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Very carefully, Oliver attempted to move, but Gabe let out a grumble, holding him even closer. A warm mouth pressed hard against a knob of his spine, and for just a second, Oliver let himself lay there and enjoy the sensation. He had never slept with another person before, and he had definitely never woken up to a morning hug.
The moment didn’t last very long, however, as Gabe started to come to, and the hold on his waist very slowly eased up. Rolling onto his back, Gabe offered Oliver a sheepish smile. “Sorry. I’m a snuggler I guess.”
Oliver laughed, rolling onto his side to get a proper look at the man he’d fallen asleep with. He was adorable, all sleep-rumpled and soft at the mouth, and Oliver had the crazy notion to lean over and kiss him.
Instead, he reached a hand over and gave the mess of curls a playful ruffle. “I’d be more irritated if I hadn’t slept so well.”
Gabe’s mouth curved into a smile, and he looked a little shy. “Gotta agree. You’re a decent bedmate, if anything.”
“Except the morning breath?”
Gabe rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I could do without that.” He groaned, easing himself up, and stretched his back. “You want to check on Leo? He wouldn’t have wandered off in the middle of the night, would he?”
That was actually something Leo would have absolutely done, and Oliver scrambled from the bed, hurrying down the hall to the bathroom. The light was still off, and Leo was still curled in the tub, snoring gently against the pillow. Oliver let out a small breath, then decided to close the door and let himself have a morning piss before wandering out again.
Gabe was in the kitchen by this point, pulling a face as he tugged on something under his shirt. When he caught Oliver looking, he sighed. “My binder’s rolled up a little in the back and I can’t seem to…” He let out a grunt as he twisted his torso.
Feeling bad for the man, Oliver walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hold on, just let me.” Easing the hem of the shirt up, he dug his fingers under the tight material, and carefully unbunched it against Gabe’s skin. The other man let out a long, satisfied sigh as the shirt fell back down, and grinned.
“My hero.”
“Oh, sod off,” Oliver said with a grin as he took a seat at the kitchen table. “So, you’ve brought me to yours, and let me sleep in your bed as my sibling sleeps off his drug experiments. Do I get breakfast as well?”
“The only thing I have is oatmeal with berries,” Gabe said with a shrug. “The oatmeal is the instant kind, but the berries are fresh.”
“I’ll take it,” Oliver said. “And tea, if you don’t mind. You’ve got some with caffeine, I think.” He helped himself to the cabinets, pulling out a black tea and another mug. Gabe, meanwhile, put the kettle on, then reached into the fridge for a small green plastic basket full of berries, and he began to dig through them to toss the ones that had gone moldy.
It was domestic, Oliver realized. Weirdly domestic. Normally, things like this made his skin crawl. Who the hell was he anymore, having oatmeal and berries? The most he ever consumed was whatever Coco or Leo had left over in the fridge, and he was lucky when it was something more nutritious than dubious looking Chinese food no one could remember ordering.
His head was spinning a little with the thought of it, and with the knowledge that Gabe seemed to be enjoying it too. Oliver licked his lips, then accepted the bowl of oatmeal, heading to the table with his tea. In silence, the pair added the fresh fruit, occasionally meeting each other’s eyes as they ate.
“So, you said you have a class today?” Gabe said, clearly trying to make small talk. “What’s your degree again? I can’t remember if you mentioned.”
“Journalism,” Oliver said with a shrug. “I always thought maybe I’d go work for my dad later on, but I’m not sure it’s what I want to do with my life.” He sighed, rubbing at the sleep still crusted in his eyes. “You really don’t want me to go into the whole fucked up reasons why I do things, do you?”
Gabe shrugged. “I don’t mind if you want to vent. I mean, I’m working on my creative writing degree. I want to be an author, but I figure I’ll have to teach while I’m doing it so I don’t, you know, starve to death or whatever.”
Oliver laughed. “Or you could find yourself a sugar daddy. I’m loaded, you know.”
“Is that an offer?”
Oliver licked some berry juice off his spoon. “It might be. How old are you though? I mean, there’s got to be a proper age difference if this is going to work.”
“Ripe old age of twenty-five.”
“Bollocks. I’m younger. Looks like we’re not fated to be.”
Gabe’s eyes twinkled with mirth, and he opened his mouth to say something, but the pair were interrupted when Leo padded into the kitchen, shirt off, jeans suspiciously dark and sticky-looking. Oliver was immediately on his feet, crossing the distance between them.
“You with us, mate?”
“Fuck off,” Leo muttered.
With a snort, Oliver turned back to Gabe. “Seems he’s still among the living. You want some tea?”
“Proper tea?” Leo asked as he eased himself into a chair with a wince. “Also, why the bloody hell was I in a bath?”
“Because you were puking like the Exorcist demon in the club bathroom,” Gabe said as Oliver fetched another mug and bag of the black tea. “I really didn’t want to have to clean that shit up in my apartment.”
