Archive of Our Own

D3r had long since learned that Avery filled silence the way some people breathed.

“Anyway,” Avery was saying while rapidly sorting chests in their shared survival world, “my birthday’s next week.”

D3r glanced at his avatar from where he was painstakingly placing lanterns along the path leading toward Avery’s latest architectural crime against humanity. “Mm.”

Avery paused.

“…That’s all I get? ‘Mm’?”

“You said it like you were waiting for applause.”

“I was waiting for applause.”

D3r snorted quietly. “Happy early birthday, Avery.”

“There we go.” Avery sounded deeply pleased. “See? Wasn’t hard.”

On screen, Avery’s character jumped repeatedly in front of him like an excited dog demanding attention.

D3r looked at the avatar for a second too long.

It still felt strange sometimes—that Avery was real. Tangibly real. Warm hands, sharp grin, messy hair, hoodie strings between his teeth while concentrating. Not just a voice through broken laptop speakers and late-night calls and a person who existed in the strange liminal space between horror and comfort.

The memory of Avery asleep on top of him on his couch still came back at inconvenient times.

Especially when Avery laughed.

“Got plans?” D3r asked.

“Oh, absolutely.”

There was immediate suspicion in D3r’s voice. “That sounded evil.”

“It’s not evil.” Avery gasped theatrically. “How dare you.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m gonna do absolutely nothing all day.”

“That is not a plan.”

“It’s a great plan.”

Avery opened another chest, immediately closed it, then opened it again because he apparently had the object permanence of a startled goldfish.

“I’m serious,” he continued. “I’m gonna order enough takeout to kill a Victorian child, probably wear pajamas all day, and play minecraft until my eyes fall out.”

There was a tiny pause.

Then, significantly more casual. “Y’know. If anyone wanted to hang out.”

D3r smiled before he could stop himself.

Avery was not subtle. He thought he was subtle, which somehow made it worse.

“Oh?” D3r said mildly.

“Yeah.”

“Anyone specifically?”

“Nope.”

“Avery.”

“What?” Avery laughed nervously. “Could be anybody.”

“You called me three times yesterday.”

“That’s called friendship.”

“You also said and I quote, ‘I’m legally requiring you to spend my birthday with me.’”

Avery immediately groaned. “Why do you remember things?”

“You say memorable things.”

“I say stupid things.”

“Those are not mutually exclusive.”

Avery made an offended noise loud enough to peak his mic.

D3r leaned back in his chair, listening to the familiar background noises through Avery’s microphone. The rain. Keyboard clicks. Avery muttering at himself whenever he misplaced blocks. At some point he’d started humming under his breath too, soft and distracted.

D3r had become embarrassingly fond of hearing Avery exist.

Which was partially the problem. Because for the last week or so, D3r had been thinking, and thinking, and thinking.

He’d almost bought the plane ticket twice already.

The first time he’d chickened out before confirming payment. The second time he’d gotten all the way to entering his card information before staring at the screen for ten straight minutes wondering if it was insane to fly out just because he missed someone.

Well.

Not just because he missed someone.

Avery had crossed states to help him destroy a cursed laptop with a baseball bat, a big hammer, and lighter fluid in the middle of nowhere.

Avery had stayed with him afterward too. Had taken over his kitchen. Had laughed at his duct-taped copy of The King in Yellow while looking vaguely concerned. Had slept draped across him like an affectionate weighted blanket.

D3r missed him enough that it physically ached sometimes.

“You’re quiet,” Avery said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“You’re thinking.”

“That’s generally how being quiet works.”

“No, but you’re doing the specific thinking thing.” Avery paused. “Everything okay?”

D3r looked at the little minecraft avatar bouncing in front of him impatiently.

“…Yeah.”

“You sure?”

There was immediate sincerity under the teasing now. Avery always did that. Slipped between joking and earnestness so fast it gave people emotional whiplash.

D3r broke and replaced one of the lanterns unnecessarily.

“Just thinking about your birthday.”

“Oh?” Avery said, trying and failing to sound normal about it.

“Mm.”

“Any particular thoughts?”

D3r could practically hear him sitting up straighter.

He considered telling him outright, instead he asked, “You really don’t have plans besides minecraft?”

“Nope.”

“No family stuff?”

Avery barked out a laugh. “God, no.”

“Friends?”

“I mean, online stuff probably.” Avery hesitated. “But mostly I just kinda wanted to relax.”

Another pause, then quieter: “Wouldn’t mind spending it with you.”

D3r’s chest did something deeply inconvenient.

Avery kept talking before he could respond, suddenly rambling faster like he’d gotten embarrassed by his own honesty. “Not in like a weird way. I mean— okay maybe a little weird. But y’know. You’re easy to be around. Which is kinda rare. And I miss you, so.”

Simple.

Casual.

Like he hadn’t just short-circuited D3r’s brain entirely.

D3r stared at his monitor.

Avery, meanwhile, had apparently become aware he’d said something vulnerable because he immediately pivoted.

“ANYWAY,” he announced loudly, “I’m making a cake.”

“You can bake?”

“I can follow instructions and fear God.”

“That does not answer the question.”

“It’s gonna be a minecraft sheep cake.”

D3r laughed quietly.

“Oh my god you laughed.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You like me.”

The words came out easy and joking.

Still.

D3r’s fingers tightened slightly around his mouse.

“…Yeah,” he admitted softly.

Avery went quiet for half a second then immediately covered it with, “Well. Obviously. I’m delightful.”

D3r could hear the smile in his voice anyway.

They settled into something comfortable after that. Avery mining aimlessly while talking about birthday food options. D3r listening more than speaking, occasionally chiming in with dry comments that made Avery cackle loud enough to hurt his own throat.

At some point Avery started building a stupid little cabin near spawn.

“For ambiance,” he explained.

“It’s made entirely of pink wool.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s not ambiance. That’s an eyesore.”

“You wound me.”

D3r watched Avery’s character place flower pots along the windows.

“You know,” Avery said after a while, quieter now, “I liked being you around in person.”

D3r went still.

Avery kept building instead of looking at him in-game.

“It was nice.”

“…Yeah,” D3r said.

“discord’s cool and all but.” Avery shrugged audibly. “Different.”

Different.

That was one word for it.

Different didn’t properly describe Avery falling asleep against his shoulder during a movie.

Or the way he’d laughed breathlessly while swinging the aluminum bat into the laptop like he’d personally been waiting years to do it.

Or how naturally he’d fit into D3r’s apartment afterward.

Different didn’t describe waking up with Avery sprawled across him, warm and heavy and real.

D3r opened his browser quietly, the airline page was still there where he'd left off.

Avery was still talking. “…and then if the cake collapses I’ll just eat it with a spoon like a divorced man at 2 AM.”

D3r barely heard him now, his cursor hovering over the purchase button.

“You know,” he said slowly, “visiting goes both ways.”

