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Antinous was still fussing with the rotation of the tablet screen when the video call started, one of his thumbs barely dodged the “end call” option as he tried to finesse the tablet into its stand on the kitchen counter space. His first two siblings were on the phone, the same that always were the first to pick up, Zoe and Lydia.
Zoe had her phone leaning up against the corner of her small wooden writing desk, the warm, brilliant light of her mushroom-shaped lamp washing out half her features in the dimly-lit room of the dorm. The lamp and angle of the phone always made the light reflect off her thin glasses in a way that Antinous found distracting, but Zoe had a tendency to make fun of him whenever he complained. Of course it wasn’t until he stopped complaining that she started adjusting the placement of her phone to something more agreeable.
Lydia almost always had to be snacking on something, and tonight was no exception. Judging by the loud crinkling and the pointed crunching sound right next to the mic, he guessed that chips were the snack of choice for the evening. As usual, she never had her face fully in frame, her forehead being the star of the show for tonight’s call. The camera was close enough, and the light that reflected off the large ceiling fan was bright enough that Antinous was able to make out more details of his sister’s forehead than he cared to see.
He caught the sight of Zoe wrinkling her nose at the onslaught of sounds, and she looked ready to say something before a third sister, Elena, joined the call and shifted her focus. Elena’s face was barely visible in the dim, glowing light coming from the dashboard and navigation system of her car. Antinous could make out more of her silhouette as passing street lights would rush past the driver’s side window. He caught the moment one of her hands left the steering wheel, the light just barely reflecting off the metallic finish of her manicured nails as she caved to her regular habit of fussing with the well-groomed baby hairs along her hairline.
On instinct, Antinous’ eyes gravitated to a specific spot on the screen, as though anticipating another face to join the call. His jaw tightened briefly as he caught himself, nostrils flaring as he refocused his attention to the four women on the screen.
A hand moved just out of frame before dragging into view three large spiny scorpion fish spread out on some open butcher paper. Antinous lifted two corners of the paper, allowing his siblings a better view. Zoe paused in scribbling on her notes, squinting as she leaned closer to the screen, Elena, did quick double-takes, but smartly kept her eyes mostly on the road as she continued to drive. Lydia’s forehead gave no reaction, but he could hear the brief pause in her chewing.
“Bruh-” Lydia blurted out in disbelief before Elena’s voice cut in to say, “now I know you’re not showing us some still-spined scorpion fish without any damn gloves on, mama taught you better than that.”
“Mama didn’t teach me shit about preparing scorpion fish. Why do you think I got all of you on call?”
“All you said was, ‘need a second opinion. Group call tonight.’ Didn’t see the cryptic-ass hidden message that mentioned cooking advice,” Zoe fumed. “Maaan, I got an exam tomorrow, I don’t have time for this.”
“Zee, it’ll take ten minutes tops. Chill the fuck out,” Antinous bit out.
“You know when you say ‘chill out’ it just makes people want to do the opposite, right?” Lydia chimed in over the sound of the repetitive clicking of Elena’s turn signal.
“Taking an exit so I can pull over and see what you’re working with,” Elena said with an exasperated sigh.
“I know we like to argue every time we talk but can we all just lock the fuck in for just a few minutes? This is-” Antinous’ words caught in his throat for a moment before he swallowed, the next words that took their place coming out as more of a mumble as he said, “-important to me.”
Zoe stopped rubbing her face in frustration, her eyes settling on Antinous between the gaps of her fingers. Lydia continued to munch away on her chips, and Elena silently bobbed her head in a nod as she began to look for a place to pull over. With a heavy sigh, Antinous tucked one of his locs behind his ear and out of the way as he returned to assessing the fish in front of him.
“Could have guessed it was a special occasion from the scorpion fish,” Lydia spoke. “I know you like to experiment with cooking, but that’s pretty bougie- even for you.”
Antinous shrugs. “Kinda need it for bourdeto.”
“Bourdeto? You haven’t made an Ionian dish in a while, have you?” Elena responded, her face becoming more visible as she pulled into what appeared to be a well-lit parking lot. “You know you can also just make that with any other meat. The old man’s made it with lamb before.”
“Mama used to make it best. ‘Sides, Tel’ prefers fish.”
“I thought he couldn’t handle spice. Did you two have an argument or something?” Zoe asked.
Antinous scoffed. “No, and his tolerance isn’t as bad as you think. He told me Eurycleia used to make the dish for him a few times growing up- thought he might appreciate it.”
“You’re not one for being a sap, ‘Tin. Usually you just make whatever you want and tell everyone else to ‘get fucked’ if they don’t want it.” Zoe continued with a narrowing of her eyes. “Why the change suddenly?”
