have thought you needed to see someone else?”

With his eyes going uncontrollably narrow, Owen scratched at his chin until it went red, his hair until he began to pull at the short strands of it, and all the while held his breath as if it would prevent him from continuing down a train of thought that wasn’t at all to be considered helpful thinking. Unfortunately, Owen lost his battle in the end when he blurted, “Yeah! Because he’s an idiot!”

Ben’s eyes widened and he lifted a patient but objecting finger as he watched Owen leave the sofa to pace in front of it. “Um...”

“Maybe.. Maybe I said I was curious about other people a few times, but it wasn’t to hurt him. I wanted him to talk to me about the other guys he’s been with--you think I’m bad with details? Try talking to Aiden sometime!”

“Out of curiosity, why would you want to know...”

“Because I’ve only been with two people and he accounts for ninety-nine percent of it! Excuse me for being curious! But that was all! I wanted to know how it would be to...”

“There’s a fine line, Owen. Why are you so mad at him for assuming...”

“Because it’s bullshit!” Owen snapped. “He went all distant when he could have told me how he felt! And if he really wanted me to be with someone else he wouldn’t have warned me away from Travis unless he liked him!” Owen stopped suddenly, and might as well have stomped his foot to relieve himself of all the tension he was carrying. “That’s so not going to happen... I’ll see you later.”

Ben stood, but by the time he got his mouth open Owen was already slamming the door and he ended up raising his arms in defeat as he called out to an empty room. “Usually I’m more helpful than this.”

***

The early morning light seeping through the window made the room appear clouded, blue in the way that hinted at an overcast day, perhaps the cold kind that was hardly worth getting out of bed for.

Travis would climb out of bed regardless, he always did. But for the moment, he was comfortable, warm. The day-to-day aches that tended to bother his back and neck were currently no bother, and despite only closing his eyes for moments at a time through the night he felt almost well-rested, or at the very least, too satisfied to make any complaints.

He took in a slow, deep breath, an effective way to smother a yawn, and turned slowly onto his side as he slid his fingers over the naked thigh next to him. It was enough to cause Dennis’s body to jerk, and as Travis lifted himself onto an elbow he found himself looking down over the blond’s messy hair, closed eyes and slightly parted lips. He seemed peaceful... only, Travis realized with a smile--not peaceful enough to be asleep. Faker. Not that he was surprised that Dennis wanted him to think he was sleeping. They hadn’t exactly done much talking the night before, and it seemed natural that Dennis would want to avoid any awkwardness coming his way. Travis didn’t plan to ruin it for him. But then, he wasn’t interested in spoiling his own elated mood either, which meant that if Dennis was suffering in his attempts to feign sleep, he’d have to suffer a little longer.

Finding a comfortable place on his side, Travis shared Dennis’s pillow, his chin touching the blond’s shoulder while he stretched his hand over Dennis’s chest. He found himself smiling again when Dennis subtly turned his face towards him, even if he still refused to open his eyes.

Travis sighed contentedly.Sex definitely had the ability to make everything feel better. Not just the sex, but feeling close to someone, even for a little while. It had been a long time since Travis had attempted to understand emotional closeness, but the physical had always been a good substitute for it as far as he was concerned. A quick fix of intimacy could alter his mood for days, and sometimes it made it easier for him to feel less detached from... everything. Though, he wasn’t used to staying as long as he had with Dennis. He liked to take what he needed, give plenty back and then walk away until he found himself interested enough in someone again. Dennis felt a little different, but he excused it on the account that he was beginning to see Dennis as a friend, almost like Kyle, or maybe even Ryan. Maybe an easier friend in some respects. If becoming physical was going to complicate matters, Travis didn’t seem concerned by it. Dennis didn’t give the impression that he was needy, or even the type to become attached to someone. If anything, he seemed a little attention-deprived, so much so that he could become uncomfortable even by a small amount of it--a problem that Travis was more than happy to help him with. But, Travis thought, grinning again, what Dennis lacked in his ability to figure out what he wanted, he made up for with experience--which, he’d obviously gotten somewhere. And this, made Travis curious.