Avery stopped mid-sentence. “…What.”

“You came out here last time.”

There was a long pause then very carefully, “Derek.”

“Hm?”

“Are you implying something or are you trying to kill me.”

D3r smiled a little helplessly at his screen. “Maybe I just want to see you.”

The silence afterward was catastrophic.

Not empty, just stunned, and when Avery finally spoke again, his voice had gone softer than usual. “You could’ve just said that, y’know.”

“I’m saying it now.”

Another pause.

Then quietly, almost shy despite everything Avery was. “…I’d really like that.”

D3r clicked purchase before he could overthink it again.

The confirmation email hit his inbox immediately.

Avery remained suspiciously quiet for approximately twelve whole seconds after D3r bought the ticket.

For Avery, this was medically concerning.

D3r was just beginning to wonder if discord had disconnected when he finally heard a sharp inhale through the headset.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

“No, because—” Avery laughed once, high and disbelieving. “No. Hold on. Hold on, you actually bought it?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re actually coming here?”

“Yes, Avery.”

“Oh my god.”

His minecraft character began running in frantic circles around D3r's avatar like he’d entirely forgotten how movement worked.

D3r leaned back in his chair, warmth blooming in his chest so quickly it almost hurt. Avery got expressive over little things all the time—new mods, cool rocks he found on hikes, sheep pictures—but this was different. Bigger. Softer.

Real.

“You’re serious,” Avery repeated again, quieter now, like he still couldn’t quite believe it.

“I thought that was generally implied when purchasing airfare.”

“You know what I mean.”

D3r did.

He watched Avery’s character abruptly stop moving. Then, after a second, the little avatar crouched repeatedly in front of him in what was clearly excited panic.

“I need to clean my apartment.”

I'm sure it's not that bad.”

“It absolutely is.” Avery groaned dramatically. “You saw the laundry chair.”

“I don't think you don’t know how hangers work.”

“I know how they work. I reject them philosophically.”

D3r laughed under his breath again.

God, he missed this.

Not just Avery himself, though that was certainly part of it. The rhythm of him. The way conversations meandered into nonsense before suddenly turning sincere. The constant background hum of Avery existing. How easy it was to talk to him for hours without noticing time passing.

The call had started while the sun was still up outside D3r’s window and now it was dark outside, the only light coming through the window was from the streetlights.

“You’re smiling, aren’t you,” Avery accused suddenly.

“No.”

“Liar.”

“You can’t even see me.”

“I can hear it.”

D3r rubbed a hand over his mouth uselessly.

Unfortunately, Avery could hear it. Somehow. He’d always been strangely good at reading D3r through voice alone.

There was a rustling noise from Avery’s side of the call before a loud thump.

“What was that?”

“I flopped over dramatically.”

“Ah.”

“I’m processing.”

“You’re very loud for someone processing.”

“I contain multitudes.”

“You contain chaos.”

“That too.”

Another beat passed before Avery spoke again, more hesitant this time. “So… how long are you staying?”

D3r had already looked into that too. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that he’d researched local coffee shops near Avery’s apartment earlier that afternoon.

“A few days.”

“A few—” Avery cut himself off with a strangled noise. “Oh my god.”

“What?”

“No, I just.” Avery laughed again, softer this time. “I kinda thought maybe you meant like. A day trip.”

“That seems inefficient.”

“D3r.”

“Hm?”

“You’re staying with me, right?”

There was something in his voice as he asked it, like Avery was trying not to sound too hopeful about it.

D3r’s chest tightened all over again.

“If that’s okay.”

“Okay?” Avery sounded genuinely offended. “Dude, I’m actively considering building you a pillow throne.”

“That sounds deeply uncomfortable.”

“You don’t understand my artistic vision.”

“I fear your artistic vision.”

“Coward.”

D3r smiled helplessly at his monitor again.

Avery, apparently overwhelmed by his own excitement, immediately launched into planning mode.

“Okay wait no hold on. We gotta do stuff.”

“I thought your plan was to do nothing.”

“That was BEFORE.” Avery paused. “Actually no, wait, that’s still the plan. But now you’re included in the nothing.”

“How generous.”

“We can get takeout again. Ooh, and coffee. And I can bully you into trying the good bakery near my apartment.”

Avery sounded unbearably pleased with himself.

D3r listened to him ramble while absentmindedly fixing one of the crooked lanterns Avery had placed earlier. There was something deeply domestic about this now. Not even in-person, and somehow it still felt domestic.

Like this had quietly become part of both their lives without either of them noticing.

“You know,” Avery said eventually, voice softer again, “I’m really glad you decided to visit.”

D3r stopped moving.

“I know traveling’s kinda…” Avery searched for the word. “A lot. Especially after. Y’know.”

After everything.

After the laptop. After Carcosa. After all the nightmares and paranoia and looking over their shoulders for shadows that weren’t there.

There had been a while after they destroyed the laptop where D3r genuinely wasn’t sure if he’d ever feel normal again.

Then Avery had started calling him every night.

Sometimes talking. Sometimes not.

Just there.

“…It’s easier when it’s you,” D3r admitted quietly.

Silence.

D3r could practically picture Avery on the other side of the call now—curled somewhere comfortable, headset slipping slightly, probably smiling in that small soft way he only did when he got caught off guard emotionally.

“You’re gonna kill me one day,” Avery muttered.

“That seems dramatic.”

“You said something sweet. I have a reputation to maintain.”

“You absolutely do not.”

“Rude.”

D3r heard him shifting around again before another thunk echoed through the mic.

“You flopped again?”

“Mhm.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet you bought a plane ticket anyway.”

D3r huffed out a laugh.

Avery went quiet for a second before speaking more carefully. “…Can I ask something?”

“You just did.”

“Oh my god, okay, smartass, can I ask another thing?”

“Probably.”

“What made you decide to come?”

D3r stared at the screen.

At their little minecraft house. The lantern-lit paths. The stupid pink wool cabin Avery had insisted added ambiance.

The truth came easily.

“I missed you.”

Avery made the tiniest startled noise.

D3r continued before he could lose his nerve. “I kept thinking about the last visit.” He paused. “About you being here.”

Avery had gone completely silent again.

“You make places feel…” D3r frowned slightly. “Less empty, I guess.”

The silence stretched long enough that D3r finally glanced toward discord to make sure the call hadn’t frozen.

Then Avery spoke very softly. “That’s, like. The nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

D3r’s chest ached.

“Well,” he said quietly, “it’s true.”

Avery sniffed suddenly.

D3r narrowed his eyes. “Are you crying?”

“No.”

“You absolutely are.”

“I’m emotional, leave me alone.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“You bought a plane ticket because you missed me and I’m unbelievable?”

“…Fair point.”

Avery laughed wetly into the mic and after a few seconds, “You can sleep with me again if you want.”

D3r nearly choked.

Avery immediately burst into horrified laughter. “OH MY GOD WAIT THAT SOUNDED—”

“It did.”

