When he got off work, Kaiden spent extra time at the gym. Partially because his injuries required he take it slower at the gym. Mostly, though, he wanted an excuse not to go home, not to offer his assistance.
In the days that passed, Kaiden tiptoed around his house, doing his best to avoid his family and any ungodly remark they’d have. His sister had already said her piece. His brother-in-law would go on not-so-vague tangents about how real men always have to be at the ready and alert to protect what was theirs. His stepfather didn’t speak to Kaiden, so nothing had really changed. His mother had a look of pity, but she didn’t bring it up when they spoke. She’d likely already gotten a version of the story she preferred from his sister, and there was no point in Kaiden wasting his breath to tell her the truth.
When Kaiden rolled home in the evenings, his mother would plead with him to take over and watch the kids. Reluctantly, he’d agree. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to escape.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true.
After three days of folding to his mother’s pleas and surrendering to his sister’s whims of babysitting, Kaiden decided he’d had enough.
He’d looped them into a group chat. On the off chance that Rus wasn’t up to hosting a hangout, he knew Dylan would always offer him a bed. He’d just have to trade screaming children for angsty teenagers. Dorothy’s Home was never quiet.
Kaiden packed a bag with a change of clothes for the morning, which he’d leave in his car. It seemed easier to stay a little too late and ask if he could crash again, as opposed to asking up front. He felt a bit like a creep, plotting his escape from his home, but he needed a night away. Hopefully, Rus wouldn’t mind.
It turned out Rus didn’t care at all. In fact, he heavily encouraged the sleepovers, offering beers every time Kaiden dropped by. Dylan stayed sober and only crashed about half the time they hung out.
Days turned to weeks, and the month of September flew by without Kaiden having to offer his assistance to his sister once. Between sleeping at Rus’, Dylan’s, and occasionally locking up and sleeping at the art gallery, Kaiden avoided his home except to drop by, sneak in, grab what he needed, and disappear before his family could complain.
After a particularly exhausting Tuesday, Kaiden languished in the gym shower—his least favorite place to clean off. But honestly, after years of sharing two bathrooms and one shower with his family of seven—well, eight including himself—he learned to get over his public shyness.
Once he’d dragged himself over to Rus’ apartment, he found Rus and Dylan sprawled out on the bed, controllers in hand, and eyes locked on the television as they continued playing the same video game they had for weeks now. Something called Baldur’s Gate 3—which made zero sense since Dylan hadn’t played one or two yet was expected to understand how to play the third game in the series. Rus introduced Dylan to it, and it had turned into their go-to way to pass time in the evening. Certainly not Kaiden’s favorite.
“How long is this game?” Kaiden plopped onto the edge of the bed, half paying attention to the screen and half scrolling through his phone.
“Sixty to ninety hours,” Rus said rather aloof. “Depends on how much exploration Dylan wants to do.”
Rus’ one negative quality was his obsession with video games and binge-watching shows. Well, Kaiden enjoyed Rus’ taste in media. He just didn’t get the obsession with video games. His brother-in-law stayed glued to their couch at all hours, practically living in the living room to the point his parents moved their streaming stick into their bedroom exclusively instead of banishing the douche to his bedroom.
The perk of Dylan’s friendship came with the fact that he had never been introduced to video games and thus held no interest in them. And for a guy who rarely indulged in anything much other than fresh air and fundraisers, he’d turned into quite the little gaming junkie since Rus introduced him to this co-op campaign.
“Right now, I’m still deciding who to fall in love with,” Dylan explained. “I’m torn between the chatty wizard and the charming warlock. They’re both so great.”
“You could romance them both,” Rus said. “But you’d eventually have to break one of their hearts.”
“Boo.” Dylan sighed.
“I thought this game was about aliens and killing monsters.”
“They’re not aliens,” Dylan said. “I think.”
“I mean, they’re squid-faced telepaths who pilot interdimensional flying ships,” Rus said. “They’re kinda aliens. Jus’ a lil bit.”
“So, shouldn’t y’all be killing monsters, not romancing people?”
“Absolutely not,” Dylan said. “I need the perfect boyfriend to save the world with. Otherwise, what’s the point?”
“Dating cannot be the point of this game,” Kaiden said with a huff.
“Oh, it’s definitely a dating sim above anything else,” Rus stated. “And right now, I’m torn between my favorite Tiefling muscle mommy or the world’s greatest vampire twink with an ass that could end wars.”
Kaiden tsked. “Only one man has an ass that could end wars, and he belongs to the Bat family.”
Rus nodded. “Fair, Nightwing is glorious, but I’d feed Dick to sweet baby Astarion in exchange for a single snarky one-liner of approval.”
“Wait, you’d feed Astarion a dick?” Dylan raised his brows in disgusted confusion. “Do vampires in this game eat body parts, too? Yuck.”
“No,” Rus said, bursting at the seams, about to break into huge laughter.
Kaiden rolled his eyes at Rus’ fidgety, barely contained snorts of laughter.