“I only do that to family - mostly,” Antinous retorted. “I dunno, isn’t doing something special and thoughtful what you’re supposed to do for an anniversary?” His fingers couldn’t help but fidget with the corners of the butcher paper, rotating the fish lazily with the motion as he kept glancing down.
“You didn’t do anything last year, I don’t think.”
“He was recovering from surgery last year.”
“Shit, that's been a year already? How did his parents react to that, anyway?”
Antinous’ jaw clenched and unclenched at the memory. “Not well.”
Zoe hummed in thought. “That the reason you’re trying to make this one special?”
“Zee, stop,” Elena interjected. Her face was a bit more visible this time now that her car was parked, which came with a clear warning look that was shot towards the screen.
“What? I’m just trying to understand so I can ‘assist’ or whatever.” Zoe made a motion of doing air quotes as she said ‘assist.’
“Damn, read the room, Zee,” Lydia scolded between a mouthful of chips.
“For the sake of moving the topic along, no Zee, that’s not the reason. I just…” Antinous’ voice trailed off, confliction etched in his features as he grasped for the right words. Elena tilted her head, the dangling earrings she wore glinting against the light from the parking lot flooding in through her driver’s side window.
“You got some puncture-resistant gloves on hand, ‘Tin?” Elena asked, changing the topic.
“I think so, yeah. Tel’s pretty accident prone, especially in the kitchen, so we made a compromise a few months ago by getting him a pair of cut-resistant gloves. Might be a bit small, though.”
“Try them out anyway, if you got nothing better. The venom in those spines will fuck up any dinner plans you got, I guarantee.”
Antinous spent some time rummaging through the drawers of the kitchen, pausing at one point as he felt the familiar head bunt of his cat against his leg.
“How’d you get out of the bedroom you slippery little shit?” Antinous huffed, reaching down to scritch the scruffy-looking cat behind her ears.
“Is that mistress Clawdia?” Zoe called out.
“Yeah,” Antinous called back in answer as he scooped the cat up. “Had her in the bedroom so she wouldn’t fuck with the fish.”
“I was wondering why we had been on this call for over five minutes without being greeted by her asshole in front of the screen yet,” Lydia remarked with a snort.
“Gonna put her back real quick,” Antinous replied with a shake of his head.
“Jail time for Claw-claw,” Zoe lamented in a sing-song voice. “Gone but not forgotten.”
Mistress Clawdia was displeased with her banishment, meowing her protest with indignation as Antinous shut the door behind him. He would pay for the slight, he was certain of it, but right now he had higher priorities.
The search for the gloves when he returned to the kitchen went faster than anticipated. With freshly-washed hands, Antinous tried on the gloves, and the fit was incredibly snug, but not as terrible as he imagined.
“Can you move your fingers?” Elena asked when her brother returned to stand in front of the screen.
He flexed the fabric-clad digits as evidence before adding, “barely, but enough to get the job done. Care to walk me through this thing?”
Elena reached for the spot where her phone was mounted on the dashboard, the speaker picking up the sharp sound of her fingernails clicking against the plastic case that protected the device as she brought it closer to her face. It was easier now for Antinous to make out those familiar sharp and perceptive eyes as her dark irises bounced back and forth to take in the details of her brother’s setup on the kitchen counter.
She was thorough as she guided him through the process of removing the spines, and Antinous had enough familiarity in the kitchen to follow her instructions with little difficulty. There were a few moments where he had to pause when Lydia occasionally blurted out, “don’t fuck it up” just to get under his skin. Zoe continued what he could only assume was her notes for studying, but did manage to look back towards the screen once the fish had been properly de-spined and the innards removed.
“Sooo, where do Lyds and I fit into the cooking advice?” Zoe asked.
“Lyds’ spice tolerance is close to Tel’s,” Antinous began, not taking his eyes away from the fish he was slicing. “-and you were always mama’s taste tester. She always trusted your advice when experimenting with spices for her recipes.”
Zoe hummed as she tapped the end of her pen against her chin. “You said he used to have it growing up, do you know how authentic you want it to be? Like, are you going for that nostalgic taste? Because my favorite version of the dish mama made had the fish marinated in a chermoula-inspired mixture. She might have added a little bit of harissa too with the tomato base”
“I think a few unique notes are fine, but he’ll probably want something close to what he remembers. Might keep that in mind for the future though, if this one’s a hit,” Antinous replied.
“Bourdeto doesn’t have a ton of spices, I think paprika, pepper, chili powder- mama did love her ras el hanout spice mix, which might be too much for this dish, but you can probably borrow some spices from that. Maybe cinnamon to replace any sugar to cut into the spice, cumin, coriander, nutmeg - a touch of allspice, probably?”