“I MEANT LIKE—”

“I know what you meant.”

“You’re evil.”

“You handed me that one.”

“I’m hanging up.” Avery groaned so loudly his mic crackled.

“No you aren’t.”

“…No,” Avery admitted miserably. “I’m not.”

D3r smiled again, softer this time.

Somewhere across the country, Avery was probably hiding his face in his hoodie while blushing himself to death.

And in less than a week, D3r would get to see it in person.

Avery did not, in fact, hang up. Mostly because despite his threats, he was currently too busy dissolving into embarrassed laughter to function properly.

D3r could hear muffled noises through the headset—fabric rustling, what was probably Avery aggressively faceplanting into his sheep plush that D3r definitely hadn't bought for him, and several deeply pained groans.

“You’re never letting me live that down,” Avery mumbled eventually.

“Probably not.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“…Unfortunately.”

D3r smiled to himself and kept placing lanterns along the path. Avery still hadn’t recovered enough to move his character again, which meant he was standing motionless beside the sheep pen like he’d blue-screened.

Honestly, accurate.

“You know what the worst part is?” Avery asked after a minute.

“What?”

“I was trying to be smooth.”

D3r laughed outright at that.

“Oh, don’t laugh at me!”

“You thought that was smooth?”

“Yes!”

“It sounded like you short-circuited halfway through the sentence.”

“That’s because I DID.” Avery groaned again, long and dramatic. “This is awful. I’m gonna think about this at three in the morning for the next six months.”

“You’ll survive.”

“Debatable.”

D3r heard a sharp click, then Avery’s camera suddenly turned on without warning.

For a second all D3r saw was a blur of movement before the image stabilized enough to show Avery sprawled sideways across his bed in a massive hoodie, hair flattened messily against a pillow. His face was pink from embarrassment, one eye squinted shut like he regretted every decision that had led him here.

“There,” Avery declared. “Now you can witness my suffering visually.”

D3r’s brain stopped working for a second.

Seeing Avery unexpectedly always did that a little.

The grainy discord quality didn’t help much, but it was enough. Enough to see the faint freckles across his nose. Enough to see the sleepy edges of his smile. Enough to see him playing absently with one hoodie string while staring at the screen.

D3r missed him so badly it hurt sometimes.

“You’re staring,” Avery said immediately.

“You turned your camera on.”

“That’s not a denial.”

“You look tired.” D3r deflected, not denying it in the slightest.

“I worked earlier,” Avery said. “Plus I stayed up until like three last night because I found a three-hour video essay about orchids and why they're little freaks.”

“…Why.”

“Autism.”

“Fair enough.”

Avery grinned at that.

God, D3r wanted to reach through the screen and touch him. The thought hit hard enough to briefly steal the air from his lungs.

Avery shifted onto his stomach, hugging the sheep under his chest. “Lemme see you.”

“No.”

“Coward.”

“You’re the one who panic-activated your camera.”

“That was tactical.”

“That was impulsive.”

“Those are synonyms.”

D3r snorted softly.

Avery’s grin widened a little at the sound, pleased with himself.

“C’mon,” he wheedled. “Just for a minute.”

D3r hesitated.

He wasn’t particularly fond of cameras. Never really had been. Even before everything with the laptop and the paranoia and the lingering discomfort of being perceived too directly.

But.

Avery had crossed state lines to help him destroy something that had nearly ruined his life.

Avery called him almost every night.

Avery had looked at him in person like D3r was someone safe.

Slowly, before he could rethink it, D3r turned his camera on.

Avery immediately went still.

The quality was terrible on D3r’s end too, dim room lit mostly by monitor glow and the faint amber of a streetlight somewhere outside, but Avery stared like he’d just been handed something precious anyway.

“Oh,” Avery said softly.

D3r resisted the urge to turn the camera back off immediately.

“What?”

“Nothin’.” Avery smiled a little. “Hi.”

The stupid simplicity of it hit embarrassingly hard.

Hi.

Like they weren’t already on hour four of this call.

“Hi,” D3r replied quietly.

Avery looked devastatingly fond all of a sudden.

It should not have affected D3r as much as it did and unfortunately for D3r he was quite weak for Avery looking at him like that.

“You cut your hair,” Avery noticed.

“A little.”

“It looks nice.”

D3r glanced away automatically. “Thanks.”

“And your glasses are crooked.”

“…Thanks.”

Avery laughed.

“There’s my D3r.”

“My glasses being crooked is your defining trait for me?”

“No, but it’s in the top ten.”

“That’s concerning.”

“I contain multitudes.”

“You already used that line.”

“I can reuse jokes if I want.”

A comfortable quiet settled after that.

Not silence exactly. Avery still hummed occasionally. D3r’s keyboard clicked every so often. Rain continued tapping against Avery’s window. Somewhere in the background of D3r’s apartment, a pipe groaned loudly enough that Avery startled.

“What the hell was that?”

“My building is haunted.”

“Oh cool. Awesome.”

“You dealt with an eldritch King.”

“Yeah but that was a different kind of haunted. Your plumbing sounds like it wants revenge.”

D3r laughed softly again.

Avery stared at him for a second too long afterward.

“What?”

“You laugh more now.”

The words were gentle.

Careful.

D3r felt something in his chest twist.

“Oh.”

“Not a bad thing,” Avery said quickly. “Just. Y’know.”

Different.

Healthier.

Alive in ways he maybe hadn’t been before.

D3r looked down at his hands for a second before admitting quietly, “You help.”

Avery froze completely.

It was almost funny watching his brain reboot in real time.

“You can’t just SAY things like that,” Avery whispered hoarsely.

“I just did.”

“That’s illegal.”

“You’re dramatic.”

“You’re secretly sweet, which is worse.”

D3r huffed quietly through his nose.

Avery was smiling again now though. Not laughing this time. Just warm.

Content.

The kind of expression people got when they forgot to guard themselves for a minute.

“You know,” Avery said eventually, voice quieter now, “I was kinda nervous after the laptop thing.”

“About what?” D3r looked back up.

“That maybe once it was over…” Avery shrugged slightly. “You wouldn’t need me around anymore.”

D3r’s chest hurt instantly. “Avery—”

“I know, I know, it’s stupid.”

“It’s not.”

Avery picked absently at the sleeve of his hoodie.

“I just kept thinking that maybe we only met because of all the weird cursed bullshit.” He laughed weakly. “And once that was gone maybe we’d realize we didn’t actually have anything in common besides trauma and minecraft.”

D3r stared at him for a long moment. “I bought a plane ticket because I missed hearing you ramble about sheep.”

Avery blinked.

D3r continued before embarrassment could stop him.

“You make me feel normal again.” He swallowed once. “I know I’d keep talking to you even if minecraft stopped existing tomorrow.”

For a second Avery just looked at him.