Travis waited for the sun to brighten the room a little more before carefully removing himself from the bed. Carefully, not because he was afraid of waking his companion--he was convinced that Dennis was plenty awake. Carefully, because it was more fun for Travis to let Dennis believe he’d been fooled. He did pause over the blond long enough to look over his closed eyes, though, and also just for fun, placed a firm kiss over Dennis’s lips before moving his mouth closer to Dennis’s ear.

“I’ll call you,” Travis whispered before he gathered his clothes, dressed quickly, petted Valentine a few times and slipped out of the room. He found a bathroom upstairs, and after mulling it over for a few seconds, decided to clean himself up some before walking to the nearest bus stop, which really wasn’t that near at all. But, when he finished he once again heard cartoons playing in the house, and instead of heading out the front door, he found himself in the living room sitting down next to Reilly Chesley, who seemed as surprised to see him as usual--more surprised this time when Travis took the bowl of cereal out of his hands and took a few bites.

“Morning, Reilly.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I have a question.”

“Yeah?” Reilly asked cautiously.

“Yeah. Who’s Dennis been fighting with?”

Reilly rubbed at his eyes and pulled his feet up onto the sofa. “I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me.”

Travis regarded Reilly skeptically as he passed back the cereal. “But you know something?”

Reilly looked uneasy, not because Travis was making him that way, but because he was always more comfortable hearing gossip than divulging it.

“His brother’s been bothering him,” he finally said.

“With more phone calls?”

Reilly pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “More than phone calls.”

Travis nodded to himself for a few long moments as he thought that over.

“I have a question, too,” Reilly suddenly said, surprising him.

Travis raised an eyebrow. “You do?”

Reilly gave a nod. “Did you spend the night again?”

“Looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“Why did you?” Reilly asked, and Travis smiled at that.

“Why? Does it bother you?”

“No,” Reilly said quickly. “It’s just... Dennis never has anyone over, and... I just thought... I was curious... because.”

Travis laughed, suddenly standing up. “Then don’t ask me. It’s his business, ask him. I’ll see you later, Reilly.”

And Travis left before he said anything that Dennis--or himself by default--could regret.

***

Travis loved having hot roommates. He’d thought he lucked out the first time he walked in on Ryan working out in his underwear, and now with Aiden living with them, he figured he’d end up chewing his hands off just to keep them to himself. Or, maybe he’d just get fat forcing various foods into his mouth to keep his comments to himself, which is exactly what he did with the rest of the waffle on his plate when Aiden walked into the kitchen messy-haired and puffy-eyed in a soft-looking pair of comfortable boxers that kept falling down one side of his hip. He looked tiredly over Travis, tucked some hair behind his ear, and asked, “Are there more waffles?”

Travis swallowed hard and regarded Aiden seriously. “I’m sorry. But, we can’t have sex.”

Aiden blinked, the comment enough to wake him up. “I did just ask for waffles, right?”

“Why? We’re you thinking something else? I totally thought are there more waffles was code for let’s have lots of morning sex. My bad. The waffles are in the freezer. The real ones. Not the pretend ones you could eat off... never mind. I’m drinking my juice.” Travis picked up his glass, brought it to his mouth, and drank slowly to keep himself as quiet as possible for as long as possible.

Being quiet would do him some good. He was in a great mood, after all. He always managed to annoy people faster when he was in a good mood.

But, at least Aiden was used to him by now. At least enough to look unfazed as he walked to the freezer, popped two waffles into the toaster, poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee and then sat at the table to wait for his food.

“Were you home last night?” Aiden asked.

“No. But I noticed you were in Ryan’s bed when I got home... please tell me there’s an interesting story behind that.”