“Ooh, I’ll second that,” Elena agreed with a nod. “I think those might help cut into the acidity from the tomatoes and lemon, too.”
“Wait, wait, wait -don’t be adding the same amount of chili powder mama used to do if you add the cinnamon,” Lydia said. “That amount was barely enough for me to handle, and with the cinnamon I think that might be too much. Maybe cut the chili powder amount by half or something.”
Antinous bobbed his head in understanding, making a mental note while he collected the cubed up pieces of fish into a bowl and shifted himself closer to the sink. “Got it, I think that gives me most of what I need.”
“What are you using for the white wine? Nothing too fruity, I hope - and no, that’s not meant to be a joke at the obvious,” Elena said.
The remark caused him to do a flat, short laugh and a roll of his eyes before he answered. “I have an assyrtiko, figured something dry would be best.”
“Look at you, I don’t even know why I was worried,” she praised.
“‘Kay well, I gotta pee so I’m out. See ya, don’t fuck it up.” Lydia cut in, barely managing to get the words out before the call dropped.
“By- oh okay.” Antinous responded too late while he was busy washing his hands in the sink. He glanced over his shoulder at Zoe leaning closer towards her phone just as he grabbed a kitchen towel to wipe off his hands.
“Was there something else you were gonna say, ‘Tin? I feel like this could have been over text, and usually you’re sharing news if you’re wanting us all in voice like this. I’m not wrong, am I, El’? Tell me I’m not crazy.”
“I think the fish part definitely needed some video guidance,” Elena answered.
“‘Tin, was that really all?” Zoe asked with more insistence, seeming to ignore Elena’s response.
Antinous didn’t immediately answer, instead his eyes passed between Elena and Zoe on the screen as his lips grew taut, then slowly relaxed.
“For now, yeah,” he started. “Go study for your exam, Zee. I’m banishing you.”
“Damn, okay Cringebeard, fuck me then.”
Antinous was about to snap back with a response before Zoe’s screen and icon disappeared from the video call. A frustrated sigh came in stark contrast to Elena’s simultaneous snort of amusement. As he reached for his phone nearby, he caught the preview of a text Zoe had sent on the home screen right as he barely managed to unlock the device.
The preview showed a text that simply read, “good luck” followed by an emoji of an ant.
That was always her idea of being funny with the shorting of his full name. He didn’t know how to feel that it had become a running joke between the three sisters. When any of them were trying to get his attention in the group chat he usually ignored, he’d come back to see a series of texts that just contained the ant emoji. Sometimes they made creative additions next to the ant too, like a magnifying glass with the sun emoji when they were mad at him.
Despite the mixed feelings on the emoji use, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth when he viewed the text. His thumb hovered for a moment over the screen as he considered a response, eventually texting back with just the thumbs up emoji before setting the phone back down.
“-and then there were two,” Elena mused, pulling Antinous’ attention back to the tablet.
He shrugged in response, his eyes drifting towards her nails as she fussed with her baby hairs again. “You do those yourself?”
“Not this time, one of my friends started a small business and I went to support her - you like?”
“Like your work better, but they’re alright.”
She huffed out a small laugh. “Well, don’t get as much practice as I used to - harder to do it on yourself than other people. You haven’t let me do yours since -” she cleared her throat. “-And, well, Zee and Lyds don’t care for that sort of thing.”
“Maybe something for Halloween,” Antinous offered, his words almost mumbled. “We’ll see.”
A faint smile stretched across her lips at that. “-you going to ask him tonight?”
Antinous’ whole countenance stiffened; the hand that had been idly cleaning up some of the counter space paused, still gripping the cutting board.
“I won’t say anything to the others, you just know how nosey I am.”
“-and observant too, apparently,” Antinous slowly answered, as though his body were fighting against the admission. “I’m not gettin’ my hopes up.”
Elena paused before softening her voice, speaking low as though anticipating someone might overhear. “Do you think he might say no?”
His jaw clenched as he gave another shrug, one that felt too forced to be comfortable. “I just like to be realistic, we’ve had a lot of ups and downs. His parents -”
“You’re not proposing to them, ‘Tin.”
“I fuckin’ know that El’ -” he cuts himself off, then restarts. “Sorry. It’s just a touchy subject I guess. Always is with parents.”
“Tell me about it,” Elena responded with a lingering sigh. “If he cared that much about what his parents thought, he wouldn’t still be with you after, what, five, six years? That’s a long time to commit to a rebellious phase if that was the point he was trying to make.”
Antinous gave a low snort as he started to wander towards the spice cupboard nearby, perusing his collection for the fish marinade. It just happened to also conveniently work out that it helped mask his expression. He hated being vulnerable, even, or perhaps especially, to his closest sister.