Then he abruptly buried his face into his sheep with a strangled noise.

“Oh my god.”

“What?”

“You’re doing it AGAIN.”

“Doing what?”

“Saying things that make me want to chew through drywall emotionally.”

D3r laughed helplessly.

Avery peeked at him from behind the sheep, eyes bright in a way that suggested he might actually cry if pushed much further.

“You’re staying longer than a few days next time,” he mumbled.

“There’s gonna be a next time?”

Avery looked at him like the answer was obvious. “Well, yeah.”

The problem, D3r discovered very quickly, was that buying the plane ticket in a moment of affection-fueled bravery and actually going to the airport were two entirely different experiences.

The first part had been easy.

The second part involved fluorescent lighting, rolling suitcases, crowds, crying children, overlapping announcements, and approximately eight thousand opportunities for his brain to start catastrophizing.

He hated airports.

Not in the casual “ugh, TSA is annoying” kind of way either. Airports made him feel exposed in a specific, itchy way that settled beneath his skin and refused to leave. Too many people. Too much noise. Too many places to look and too many places to be perceived from all at once.

It reminded him too much of the months after the laptop.

Of constantly waiting for something terrible to notice him back.

D3r sat near his gate with his backpack clutched between his feet and tried not to look as tense as he felt. His headphones were on even though no music was playing through them, mostly because they discouraged conversation.

Unfortunately, they did not discourage Avery.

His phone buzzed.

Avery: you alive?

D3r stared at the message for a second before replying.

D3r: Debatable.

The typing bubble appeared immediately.

Avery: airport?

D3r: Unfortunately

Avery: oh nooooo

Another message arrived before D3r could answer.

Avery: okay important question

Avery: scale of 1-10 how homicidal are you currently

D3r looked around the terminal.

A toddler was screaming somewhere to his left. Someone nearby was loudly chewing gum. An announcement blared overhead and cut itself off halfway through the sentence.

D3r: 8

Avery: understandable honestly

A picture followed immediately after.

It was one of Avery’s sheep.

Well. Not technically his sheep. Just a sheep from a farm Avery liked visiting because he was apparently a Disney princess.

The sheep in the image was staring directly into the camera with deeply concerning intensity.

D3r snorted softly before he could stop himself.

Avery: :)

D3r: You weaponized sheep pictures.

Avery: and it worked

D3r: Manipulative

Avery: effective :)

D3r shook his head, but the tightness in his shoulders eased slightly.

That had been happening more and more lately.

Avery somehow made difficult things feel manageable just by existing nearby. Even when “nearby” meant several states away and communicating entirely through cursed sheep images.

His phone buzzed again.

Avery: you nervous?

D3r hesitated.

Normally he probably would’ve lied automatically. Brushed it off. Changed the subject.

Instead:

D3r: A little.

The response came almost immediately.

Avery: hey

Another message.

Avery: you’ve dealt with worse things than questionable airlines

D3r laughed quietly under his breath despite himself.

D3r: Barely

Avery: okay fair actually

Avery: proud of you though

D3r’s chest tightened unexpectedly.

He looked down at the message longer than necessary.

Proud of you.

Avery said things like that so naturally sometimes, like caring about people was the easiest thing in the world for him.

D3r rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly very glad nobody around him knew why he was smiling at his phone.

D3r: You’re very cheesy.

Avery: and yet you’re flying across the country for me anyway

D3r: Regrettably

Avery: liar

The boarding announcement crackled overhead.

Immediately, D3r felt his stomach drop.

He hated this part too.

The waiting had at least been stable. Predictable. Boarding meant movement and noise and the awful compressed feeling of stepping into a metal tube hurtling through the sky for reasons humanity had collectively decided not to question enough.

His phone buzzed again before he could spiral too hard.

Avery: hey

Avery: breathe for me a sec okay?

D3r blinked.

Avery: cmon

Avery: in through your nose and all that zen bullshit

D3r exhaled sharply through his nose in reluctant amusement.

D3r: “Zen bullshit”?

Avery: i failed health class terminology leave me alone

But D3r did breathe and the knot in his chest loosened enough to move.

Avery: there ya go

D3r: You’re smug over text somehow.

Avery: i’m talented B)

D3r stood when his boarding group was called, adjusting the strap of his backpack over one shoulder.

His palms were sweaty.

God, he hated flying.

Objectively, he knew it was safer than driving. Knew the statistics. Knew the mechanics involved. None of that mattered to the deeply irrational part of his brain that insisted humans were not meant to be launched thirty thousand feet into the air inside an aluminum cylinder.

Still.

Avery was waiting for him.

That thought alone got him moving.

The flight itself was miserable in the uniquely exhausting way air travel always was.

Too cramped.

Too loud.

Too many strangers.

D3r spent most of the flight with his hood up and headphones on, staring out the window while trying not to think too hard about turbulence every time the plane shifted slightly.

At some point his phone buzzed again while they were still on the runway.

Avery: you boarded?

D3r: Unfortunately yes

Avery: if the plane crashes i’m haunting you btw

D3r actually smiled faintly.

D3r: I think that’s the wrong order of operations.

Avery: details

Then, after a second:

Avery: text me when you land okay?

The simple sincerity of it settled warm beneath D3r’s ribs.

Okay.

Someone waiting for him, someone actively wanting him there. It still felt strange sometimes.

Good strange but strange nonetheless

The flight dragged.

D3r dozed briefly at one point, only to wake up disoriented with his neck hurting and a child kicking the back of his seat.

He wanted to die a little.

But every time the anxiety started creeping too high, he found himself thinking about Avery at the end of this.

Avery greeting him at arrivals.

Avery’s apartment.

Avery rambling while cooking something improvised at two in the morning.

Warm hoodies and sheep plushies and falling asleep to the sound of rain while Avery talked about nonsense until both of them drifted off.

Worth it.

Entirely worth it.

By the time the plane landed, D3r was exhausted enough to feel half-dissociated.

The airport itself blurred together in a haze of fluorescent lighting and baggage claims and people moving too close around him.

Then his phone buzzed the second he got service again.

Avery: LANDED???

D3r: Yes

Avery: OH THANK GOD

D3r paused while walking through the terminal.

D3r: Were you genuinely worried?

Avery: statistically no

Avery: emotionally yes

D3r’s chest hurt again in that stupid soft way Avery kept causing.

Another message appeared immediately after.

Avery: okay important follow up

Avery: how fast can you walk

D3r frowned faintly.

D3r: Avery.

Avery: :)

D3r looked up from his phone just in time to see someone nearly sprinting toward him through the crowd.

Messy hair.

Oversized hoodie.

Bright grin.

Avery spotted him at the exact same moment and immediately lit up so visibly that D3r felt the exhaustion of the entire trip evaporate in one catastrophic rush.

“Oh thank fuck,” Avery blurted the second he reached him. “I was starting to think TSA kidnapped you.”