Aiden shrugged. “Nope,” he said simply, and then studied Travis from across the table. “Out of curiosity--and I’m sure you’ll make me sorry I asked--why couldn’t we have sex?”

Travis grinned. “Why? Are you finally going to admit you want to?”

Aiden took a sip of his coffee, and Travis couldn’t tell if the face he made was for his comment, or for the foul taste of the beverage. “Do you have an actual answer?” he finally asked. “Or are you just trying to keep me on my toes?”

“It’s too early to expect you to stand on your toes,” Travis insisted. “But, I do have a real answer. I really can’t sleep with you.”

Aiden rolled his eyes. “Okay then.”

“No, seriously,” Travis told him. “And trust me, I was as disappointed as you, but now I figure it just wouldn’t be right.”

Aiden straightened his shoulders, waiting for the punch line. But, when it never came, he realized that somehow--perhaps impossibly--he was having an actual, serious conversation with Travis Beltnick.

“No one said I was disappointed,” Aiden said, almost defensively. He wasn’t sure how to be dumped gracefully by someone who... well, someone who really had no reason to dump him. “But, out of curiosity--and I know I’ll regret this--why wouldn’t it be right? Because I live here now?”

“Don’t bother moving out,” Travis replied as he ran a finger through the leftover syrup on his plate and licked it off. “That’s not why. I saw your ex-boyfriend. He wanted to know if we were going at it like confused rabbits.”

“What did you say to him?” Aiden asked, suddenly alarmed.

Travis shrugged. “I told him the truth. Now you’re off limits. Bummer, huh?”

Aiden frowned, continuing to watch Travis clean the syrup from his plate while the scent of burning waffles drifted through the kitchen and he made no effort to tend to it. “Off limits?” Aiden finally said when he realized that Travis’s attention wasn’t going to catch up to him anytime soon. “Because of Owen?”

“Yep. It would bother him, you know?” Travis stood suddenly, popping Aiden’s breakfast out of the toaster on his own before he pulled the waffles onto a plate. “Do you want syrup?”

“No... Let me get this straight: Owen asked you not to fuck around with me and you agreed, but when I asked you to leave him alone you couldn’t figure out how to do that?”

Travis glanced over his shoulder as he buttered Aiden’s breakfast. “Um... no. He didn’t actually ask me not to touch you. I don’t think. I wasn’t paying that much attention--I think I came up with that on my own.”

“Why?” Aiden demanded. Just once, he would have liked to understand Travis’s way of thinking, or at the very least, have an interpreter for it. He was definitely feeling offended, and realized surprisingly quickly that it had nothing to do with being disappointed by the idea of never having sex with Travis Beltnick.

“You were the one that said you didn’t want him to get hurt, right? And that would hurt him. Anyone could see it.” Travis brought Aiden’s plate to the table, placed it in front of him, and finally took note of the look being scorched in his direction. “Uh-oh. Am I upsetting you? You look upset.”

Aiden gave an impatient nod. “I’m upset.”

“Well, I don’t think you should be upset.”

Aiden blinked. “Excuse me?”

Travis sat down before Aiden could get up, this time, one seat closer. “Look, it’s not you, it’s me...”

“Travis,” Aiden warned. “You’re turning into a sinking ship.”

“Fine. It’s not you, it’s him.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aiden wanted to know, obviously terrified of the answer, and maybe a little too tired to hear it. But, not so tired that he didn’t want to hear it, or need to hear it. Because obviously, whatever Travis was trying to tell him needed to be made more clear. Unfortunately, Aiden wasn’t going to get his answer, and he blamed whoever was suddenly pounding on their front door.

“I’ll get that,” Travis offered. It seemed the polite thing to do; Aiden wasn’t wearing pants.

“Wait!” Aiden called, rising to his feet while Travis was already on his way to the door. “You can’t just say something like that and walk away!”

Travis looked back, but he also opened the door.