The door of the cupboard hid his face, but Elena could most likely make out the way his fingers twitched as he said quietly, “-what if he says no?”
He could tell from the silence that Elena was considering her next words carefully. “I guess you just…pick up the pieces. Take each day one at a time until it’s easier.”
“It’s not a death, El’”
“But it’s a loss all the same, isn’t it?”
Antinous didn’t respond right away. Instead, he slowly picked out a few of the spices, carefully placing them down on the counter space in front of him. The cupboard door still covered his face as his breath hitched, and a sound came out that tried to take the form of recognizable speech.
“I can’t do this again,” he said finally, the words sounding overly articulated as though trying to keep them from wavering.
“‘Tin - Antinous,” Elena responded, her voice still gentle. “You both’ve been through hell and back and still managed to stick together, that’s better than most marriages. You helped him while he was discovering himself, helped through the name change and the repercussions that came with that from his family.”
The cupboard closed with a soft thud, though Antinous took to staring at the spices on the counter in front of him, as though assessing them was the most important thing in the world at that moment. Elena let the quiet linger, as though anticipating her brother to respond.
When he didn’t, she continued, “I remember you telling me how bad he felt after the surgery, that his parents were worried about him and made him feel guilty. You two always had your fair share of fights, but from what I’ve seen, you always knew when to put that aside to support each other. If you’d seen what I had when I visited you two, the way he looked at you when you were helping during his recovery, I don’t think you would be questioning the outcome of your proposal as much as you are now.”
Another moment of silence. Antinous could make out the faint meowing from Clawdia in the bedroom, and it was almost successful in breaking the dark haze of his mind that kept him spiraling with dooming what-ifs.
“Will you-” Antinous swallowed, still shifting around the spices on the counter. “Can I call you if -”
“Of course, ‘Tin. You already knew that.”
Some of the tension slowly eased from Antinous’ shoulders, his body proceeding to let out a shaky breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
“When is he coming back tonight, do you know? Don’t want to take up too much of your time so you can’t cook.”
He cleared his throat, gathering up his small bottles of spices before making his way back towards the tablet. “Uh, two hours I think.”
“Alright, well, you get to cookin’, chef. I’m wishing you luck tonight, but I know you won’t need it.” She flashed a half smile, wrinkling her nose mischievously. “Keep me posted though- no matter the outcome.”
“Yeah- sure, right.” He gave a short, single nod. “Can do. Thanks, El’.”
“Kisses, doodlebug.”
“Alright, now it’s really goodbye.” The last thing he heard was Elena’s snickering before he pressed the ‘End Call’ button.
-
Everything happened in slow motion.
Antinous was in the middle of finishing the sauce for the main course when he remembered leaving the engagement ring in the bedroom. He opened the door, making brisk strides towards the night stand on his side of the bed. It took some rummaging before he was able to pull out the case that held the ring from the very back of the drawer, hidden behind a blockade of wrinkled receipts. It couldn’t have been more than three minutes since he left the kitchen.
That was all the time Clawdia needed.
He caught sight of the large ball of brown and white fur all-too late as she scaled the countertop for her prize. Antinous’ feet moved faster than his brain could fully parse what was happening, he just knew he had to act.
In the attempt to catch the thief in time, his sock-clad feet nearly slipped against the tiled flooring in his haste. The friction of his feet against the floor granted Clawdia the precious few seconds she needed to come crashing down with the bowl of raw fish. The round, large mass that made up Antinous’ pet landed with an initial heavy thump, but the loud, sudden explosion of glass as the bowl made impact with the ground caused her to scramble away in fright.
He swore he saw the glass break in slow motion as the pieces scattered across the kitchen floor, and watched as Clawdia dropped a general chunk of fish from her mouth as she frantically tried to get away. At one point she smacked her body against the leg of a nearby dining room chair before finally taking off down the hallway with ears flattened against her head.
Antinous didn’t know how long his jaw had been slack in his dismay, eyes blinking slowly while taking in the damage. The anger was slow at first to replace the shock, then rapidly overwhelmed him like a flash flood.
“You shithead cat,” he barely managed through clenched teeth. “If you had waited ten god damned minutes I would have fed you! I swear when I catch yo- FUCK!”
A sharp pain spread across the bottom of his foot when he took a step forward. The new-found pain successfully pulled Antinous back from the red haze of his anger - one might even say it was divine intervention on behalf of the cat. Antinous just considered it shit luck to add to the evening plans that were rapidly falling apart before him.
The small wound forced him to switch priorities as he hobbled his way to the First Aid kit. Even just three months ago the only thing Antinous had in the apartment that was marginally close to First Aid care was a pack of assorted bandaids and a small bottle of rubbing alcohol that was about four years past its expiration date. Antinous said it wasn’t worth his money to buy one, so Telemachus used his money to buy one, which he figured was fair enough.