And before D3r could properly react, Avery threw his arms around him.

Hard.

Warm.

Real.

D3r made a startled noise as Avery nearly crashed into him bodily, but his arms came up automatically around Avery’s waist anyway.

God.

There he was.

Avery pulled back just enough to look at him properly, hands still gripping the front of D3r’s jacket like he was making sure he’d actually arrived.

“You’re here,” Avery said, sounding a little awed about it.

D3r looked at him for a long moment before answering softly. “Told you I would be.”

Looking back at it, D3r should have been suspicious the moment Avery asked, completely out of nowhere three days earlier, “Hey, random question, have you ever been on a motorcycle before?”

At the time, D3r had assumed it was just another Avery conversational detour. Avery routinely asked things that sounded disconnected from reality before somehow looping them back around twenty minutes later.

So D3r had answered honestly.

No.

Which had apparently delighted Avery for reasons D3r was only now beginning to understand.

“You own a motorcycle,” D3r said flatly.

Avery looked deeply pleased with himself.

“I own two, technically.”

“That is somehow worse.”

Avery laughed, still holding onto the front of D3r’s jacket with both hands like he hadn’t entirely processed that D3r was physically there yet.

The airport crowd flowed around them in a blur, people dragging luggage past while Avery stood grinning at him like an idiot.

D3r might’ve been doing something similar, honestly.

“I told you I had a bike,” Avery said.

“You said,” D3r replied carefully, “and I quote, ‘I have something kinda motorcycle-adjacent.’”

“Yeah.”

“That implies a scooter at worst.”

“A scooter?” Avery sounded offended. “D3r. Be serious.”

“I am serious.”

Avery snorted loudly, finally letting go of his jacket so he could grab D3r’s backpack strap instead instead, immediately tugging him along through the terminal.

“C’mon. I parked in short-term because I’m rich and irresponsible.”

“You’re neither of those things.”

“I bought airport parking, D3r. Clearly I’m thriving.”

D3r let himself be dragged along, exhausted enough that resisting seemed pointless. Besides, Avery was warm and buzzing with excitement in a way that made it hard to care about much else.

“You look tired,” Avery said after a second, glancing over at him while weaving through people.

“I just survived air travel.”

“True.” Avery nodded solemnly. “My condolences.”

“And there was a child kicking my seat.”

“Oh, that’s psychic damage actually.”

D3r huffed quietly.

Avery immediately looked smug about earning the tiny laugh. “You also look taller than I remembered.”

“You said something similar last time.”

“Because it keeps being true.”

“You’re just short.”

“I’m average height.”

“You say that like it’s a defense.”

Avery bumped his shoulder against D3r’s while grinning.

God, he was touchy.

Not in an overwhelming way. Just constant little moments of contact. Tugging his sleeve. Leaning against him while standing still. Pressing shoulders together while walking.

Like Avery had decided D3r was someone safe to orbit around physically.

D3r liked it far more than was probably reasonable.

The parking garage was cooler and quieter than the terminal, the concrete echoing faintly around them as Avery led him toward a corner near the back.

Then D3r saw it.

“…Avery.”

“What?” Avery asked innocently.

“That thing looks fast.”

“It is fast.”

D3r stopped walking.

The motorcycle parked in front of them looked aggressively like something built by a man with unresolved issues and access to machinery. Sleek black body, scratched in places from obvious use rather than neglect, helmets hanging off one handlebar.

Avery patted the seat affectionately.

“My beloved.”

“You’re going to kill us.”

“Not on purpose.”

“Avery.”

“I’m kidding!”

D3r stared at him.

Avery paused. “…Mostly.”

“Oh my god.”

Avery burst into laughter, loud enough that it echoed through the garage. “D3r, relax. I’m a good driver.”

“That’s exactly what people say before becoming road safety statistics.”

“I’ve literally been riding for years.”

“And?”

“And I’ve never died.”

“You’ve told me you've been hit by a car before.”

Avery was still laughing when he handed D3r one of the helmets. “It wasn't that bad. C’mon. It’ll be fun.”

D3r eyed the helmet like it personally offended him.

“I trusted you enough to get on a plane,” he informed Avery gravely. “Don’t make me regret both decisions in the same day.”

Avery’s expression softened immediately under the teasing. “You trust me that much?”

The question came out quieter than expected.

D3r looked at him for a second.

Avery standing there in an oversized hoodie and beat-up boots, hair still messy from running through the airport, looking at D3r like the answer mattered more than he wanted it to.

“…Yeah,” D3r admitted.

Avery blinked once.

Then, because he was Avery and apparently incapable of sitting in vulnerability for more than six consecutive seconds:

“Well good news,” he announced. “Now you get to cling to me dramatically.”

D3r nearly choked. “You cannot say things like that casually.”

“Yes I can.”

“No, you absolutely cannot.”

Avery was grinning again now, clearly delighted by D3r’s suffering.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” he teased. “Helmet on.”

D3r froze.

Avery froze too.

The silence lasted exactly two seconds.

“…Did you just call me sweetheart?”

Avery’s face immediately went bright red.

“No.”

“You did.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“Avery.”

“It slipped out accidentally,” Avery mumbled into his hands. “You looked nervous and my brain short-circuited.”

D3r stared at him a little helplessly, “You are unbelievable.”

“I KNOW.”

Avery sounded genuinely distraught about it.

D3r ended up laughing hard enough that Avery groaned and lightly headbutted his shoulder in embarrassment.

“You’re never letting me live anything down.”

“Correct.”

“This is bullying.”

“This is consequences.”

Avery muttered something incoherent while shoving the second helmet at him more aggressively.

Still smiling faintly, D3r finally put it on.

The helmet smelled faintly like Avery somehow. Smoke from bonfires, laundry detergent, rain. All of which were very comforting which was ridiculous considering D3r was about to willingly climb onto a death machine.

Avery swung onto the motorcycle easily before looking back over his shoulder. “You good?”

“No.”

“Excellent.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

“…Unfortunately.”

Avery laughed softly, then reached back to tap D3r’s knee. “You can hold onto me, y’know. I promise I won’t make fun of you.”

“That promise feels legally unenforceable.”

“It’s genuine!”

D3r eyed the motorcycle one last time before climbing on behind him carefully. Immediately, he became aware of several things at once.

One: motorcycles were much taller up close.

Two: Avery was very warm.

Three: there was realistically nowhere to put his hands except—

“Oh my god,” Avery said suddenly, sounding far more delighted than he should be. “You’re having the realization.”

“I hate this.”

“C’mere.” Avery reached back and grabbed D3r’s wrists gently, pulling his arms forward around his waist. “There.”

D3r’s brain briefly stopped functioning.

Avery leaned back against him automatically afterward, comfortable and easy like this was the most natural thing in the world.

Meanwhile D3r was acutely aware of literally every point of contact between them.

“You okay?” Avery asked softly.

D3r swallowed once.

