“Hey, you look like shit.” Patrick grinned and slapped his brother on the back, hard, when he finally appeared.
“Fuck off,” Ben grunted, dropping his suitcase almost on Patrick’s foot. He stank of stale beer, and Patrick guessed they’d been drinking the night before since the flight had been a late one.
The rest of Ben’s mates appeared behind him and greeted Patrick with weak smiles and yawns. They were a sorry-looking group, and Patrick laughed as he told them so. A chorus of mumbled curses did nothing but make him laugh more.
“God, just take me to the car already.” Ben looked pointedly at his suitcase, not moving until Patrick picked it up with a put-upon sigh. “And why are you so fucking chipper at five thirty in the morning?”
The question took Patrick a little by surprise, and he felt some of his good mood slip away. The truth was he didn’t feel chipper in the least. It was just really fucking good to see his brother, and he pulled Ben into a quick but fierce hug. “I’m glad you’re back, that’s all.” His voice didn’t waver, but Patrick was shit at hiding his feelings, especially from family.
Ben drew back and took a good look at him, seeming far more alert than he had been a minute ago. He knocked Patrick’s shoulder with his own and ruffled his hair. “I need coffee and food first. Then you can tell me all about it.”
Patrick had been expecting Ben to be mad, or at least give him an eye roll and an “I told you this would happen,” but Ben stayed quiet for most of the journey home, dozing in the passenger seat. He only woke up to point Patrick to the nearest McDonald’s and place his order.
They took the food home, and Ben shuffled in behind Patrick as he carried the food inside and set it on the lounge table. Cleo rushed out to greet him, and Ben bent down to fuss her as she purred and rubbed around his legs. It took him a while to realize that the flat was empty apart from his cat.
Ben stopped stroking her as soon as it dawned on him, raising an eyebrow as he glanced over at the spare room. Patrick had left the door wide open, and one of his bags lay open on the floor next to the bed.
“Is Will gone already?”
“Yeah, Sunday night.” Patrick sat down on the sofa with a heavy sigh and kept his eyes on the floor.
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry. He’s your best mate, and I’ve gone and made things weird between you.” He covered his face with his hands, not wanting to see Ben’s expression. “Shit.”
Patrick listened to the rustle of paper as Ben unwrapped his breakfast and waited for him to say something.
“God, that’s good.” Ben moaned loudly as he ate, and Patrick glanced up to see him settle back on the sofa and pat his belly. “Look,” he said when he saw Patrick watching him, “I’m not gonna lie and say that I was happy about you and Will getting together, but like I said before, you’re both adults.” He grinned then and added, “Just about.”
“Fuck off.” Patrick felt marginally better but still shitty.
“Me and Will are gonna be fine, I’m sure. As long as he didn’t do anything dickish.” Ben paused and eyed Patrick closely. “And you better not have done, either.”
“No, ’course not. It was nothing like that.” Patrick kind of wanted to talk about it. Ben probably knew Will better than most people, but it felt awkward discussing it with him. “Things got complicated, and so we stopped.”
Ben finished off his coffee and set it down on the table. “I’m sure I’ll regret this, and please spare me the details, but you might as well tell me what happened.”
And so Patrick did.
Ben covered his face and cringed when Patrick explained about the towel-dropping incident and what followed. He motioned for Patrick to hurry up and get past it already and complained that he’d said “no bloody details!” He didn’t comment on anything else, though, and Patrick got all the way to the end, skimming over the row in the café, before Ben spoke again.
“So, basically you think Will liked you more than he let on?”
“Yes.”
“But ended it because you’re going back to uni?”
“Um… yeah. Maybe? Fuck, I don’t know.” It could be any number of reasons; Will hadn’t exactly been very forthcoming. “Does it matter? It’s over, and that’s that.”
“Huh.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
Ben shrugged, then yawned, not bothering to cover his mouth. “What do you want me to say? You’re probably right. Darren was away a lot with work near the end, and I’m pretty sure that was a factor in their breakup.”
Great. Patrick slumped in his seat.
“But, Pat, if he doesn’t want to take this any further, you can’t force him or blame him for it.” Ben’s expression looked a lot like pity, and it made Patrick bristle.