He could just picture the pleased look on his partner’s face if he found out that the First Aid kit was actually being used of his own volition. Normally that thought might annoy Antinous, but for tonight, as he found a place to sit down, his fingers working to open the tabs on the side of the kit case, he figured it might work in his favor.
Any more drifting thoughts he might have had dispersed at the familiar sound of jingling keys from outside the door. His body froze at the realization, still clutching the kit tightly as the door unlocked with a faint click.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Antinous repeated under his breath while his fingers worked faster to find the items he needed.
Telemachus’ voice was light and sing-song as he greeted from the other room, “hello Miss Claw- OW! Fuck, come on!” The contrast from his light soft voice at the greeting to the deep rumble of his agitation as he was smacked by the cat nearly made Antinous snort in amusement. It was all part of their nightly routine.
“I don’t know why you keep tryin’ with that greeting,” Antinous managed to call out from his spot near the kitchen. “You know she’s going to smack you every time.”
“One day she’ll love me - or tolerate me, anyway,” Telemachus called back, and Antinous could hear the smile in his voice. “I do think we need to get that damn cat tree away from the do- what the hell happened here?”
Antinous, unaware that his shoulders could stiffen any more than they already had, drew them up close to his ears defensively when Telemachus turned the corner and caught sight of the raw fish and shards of glass on the ground.
“Hey, hey, careful,” Antinous managed, his voice tight to hide some of his embarrassment. “Clawdia tried to grab some fish out of a bowl on the counter. I haven’t picked up the glass yet.Your cut-resistant gloves are still on the counter, mind grabbing them and tossing the fish so the hairy gremlin that lives with us doesn’t eat it?”
Telemachus nodded absently, his eyes just then starting to trail across the kitchen to where Antinous was sitting in one of the dining room chairs, the First Aid kit still resting in his lap.
“Oh shit ‘Tin, are you alright?” Telemachus had nearly forgotten about the glass as instinct propelled him forward, it was right when his foot was about to come down on the floor in front of him that he paused and pulled it back.
“Yeah, yeah. Just got some stuck on my foot. Takin’ care of it,” he grumbled, working to carefully remove the blood-stained sock as he spoke.
Despite the concern, Telemachus began to put the gloves on that Antinous had gestured towards moments earlier. As he bent down to pick up the chunks of fish, his eyes kept drifting back towards Antinous, unable to hide some of the underlying concern as his brows knit together.
“Let me toss the fish and clean up the glass, then I’ll help. Is it bleeding bad?”
“I got it - and no, it’s not. I’ll clean up the glass.”
“I’m already down here,” Telemachus shot back. “Plus I don’t want Clawdia to get cut by any of it either.” He paused for a beat or two before a puff of air in an almost-laugh left him.
“Knowing my distracted self, I’ll forget about it if I don’t just clean it now and then we’ll both have glass stuck on our feet.”
“I always said navigating your parents was more like walking on glass than walking on eggshells,” Antinous huffed in amusement. “At least we’ll be prepared for our visit tomorrow.”
Despite the crouched position Telemachus was in, Antinous could just barely catch the way the other man rolled his eyes.
“What kind of fish is this anyway?”
“Scorpion fish”
“Yeah okay, what is it really, smartass?”
“I’m being serious, it’s scorpion fish.”
Telemachus’ brows shot up in surprise as he began to make his way over towards the trash can. “Shit ‘Tin I’m sorry, what a waste. Why so fancy with the fish choice? For our anniversary?”
“No, for international ice cream day.”
“Okay now you’re being a smartass,” Telemachus replied flatly. “I guess I walked right into that one.”
Antinous winced when he processed the annoyance in his partner’s voice, and a stray glance caught the way the other’s lips set in a thin line while continuing the work of picking up the glass.
He sighed.
“I’m, ah, just frustrated - sorry. I did have a fancy-ass dinner planned, I guess. Didn’t want you here picking glass off the floor for me after a long day of travel.”
“Shit happens, ‘Tin.” Telemachus responded with a quick shrug, some of the earlier annoyance beginning to drain out of his face. “Besides, I know it’s an old tradition, but I like to think the glass breaking helped ward off some bad energy. With all we’ve had to deal with, I’ll take whatever can keep the kako mati at bay.”
“There’s some glass breaking at Jewish weddings too, I think,” Antinous added conversationally, focusing his attention on removing the piece of glass.
“Well, we’re not Jewish,” Telemachus chuckled. “But yeah, I think the groom steps on glass in traditional weddings, if I remember right.”
“I’m the groom in this scenario, then.”
Antinous’ remark was rewarded with a soft laugh.