“…Yeah.”

Avery turned his head slightly just enough that D3r could see the edge of his grin through the helmet visor.

“You’re blushing, huh?”

“You can’t prove that.”

“I can feel you overheating.”

“Oh my god.”

Avery laughed warmly, the sound vibrating through his chest where D3r was pressed against his back. “I’ve got you, okay?”

And stupidly enough, despite the airport exhaustion and the motorcycle and the anxiety still buzzing under his skin—

D3r believed him immediately.

The motorcycle rumbled to life beneath them with a low growl that D3r felt more than heard. Immediately, every survival instinct in his body activated at once.

“This is a terrible idea,” he informed Avery through the helmet headset.

Avery laughed directly into his ear. “You already got on, so now you’re legally committed.”

“That’s not how laws work.”

“That’s how motorcycle laws work specifically.”

“I’m pretty sure you just made those up.”

“Maybe.”

The bike rolled smoothly out of the parking space, and D3r’s grip around Avery’s waist tightened instinctively.

Avery noticed immediately.

Not because he commented on it—miraculously—but because D3r felt the tiny pleased little huff of laughter that Avery was trying to suppress.

Outside the parking garage, the late afternoon air hit cool against D3r’s skin. The city stretched around them in washed gold sunlight and traffic noise and distant forest air.

Then Avery accelerated.

Not aggressively. Not dangerously.

Just enough for D3r’s stomach to immediately attempt evacuating his body.

“Oh, absolutely not,” D3r muttered.

Avery laughed again, warm and bright through the headset.

“You’re doing great.”

“I’m surviving.”

“Same thing.”

“No it isn’t.”

Avery guided the motorcycle through traffic with an ease that was honestly irritating. Relaxed posture. Smooth turns. Casual confidence that suggested he’d done this so many times it had become instinctive.

Meanwhile D3r was having a religious experience.

A terrified one.

“You okay back there?” Avery asked after a minute.

“Yes,” D3r lied.

“You’re squeezing me like I owe you money.”

“…Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Avery sounded entirely too pleased about it. “I told you to hold on.”

D3r became acutely aware again that his arms were wrapped fully around Avery’s waist.

And unfortunately Avery felt good.

Warm and solid beneath the hoodie. Close enough that every breath and laugh and shift of movement translated directly through D3r’s chest.

It was deeply unfair.

The city blurred around them gradually as traffic thinned. Buildings gave way to quieter streets lined with trees and little local shops glowing warmly in the evening light.

Avery slowed slightly.

“Okay,” he announced. “Important question.”

“What.”

“Terrified or having fun?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s both.”

Avery barked out a laugh loud enough to crackle through the headset.

“Honestly? Fair.”

D3r rested his forehead briefly against the back of Avery’s shoulder before he could think too hard about doing it.

Avery went suspiciously quiet for about three seconds.

“…You comfy back there?”

“No,” D3r answered automatically.

“Liar.”

“…A little.”

“Thought so.”

There was something horribly domestic about this.

D3r had expected the visit to feel exciting, maybe a little awkward at first while they adjusted from online calls back to real proximity.

Instead it felt alarmingly natural to sit wrapped around Avery while he drove them home through the city.

Like this was something they’d done a hundred times already. The realization settled strange and warm beneath D3r’s ribs.

Avery eventually turned down a quieter street lined with apartment buildings and overflowing flower boxes. D3r felt him relax further once they got away from heavier traffic.

“You know,” Avery said conversationally, “you’re taking this way better than I expected.”

“I think your expectations of me are insulting.”

“You looked at the motorcycle like it had personally threatened your bloodline.”

“It did.”

Avery snorted softly. “But you still got on.”

D3r looked at the side of Avery’s helmet for a second.

“…You were waiting for me.” The words slipped out quietly.

Avery went silent and with it, D3r could feel Avery still under his arm, and then he spoke, voice gentler than before. “Yeah.”

D3r tightened his arms around him just slightly.

Avery made the tiniest startled noise.

“You okay?” D3r asked immediately.

“Yeah,” Avery replied quickly. “Just. Y’know.”

He laughed weakly. “You’re very casually sweet sometimes and it catches me off guard.”

“You called me sweetheart twenty minutes ago.” D3r huffed quietly.

“That was an accident born from emotional devastation.”

“That’s not better.”

Avery laughed again.

The apartment building Avery lived in turned out to be smaller than D3r expected. Older too, brick exterior partially covered in ivy with narrow balconies and warm yellow lights glowing through windows.

Avery parked along the curb before pulling off his helmet.

Immediately his hair fluffed up in every direction.

D3r stared for half a second too long.

Avery noticed instantly. “What?”

“Your hair’s doing something.”

Avery reached up automatically. “Ah, helmet hair.”

“It looks ridiculous.”

“You wanna kiss me so bad.”

D3r almost dropped his helmet.

Avery’s eyes widened immediately after the words left his mouth.

“Oh my god,” he whispered.

The silence that followed was catastrophic.

Avery stared at the ground.

D3r stared at Avery.

A car passed somewhere down the street.

“…I say things,” Avery mumbled finally, horrified, “and then immediately wish I was dead.”

“You really do.” D3r was trying and failing not to laugh.

“I didn’t mean to say that one out loud.”

“That’s somehow worse.”

“I KNOW.” Avery dragged both hands down his face dramatically. “Please forget I exist.”

“Unfortunately,” D3r said carefully, climbing off the motorcycle, “I flew across the country specifically because you exist.”

Avery froze.

Completely.

D3r had not meant for that to sound as devastatingly sincere as it did and judging by Avery’s expression, it absolutely had.

“Oh,” Avery said faintly.

D3r rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck.

Avery looked at him for another long second before abruptly grabbing both of D3r’s shoulders and lightly shaking him. “You cannot say things like that when I’m already vulnerable.”

“You started it.”

“You flirted back!”

“I did not.”

“D3r.” Avery looked genuinely offended. “That was absolutely flirting.”

“…Oh.”

Avery stared at him.

“You didn’t know?”

“I don’t know!” D3r defended weakly. “I don’t usually do this!”

Avery made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a dying gasp. “That’s actually adorable.”

“Don’t call me adorable.”

“You flew here for me and accidentally flirted with me on a motorcycle.” Avery grinned helplessly. “You’re adorable.”

“This is humiliating.” D3r covered his face briefly with one hand.

“This is the best day of my life.”

Avery looked so genuinely happy saying it that D3r’s embarrassment softened immediately into something warm instead.

God.

There was that feeling again. That awful, terrifying realization that D3r liked him far more than was probably safe.

Avery squeezed his shoulders gently before finally stepping back.

“C’mon,” he said softer now. “Let’s get inside before it begins to rain. You look exhausted.”

“I am exhausted.”

“And then,” Avery continued importantly, grabbing D3r's bag, “I’m ordering enough takeout to kill a medieval peasant.”

