21

Gary opens the door to his apartment and they trudge in on tired legs, Winston leaning against the grey wall as soon as he's inside and resting his whole weight on it. There is a bench with soft cushions right in the hallway in the entrance, but it's currently covered by a whole pile of winter clothes; coats and overalls and boots galore. Gary's mom spent the whole day yesterday dragging them out of storage—according to Gary's many texts—and they haven't yet been moved.

Winston breathes out when his legs finally feel like they'll carry him again. There's an awful lots of stairs (?) in Gary's building, but he makes sure to properly hang up his jacket and such in the little inbuilt entrance closet, despite his aching muscles.

"You okay?" Gary asks as they head for the kitchen, Gary opening the fridge and grabbing to cans of soda, smoothly handing one over to Winston.

Winston nods, open the can with an easy flick of his fingers, and taking a large gulp, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. The cold liquid flows down his throat, spreading throughout his chest, and he exhales harshly as he plops onto a seat by the table. Gary's mom, who's already sitting there surrounded by a pile of receipts, greets him with a distracted smile, her sandy blonde hair a mess and glasses dripping down her nose [what does Gary's mom actually look like??? i forgot!!!].

Winston greets her with a polite, "Good evening."

Gary agrees with a less polite, "Evening, mom," followed by an even less polite, "Is the brat home yet?"

"Don't call your brother a brat," says Gary's mom [does she have a name yet?] but she doesn't look up from her papers, the calculator lying before her.

Gary rolls his eyes, leaning with his bum against the kitchen counter. "Sorry," he mutters, "But is Liam home yet? I didn't see his jacket in the closet."

"He's staying over at a friend's tonight."

"He has friends?"

"Don't be a jerk," Gary's mom's eyes flicker up to her son at last, a small frown on her face. Gary swallows another gulp of soda and looks away from her with a sullen expression, finger tapping on the can. Gary's mom eventually sighs and pulls off her glasses. "Alright," she says, Winston leaning back and just watching. "How has your day been, Gary, my beloved son whom I adore above all else except my other beloved son whom I also adore above all else except my other beloved son?"

Gary's lips twitches, and he rolls his eyes with a sigh. "It was fine," he draws out the last word. Gary's mom smiles, and nods, and Gary moves a little closer to the table, adding, "I got an B in my history assignment."

"Impressive," Gary's mom says, smiling, "I'm proud of you." And Winston's eyes snap over to Gary, checking his reaction. Gary, who is in turn ducking his head and scratching the back of his neck, finally slinking over the bit of distance and falling onto a chair opposite Winston.

"I worked hard," Gary says after another gulp. Winston sips slowly at his own soda, staring at Gary's mom to catch her reaction.

"I know. I heard you swearing every time I walked past your door," Gary's mom's smile [seriously, does she have a name?!] is teasing more than anything, a perfect replica of Gary's when he's in a mischievous mood.

Gary rolls his eyes for probably the fiftieth time this conversation and Winston thinks about how interesting it is, how such a simple movement can convey so many different feelings.

Gary's mom hides her smile in the movement as he turns toward Winston, pushing up her glasses on her nose. "So how about you, Winston? How was your day?"

"Me?" Winston points at himself.

She nods, smiling. "You."

"Oh," Winston breathes. He sips at his soda, almost smelling the taste before it hits his tongue, and he scrunches up his nose a little as he thinks. "We had a test in my history class today. I don't know how I did yet."

"Did you feel good about it when you were done?"

Winston looks to Gary, but Gary merely raises an eyebrow at him, so Winston purses his lips and says, "I don't know. Like normal, I guess."

"And what's your normal?"

"Good?" It's ends up as a question; Winston doesn't even really know what she's asking him. Why would she care about his studies? Or his grades? Why would she care about how he feels about them?

She nods. "If you feel good about the taste, the result doesn't really matter," and Winston winces, trying to hide it in a movement to drink more soda. He doesn't think he actually succeeds; Gary's mom's eyes are observant and she looks at him for just a moment too long.

But she finally clears her throat and asks, "Are you staying over tonight?"

Winston bites his lip and says, "If it's not a problem," ducking his head a little. He looks to Gary again for guidance, but Gary has become distracted by his phone in a cold-hearted abandonment. Winston kicks his legs under the table, and Gary kicks right back without even looking up, leaving them both hissing in pain almost simultaneously.

Gary's mom hides her laughter in a cough, and says, "It's never a problem, Winny, don't worry." A pause, then she says, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have about two hundred thousand receipts to go through."

They pick up the hint---very cleverly, Winston might add---and head for Gary's room with their half-empty sodas. Winston is the one who goes in first, and he settles on Gary's bead---expertly made---with his legs crossed, already pawing at Gary's laptop. "Come on," he says, patting the empty space beside him.

Gary grins at him, closing the door and tossing his book-bag on the floor. He jumps onto the bed and makes himself comfy beside Winston, and Winston very politely pretends that he doesn't know Gary's laptop password.

Hours pass, and Winston and Gary successively lean more and more against each other with every episode until they're just cuddling. It's nice. Winston wonders if cuddling has always been this nice.

"Food's ready!" Gary's mom calls eventually, shattering their tiny little bubble rather completely.

Liam is already at the table when they emerge, glaring at them as soon as they enter, and Winston clears his throat as he sits. Pretends he doesn't see Gary's mom mouthing something at Liam, and the kid in turn rolling his eyes---really showing his relation to Gary in the process---and turning to them, saying a surly, "Good evening." Then he rolls his eyes again.

Winston nods, returning a carefully crafted, "Good evening," and picks up his fork. The radio is on in the background, a faint brus (?) cloaking the voices, discussing some kind of news. Without his permission, Winston's eyes return to Liam.

On the third bypassing glance, the kid snaps, "What?" at Winston.

Winston shakes his head. then he thinks better of it and asks, "Did you have a good day?" following it up with taking a bite of the rather delicious food, takeout as it may be.

Liam stares at him silence. Finally, he snorts and tosses his head. "I don't need to talk to a loser like you."

"Liam!" Gary's mother puts down her fork, harshly, and narrows her eyes at her youngest child. She emphasizes, "Winston is not a loser and we don't talk about people like that. Apologize."

"What for? He's always hanging here because he's lonely or whatever, right? So he's a loser." Liam glares at them all, Winston attempting to shrink in his seat.

"Liam!" Gary glares at his brother while their mother is stunned into silence, a slow frown growing. Liam simply shakes his head like a disappointed elder in a video game and vanishes after a curt, "I'm done eating. Thanks for the food, mom."

Winston doesn't spend the night.