“Suppose so,” Telemachus murmured, barely audible.
Their eyes caught one another like something compelled them to meet. Although Antinous had no idea how his own face must have looked, he marveled at the first signs of flush blooming across Telemachus’ cheeks and ears before he quickly looked away.
“Um, I think I uh, got all the pieces now,” Telemachus said in a higher pitch than he intended before clearing his throat.
“Oh. Good- good job,” Antinous replied at a snail’s pace, trying his best to not sound dumbstruck. He managed to blink slowly, watching the way Telemachus moved to toss the rest of the glass into the garbage and remove his gloves.
“Gonna wash my hands and then I’ll check you out - the wound, I mean.”
“You can check out the rest of me too.”
A sharp, sudden exhale nearly turned into a laugh. “Oh I plan to later, trust. Want to make sure it’s not infected though - and I am admittedly a little hungry for actual food. Just had a protein bar and a yogurt cup for lunch.”
Antinous managed to pull the small, triangular-shaped shard out from his foot. Fortunately for him, it was a relatively small piece, and didn’t pierce too deeply into the skin. He flashed it to Telemachus for emphasis, as though the sight might alleviate some of his concerns as he said, “I got this handled - but if you want to pass me a clean rag with some soap and hot water, I won’t say no.”
“I think you just did that out of order but - yeah, yeah, I can manage that,” his boyfriend responded, already reaching his hand in one of the drawers of the kitchen for some spare kitchen towels. The drawer happened to be right next to the stove, and Telemachus’ curiosity prompted him to lean over to sneak a glance at the simmering Bourdeto base in the saucepan.
“What dish were you making?”
Antinous appeared deeply invested in the wound in his foot in an effort to prolong his response.
“Bourdeto.”
The word didn’t seem to hit Telemachus immediately, but as Antinous dared to look back towards him, he felt something tug at his chest when the other man’s face brightened considerably.
“Really? Oh, that used to be one of my favorites. You - did you know that?”
A lopsided smile couldn’t help but manifest across Antinous’ features. “Sometimes I listen to what you go yapping on about.”
There was a softness that bled into Telemachus’ features, something subtle yet profound all at once as he let his eyes linger on Antinous. The hand in the drawer was still, along with the rest of him, and the corner of his well-formed mouth twitched in preparation to speak.
Antinous thinks his own body stopped breathing in that moment of anticipation.
“Oh.” It was all Telemachus managed to say, soft and barely audible, but something in Antinous’ chest felt tight all the same as he swallowed.
Telemachus was slow to pull his attention away as he remembered he was in the middle of something. Antinous kept staring at the middle distance in front of him, lost in thought as his boyfriend quickly worked to soak one of the towels in hot water and add lather it with some soap. His mind continued to wander in the meantime, so much so that he nearly jumped when Telemachus squatted down in front of him to get a closer look at the wound.
When Telemachus sighed in relief, the warm breath nearly tickled the bottom of his foot as it brushed across skin. “That’s pretty small, not as bad as I feared, but still-”
“I’ll be taking that,” Antinous cut in, reaching for the soaked towel in Telemachus’ hand. “Really, I can take care of this, you just relax. Maybe order us some takeout or something.”
“But I want to do this, ‘Tin,” Telemachus said, gripping the towel more firmly as Antinous’ fingers started to wrap around it.
“You don’t want to clean my dirty-ass foot.”
“It’s not that dirty, you’re being dramatic.”
Telemachus' hold on the towel was a vice grip, but Antinous had a secret tactic. In a quick motion, he leaned forward and reached out to pinch the side of his boyfriend’s waist, a spot he knew to be extremely ticklish. He couldn’t have predicted the cost such a bold move would make.
He heard a small thump on the ground by his feet as Telemachus, startled by the pinch, quickly released his hold on the towel. That freedom allowed the younger man’s attention to shift as his eyes cast downwards towards the source of the sound.
Antinous’ heart felt like it dropped down to his gut when he followed Telemachus’ eyes and saw the case for his engagement ring that managed to slip from the pocket of his pants. One of Telemachus’ hands reached for it, and Antinous in response sucked in a sharp breath before leaning sideways to swipe it from the floor.
Telemachus, however, was faster. The color drained out of his face as Antinous scrambled for words.
“Tel’ - fuck, that’s -”
“Don’t, don’t- uh, worry about it!” Telemachus interrupted, and Antinous caught the way his hand was shaking as it clutched the case.
Antinous’ mouth felt dry. His tongue dragged against lips to sate the sensation and buy an extra second of time to formulate his thoughts.
“I had this whole thing-”
“I didn’t- what I mean to say is that, um,” Telemachus cut in, fumbling over his own words. “It shouldn’t have happened like this.”