D3r laughed quietly. “Avery?”

“Hm?”

“I’m glad I came.”

Avery looked back at him over his shoulder, smile turning immediately soft around the edges.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Me too.”

Avery’s apartment looked unmistakably like Avery.

That was D3r’s first coherent thought upon stepping inside.

Warm lighting instead of the harsh overhead kind. Half-finished projects scattered across every available surface. A flute case leaning carefully against the couch beside a stack of game cases. Books piled horizontally because apparently Avery had declared war on shelving systems. There were blankets everywhere, including one hanging halfway off the armchair like it had attempted escape.

And, somehow, the apartment smelled exactly right too.

Coffee grounds. Rain drifting in through a cracked window somewhere. Laundry detergent. Faint traces of solder and metal from whatever mechanical disaster Avery had been tinkering with recently.

Homey.

Lived in.

D3r liked it instantly.

Avery kicked the door shut behind them and immediately dropped his riding jacket directly onto the floor instead of putting it away properly.

“You live like this?” D3r asked.

“I live beautifully, thank you.”

“This looks like a raccoon infestation.”

“That’s called décor.”

D3r snorted softly.

Avery beamed like he’d won something.

“You want the grand tour?” Avery asked, already shrugging out of his hoodie. “It’s mostly just increasingly embarrassing variations of ‘here’s where I keep my stuff.’”

“I think I can figure out your apartment layout.”

“Okay but counterpoint: I want to show you things.”

That alone probably should not have made D3r feel as warm as it did, but there was something deeply fond about the way Avery said it. Excited. Like he genuinely wanted D3r woven into his space.

“Fine,” D3r relented.

“Excellent.” Avery immediately grabbed his wrist and started tugging him deeper into the apartment. “Okay so. Kitchen.”

“It’s a kitchen.”

“Correct. You’re doing great so far.”

D3r let himself be pulled along helplessly.

“The fridge makes a weird noise sometimes but if you kick the side lightly it stops.” Avery pointed toward the counter. “Coffee stuff. Very important. That cabinet’s mostly instant ramen because I’m emotionally attached to sodium.”

“You’re going to die at forty.”

“Probably.”

“Avery.”

“Kidding. Mostly.”

The tour continued through the apartment in that same rambling rhythm. Avery talking constantly while D3r followed him around trying not to smile too much about how enthusiastic he looked over completely mundane things.

Bathroom.

Tiny laundry nook.

Closet overflowing with hoodies.

Then finally Avery pushed open the bedroom door with unnecessary flourish.

“And here,” he announced dramatically, “is where the magic happens.”

D3r raised an eyebrow.

Avery blinked a couple of times before immediately doubling over laughing. “OH MY GOD NO I MEANT SLEEPING.”

“That’s not better.”

“I KNOW.”

D3r was beginning to suspect Avery’s mouth operated independently from the rest of his nervous system.

The bedroom itself was cozy in the same cluttered way as the rest of the apartment. Dark blankets tangled across the bed, a sheep plushie with its head on a pillow, fairy lights pinned unevenly around the window, a desk shoved into one corner with minecraft paused on one monitor.

D3r noticed the second chair beside it immediately.

“You bought another desk chair.”

Avery suddenly looked very interested in a spot on the wall. “…Maybe.”

“Avery.”

“What?” He looked defensive already. “I didn’t want you not to have anywhere to sit when we play together.”

“So you bought another one?”

“It was on sale!”

D3r stared at him.

Avery flushed slightly under the attention.

“I wanted you to be comfortable,” he muttered.

And there it was again, that awful soft sincerity that kept catching D3r directly in the chest.

“…Thank you,” D3r said quietly.

Avery immediately brightened again, visibly relieved.

“Also,” he added quickly, “the bed’s big enough this time.”

D3r blinked.

Avery froze.

The silence stretched.

“…That sounded weird too, didn’t it.”

“Yes.”

“I MEANT—” Avery buried his face in his hands. “I meant you don’t have to sleep on the couch if you don't want to.”

“Thank you Avery, really.” D3r laughed despite himself.

Avery peeked through his fingers, immediately softening at the sound.

“You’re laughing more in person too,” he said quietly.

D3r paused.

“…Am I?”

“Yeah.” Avery smiled a little. “I like it.”

Something in D3r’s chest went painfully warm but before he could figure out how to respond, Avery abruptly clapped his hands together.

“Okay. Important business.”

“What.”

“Food.”

“Oh.”

“You survived airport trauma. You deserve takeout.”

D3r let Avery drag him back toward the living room, where Avery immediately flopped onto the couch hard enough to bounce.

“C’mere,” he said automatically, patting the cushion beside him.

D3r sat down.

Avery immediately leaned against him like gravity demanded it.

No hesitation.

No awkwardness.

Just a warm shoulder pressed against his side while Avery grabbed his phone to start scrolling through food options.

D3r’s brain short-circuited for a second.

Avery didn’t seem to notice what he was doing at all. Or maybe he did notice and simply considered it normal by now, which honestly might’ve been worse.

“What’re you feeling?” Avery asked. “Burgers? Noodles? Pizza? There’s a Thai place nearby that could genuinely fix me emotionally.”

“You ask this like I know the local food ecosystem.”

“Fair point.”

Avery shifted slightly closer while scrolling, D3r could feel the warmth of him through both their shirts.

Outside, rain had started again softly against the windows.

D3r hadn’t realized how tense he still was from traveling until now.

Until Avery.

Until this.

His body slowly started untensing in stages like something feral reluctantly realizing it wasn’t in danger anymore.

Avery looked up suddenly. “You okay?”

D3r considered lying automatically, then looked at Avery’s worried expression and decided against it. “…Better now.”

Avery’s entire face softened. “Good.”

D3r was in trouble.

Avery went back to scrolling through takeout menus, but after a minute he spoke again, quieter this time. “I missed you a lot.”

D3r looked down at him.

Avery still wasn’t looking up from his phone.

“I know we talked all the time,” he continued softly, “but it’s not the same.”

No.

It really wasn’t.

D3r looked around the apartment again. At the extra desk chair. At the blankets Avery had probably washed earlier. At the obvious signs of someone preparing space for him.

“You prepared for me,” D3r realized aloud.

Avery’s ears went pink instantly. “…Maybe.”

“You bought a chair.”

“You deserve to be comfortable.”

“You cleaned.”

“I clean sometimes!”

“Avery.”

“Okay, fine, I panic-cleaned.”

D3r smiled helplessly.

Avery finally looked up at him then, expression somewhere between sheepish and fond. “I just wanted things nice when you got here.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly killed D3r on the spot and before he could stop himself, he reached over and gently tucked a strand of hair behind Avery's ear.

Avery froze completely.

The room went very quiet as D3r realized what he’d done approximately one second too late.

“…Sorry,” he said immediately.

Avery blinked up at him. “Don’t apologize for touching me like that.”