“Travis.” The voice came from outside, and once again, his attention turned away from Aiden. Owen Dovan was the last person he expected to see there, but that was exactly who he found. “Where is he?” Owen demanded.

The blond outside appeared unexpectedly determined, taking Travis by surprise. “Good morning to you, too,” Travis remarked. But, Owen was already looking past him, and the expression on his face was enough to tell Travis exactly what he saw, and that he was jumping to all the wrong conclusions. “Funny you should show up now,” Travis continued, stepping in Owen’s way and forcing him on his toes to get a better view of Aiden. “We were just talking about you.”

“Sure,” Owen said, obviously not paying attention. The look on his face was growing darker, a red hue touching his cheeks that wasn’t quite a modest blush.

Travis looked over his shoulder, not very surprised to find that Aiden was still dumbly standing there looking the messy-kind-of-sexy in his boxers. Surprised didn’t quite cover the look on his face, which unfortunately, became just as confrontational as Owen’s.

Travis sighed. He was pretty sure that if he moved out of the way some sort of disastrous confrontation that could wake the cemetery down the street would occur. Though, he doubted it would come to blows. Neither one of them would ever dare hit one another, and maybe if he moved aside whatever happened would be fun enough to watch... until his name came up, of course, and the way that Owen’s eyes were now shifting between Aiden and himself suggested that his name would come up... and nothing was stopping either one of them from hitting him...

“Didn’t I ask you to be here at seven fifteen?” Travis suddenly asked Owen as he quickly knelt down to grab his backpack.

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “Wha--”

“You’re a little late,” Travis cut him off, ushering Owen out of the doorway. “Thanks for coming, though.”

Travis slammed the door on Aiden, and it seemed to be right on time when Aiden opened his mouth to say something. All he ended up hearing, however, was Owen snapping at him.

“You fucking liar!”

“Shh!” Travis hushed him, placing a hand on Owen’s back to push him towards the parking lot. He could practically feel Aiden’s eyes burning a hole through the window behind him. “I didn’t lie to you.”

“You said you and Aiden...”

Travis grinned. “Believe me, you’d think this was as funny as I do if you heard what we were just talking about. And I’m not.”

“Then why are you trying to keep me away from him?” Owen demanded, though he wasn’t exactly trying to fight his way back to the apartment.

“Where are you parked?” Travis asked.

“Answer me!” Owen ordered.

“First tell me where you’re parked.”

Owen gritted his teeth, but pointed to his truck, and Travis was quick to steer him towards it.

“You need to get out of here,” Travis informed him. “You’re too hotheaded to go in there right now. And, I’m doing you a favor, by the way. He needs to cool off, too. That’s my fault. Not yours. Besides, right now I’m helping you drive him crazy, you just don’t know it--don’t look!” Travis insisted when Owen tried to turn his head.

“You’re helping me piss him off is what you’re doing!” Owen said angrily. “Why? So you can go back in there and convince him you’re better than me? Well, he already thinks so, so don’t bother going out of you way or...”

“Jesus, will you shut up?” Travis cut him off. He was still convinced that nothing was going to ruin his good mood, and he wasn’t about to let Owen prove him wrong. “First, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and second... did it occur to you that I really am trying to help?”

“Why would you? You said you wanted to...”

“Turn your ex inside out? Sure. Who wouldn’t? But I happen to like you, and at the moment that happens to interest me more than what’s back in that apartment. Let it go, before I change my mind.”

Owen opened his mouth, but nothing came out when... well, when he couldn’t figure out what the hell he was supposed to say to that.

“And don’t even think about hitting me!” Travis suddenly snapped, incidentally interrupting the very idea as it entered Owen’s mind. “Just get in the truck, and drive me to work.”

“What?”

“You’re going to drive me to work,” Travis repeated. “Then you’re going to promise you won’t come back here until you’ve cooled off... alright?” Travis stepped forward, placing a cautious hand on Owen’s shoulder, only to have the blond shrug it off a moment later.

“Just get in the damn truck.”