The words cut deeper than the piece of glass in Antinous’ skin. Confusion, too, which for him was a dangerous mix. His breathing became more unsteady as he fought his brain to keep from spiraling. He watched as Telemachus moved to place the case - in his own pocket? Antinous’ breathing caught for a moment in his bewilderment.
Telemachus’ hand stilled as it began to slip the case into his pocket halfway. He looked at the middle distance, swallowing as visible shock etched into his features. Antinous watched the way the muscles of his boyfriend’s face shifted to more closely match his own confusion.
“Um,” the man kneeling before him croaked. “This- this isn’t my ring.”
Antinous made a look like he had just been slapped.
“What the fuck do you mean? Of course it’s your ring!” There was a heightened pitch his voice was starting to reach as he felt himself fighting a breakdown.
“No it’s not, ‘Tin! Fuck me, mine is still in my pocket, I -”
The two of them fell to silence as something clicked simultaneously in their minds.
Quiet had never been so deafening.
“Are you saying,” Antinous started slowly, “that you … also have a ring?”
Telemachus stared unblinking and motionless up at Antinous for what felt like an eternity. It was Telemachus’ eyes that moved first, a slight shift as they took in Antinous’ face, and a glassy sheen came to them that forced him to blink.
He shifted his squatted position so one of the knees planted firmly against the ground, then with a hand that still looked unsteady, he opened the case to reveal the simple golden band with a delicate, aquamarine-studded detail.
“Antinous-”
“Telemachus!” The name was followed by a sharp, delirious laugh. “You can’t use my own ring to propose to me!”
Telemachus’ eyes blinked more rapidly, a stray tear threatening to spill down his cheek at any moment as he glanced down towards his pocket. His nose gave a sniff, holding something back, as his free hand reached into his pant pocket to pull out a case that was nearly identical to Antinous’ own.
The wave of emotion that overcame Antinous was an unfamiliar one; so many simultaneously that he couldn’t properly put into words if he tried.
“Oh, Tel’ - Telemachus, you… you,” the words were choking out of him in this foreign emotional state, his hand almost reflexively reaching out to swat at Telemachus’ arm. “Little shit, I was supposed to do this to you!”
“Well now you can!” Telemachus said, his voice rising to a squeak as he tried to hold back the tears. “We both can.”
Antinous let out a shaky sigh as he reached for Telemachus’ case, his shoulders slumping in the release of long-pent-up stress. His own hand felt unsteady as he opened the case and took in the sight of a similar golden band, but with ruby-studded detail instead of aquamarine.
He bit his bottom lip while his face contorted into a series of rapid-fire emotions that all felt too big for him. A few, deep breaths brought him back down to earth.
“This is gay as hell,” Antinous wheezed, and this time it was Telemachus’ turn to smack his arm. It startled a short, bubbling laugh from him as he turned the open case to face Telemachus and watched the way his boyfriend’s bottom lip trembled.
“It’s so beautiful,” Telemachus' voice sounded like a squeaky wheel.
“This is the ring you bought!” Antinous words sounded delirious.
“No, yeah, I know,” Telemachus managed. “I mean that we both had the same idea when we walked by that- by that place on-on-”
“On your birthday, I remember,” Antinous finished. “Telemachus, I -”
“Ohhh this is even better than I planned, ‘Tin.”
“Telemachus, we’ve known each other for six years, and I -”
“This way we get to wear each other’s colors,” Telemachus interrupted as he finally gave way to the choked sob he had been holding in. “It h-has m-more meaning that way… we get to-to carry a piece of ea -ch other and that- that’s beautiful.”
“God dammit Tel’,” Antinous nearly gasped out, his own eyes stinging. “I’m trying to propose to you and you’re saying all this sweet shit that I don’t deserve.”
“You-do-deserve-it!” Telemachus squawked, the words stringing together as he swat Antinous’ arm again.
“Stop hitting me while I’m proposing to you!” Antinous hollered in a way that nearly made his voice crack.
“Well stop beating yourself up!”
“You’re beating me up!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Telemachus sobbed, reaching forward to squeeze his knee. “I love you.”
A choked sound that sounded embarrassingly close to a whine slipped out of Antinous before he could stop it.
“I love you too,” Antinous managed, his nose giving a series of sniffles as he attempted to keep himself together. “If I didn’t have this open wound in my foot I’d kneel down.”
“Hey, that’s okay,” Telemachus cooed, using the back of his hand to wipe away some tears from his cheeks. “I’ve always been fond of this view anyway.”
They both stumbled and laughed their way through the rest of the proposal, the aftermath leaving them in a mutually elated state as they remained in their close positions enjoying each other’s company. Telemachus took to assisting with the towel after all, helping to clean the spot around the wound as Antinous idly brushed curled, dark locks out of his boyfriend- no, his fiancé’s face.
He was almost terrified with the way his heart skipped a beat at the realization.
“I was just thinking of something,” Telemachus murmured, breaking the spell he had unwittingly cast over the other man. “Since Bourdeto has a tomato-based sauce, why don’t we just boil up some spaghetti so the sauce doesn’t go to waste? I think we still have a fuckton of parmesan after we did that large batch of risotto last week.”
Antinous couldn’t mask the surprise on his face. That actually wasn’t a terrible idea. He found himself flashing his teeth in a smile down towards him, and the free hand that wasn’t holding the towel reached out to squeeze the hand that would have held the engagement ring. They realized very quickly that the rings would need to be refitted after their impromptu decision to switch who got which of the rings. Unfortunately they would both have to wait a little while longer before marveling at the piece of jewelry on one another’s fingers.
“Look at your pretty little head coming up with solutions.”
“It usually does!” Telemachus scoffs, taking the opportunity of mock-offense to rise back up to full height. “I’ll get the water boiling.”
“NO! I mean- no, I’ll do it.”
He tried his best to keep himself focused as Telemachus loomed over him while crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. It was cute. Hot. It was both at once. It took all of his willpower to not reach forward and pull the man into his lap.
“Antinous,” Telemachus started, and that sobered him up real quick. “I know I’m a shitty cook and burn almost every piece of bread I try to toast, but I have successfully boiled pasta before.”
When he saw Antinous appeared to be taking him seriously, he allowed the shadow of an impish smile to stretch across his face. “Besides, you’ll be right here being sweet for me while I cook, won’t you? With you being so close, you'll have plenty of reaction time if something bursts into flames.”
Any objection that might have spilled from Antinous’ lips in that moment was silenced as Telemachus cupped his cheek, dragging the soft pad of his thumb against the curve of the man’s cheekbone. The words jumbled in the older man’s mind to the point he could only grunt his consent. It was all Telemachus needed to brighten his demeanor again and make his way towards the stove.
Antinous did truly do his best to not be a backseat chef as he preoccupied himself with finishing the cleaning and bandaging of his injury. He was surprised he managed to keep his mouth shut, but he supposed after Telemachus had shot him a cold, sidelong glare when reminding him to put salt in the water, his survival instincts kicked in. It was shortly after that Telemachus surprised him by properly cooking the pasta, even remembering to pinch the noodles to check the center as Antinous taught him.
“You know, I might make breakfast tomorrow,” Telemachus mused as he watched the noodles boil.
“Don’t push it,” Antinous warned, amusement softening the heat behind the words.
“Have you heard of Snoop Dogg’s cooking method for bacon?”
“...excuse me?”
“Instead of just doing a few slices at a time in one layer on the skillet and flipping it when it cooks on one side, he dumps the whole pack in at once. He doesn’t pre-heat the skillet either, he starts it off cold and gradually warms it up.” Telemachus’ hands began to become more animated as he recounted the method, the pasta ladle in one of his hands whirling in the air with the motion. It looked more like he was holding a magic wand and reciting a spell with the way it moved around in front of him, which oddly added to the charm and humor of the movement. “He puts a lid on and steams them all in this clumped pile for a few minutes.”
Antinous could feel his eye twitch as he tried to process this completely foreign concept of bacon preparation. “Alright-”
“-then after a few minutes he’ll go in and stir all the pieces up,” Telemachus emphasized the point by making a stirring motion with the ladle. “Or maybe he uses tongs or something? Same results I think. Anyway, I guess it helps make the bacon extra light and crispy.”
“Are you…thinking of doing that with our remaining bacon? You want to just make a pile of bacon for breakfast?” He couldn’t help the way his words wavered a little as he suppressed a laugh.
“No,” Telemachus shot back, the ladle smacking against the lip of the spaghetti pot to stress the answer. “I was thinking of having omelets with them, actually.”
“Last time you tried to make scrambled eggs you set off the fire alarm, what makes you think-” Antinous was about to continue, but seeing the small frown that started to creep onto Telemachus’ face, he sighed.
“How about we make them together, hm?”
Telemachus responded with a pleased grin as he tapped the back of the ladle against his chin. “Deal.” A thoughtful hum followed, and Telemachus’ smile never wavered as after a few minutes he added, “I guess now that we’re engaged, there will be plenty of time for us to make something together.”
The realization stunned Antinous at first, but he found himself pleasantly surprised with how quickly the thought settled in like it was the most natural thing to follow. He couldn’t help but return his fiancé’s smile with one of his own.
For one of the very first times in his life, Antinous’ mind welcomed the silence.