D3r’s heart stuttered painfully.

Avery’s expression had gone warm and open in a way that made him look suddenly younger. Softer.

Trusting.

“You can do it again,” Avery added quietly.

D3r was going to die, actually.

Probably right here on Avery’s couch while rain tapped against the windows and everything was nice.

Avery seemed to realize how that sounded immediately afterward because his face went bright red again.

“I’m flirting again, aren’t I?”

“…A little.”

“Oh my god.” Avery dropped his face directly into D3r’s shoulder with a groan. “I can’t take myself anywhere.”

D3r went very still when Avery hid his face against his shoulder.

Not because he disliked it. Quite the opposite, actually, and that was the problem.

Avery was warm and solid against him, hair tickling lightly against D3r’s neck while he groaned dramatically into the fabric of D3r’s shirt like a man personally betrayed by his own mouth.

“I used to be cool,” Avery mumbled.

“I don’t think that’s true.”

“That’s so mean.” Avery turned his head slightly, still fully leaning against him. “I had swagger once.”

“You absolutely did not.”

“I’m being bullied in my own home.”

“You invited me here willingly.”

“A tragic mistake.”

Despite the words, Avery made no attempt whatsoever to move away. If anything, he settled more comfortably against D3r instead, one leg folding underneath himself on the couch.

D3r became acutely aware that Avery fit against him frighteningly well, like this had been practiced, like his body had already decided where Avery belonged before his brain could weigh in.

Avery sighed dramatically again before finally lifting his head. “You’re very comfy, by the way.”

“You say that like it’s surprising.” D3r looked down at him.

“No, I knew it already.” Avery waved one hand vaguely. “Just reaffirming my findings.”

“What findings.”

“That cuddling you is medically beneficial.”

D3r laughed quietly before he could stop himself.

Avery immediately lit up. “There it is.”

“You react every time.”

“Because I earned it.” Avery pointed accusingly at him. “You’re not stingy with affection exactly, but laughs? Those are rewards.”

“I’m not.”

“Mhm.” Avery narrowed his eyes. “And yet if I called you pretty right now you’d probably look away.”

D3r immediately looked away.

Avery gasped loudly. “Oh my god, I was JOKING.”

“…I hate you.”

“You absolutely do not.”

D3r could hear the grin in his voice without even looking.

“You’re blushing,” Avery informed him gleefully.

“You can’t prove that.”

“You got all quiet.”

“That means nothing.”

“That means everything.”

D3r covered part of his face with one hand while Avery cackled beside him.

This was humiliating. Horribly, catastrophically humiliating.

And yet the embarrassment sat strangely light in his chest compared to how it usually did around people. Softer. Easier to survive.

Because Avery wasn’t laughing at him.

Avery looked delighted every time D3r reacted because he liked seeing him open up at all.

The realization landed warm beneath D3r’s ribs.

Avery eventually settled enough to stop laughing, though he still looked unbearably smug.

“Anyway,” he said, “you’re pretty.”

D3r made a strangled noise.

“There,” Avery said proudly. “Now we’re even.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“I think it should.”

D3r finally looked back over at him just in time to catch the fondness slipping through Avery’s teasing expression.

It hit hard.

Avery always looked at him like that eventually. Like no matter how much joking happened, underneath it all there was still this impossible softness sitting there waiting.

Like D3r mattered.

“So,” Avery said, voice gentler now, “how bad was the airport really?”

D3r exhaled slowly through his nose. “Bad.”

Avery’s expression softened immediately. “Yeah?”

“Too loud.” D3r shrugged slightly. “Too many people.”

Avery nodded like he understood perfectly and in all reality he most likely did.

“The flight was fine once we were in the air,” D3r admitted. “Mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“There was turbulence.”

Avery sucked in a sympathetic breath through his teeth. “Rough.”

“I hated it.”

“But you still came.”

D3r looked over at him. Avery was watching him carefully now, all the teasing gone quiet around the edges.

“You were here.”

Avery stopped breathing for a second.

D3r realized belatedly how that sounded but before he could attempt to backpedal, Avery’s expression went painfully soft.

“Oh,” he said quietly.

D3r looked down at his hands.

“I kept thinking about seeing you again,” he admitted. “It made the rest easier.”

Avery stared at him for a long moment then very suddenly he reached out and grabbed D3r’s hand.

Not dramatic, not hesitant either, just warm fingers sliding between his naturally like it was instinct.

D3r’s brain immediately blue-screened.

“There,” Avery said softly. “Reward for surviving air travel.”

D3r looked down at their hands.

Avery’s thumb brushed lightly against the side of his hand once absentmindedly. The tiny motion nearly killing him outright.

“Avery,” D3r said faintly.

“Hm?”

“You can’t just do things like this casually.”

Avery blinked then looked down too, apparently only just now consciously processing that he was holding D3r’s hand.

“Oh.”

The silence stretched as neither of them moved.

“…Do you want me to stop?” Avery asked quietly.

The question settled heavy between them immediately.

D3r looked at Avery properly then.

At the nervousness tucked beneath his expression now despite all the flirting earlier. At the way he was trying to look casual while very obviously bracing himself for rejection anyway.

And D3r realized with startling clarity that Avery would stop instantly if asked.

The thought made something in D3r ache.

“…No,” he answered honestly.

Avery’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Okay,” he said softly.

Neither of them let go.

Outside, rain continued tapping steadily against the windows. Somewhere in the kitchen, Avery’s refrigerator made the horrible dying noise D3r vaguely remembered hearing over a call before.

Avery ignored it completely.

D3r suspected he no longer even heard it.

“Y’know,” Avery murmured after a while, “I think this is technically the most game either of us has had in our lives.”

D3r huffed quietly.

“You accidentally called me sweetheart in a parking garage.”

“And you wrapped yourself around me on the motorcycle like a romance protagonist.”

“I was trying not to die.”

“Mhm.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“You like me anyway.”

D3r squeezed his hand once before he could stop himself.

Avery went completely silent.

D3r froze immediately afterward.

Avery looked down at their joined hands again, then slowly back up at him.

His face had gone pink all over again.

“That was smooth,” Avery whispered, sounding genuinely awed.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“That somehow counts more.”

D3r laughed weakly and leaned back against the couch cushions, suddenly overwhelmed in the strangest, softest way.

Avery kept staring at him for another second before quietly scooting even closer until their shoulders and thighs pressed fully together.

Then, very gently, Avery rested his head against him again.

This time neither of them pretended it was accidental.

For a while, neither of them said much.

Avery's phone remained forgotten somewhere beneath his leg. Rain drummed softly against the windows. The refrigerator continued making occasional noises like a Victorian man dying of consumption.

And Avery stayed tucked against D3r’s side like he belonged there.

Which was rapidly becoming a problem for D3r emotionally.

Not because he minded, if anything, he'd be more uneasy if Avery pulled away.

Every few seconds Avery’s thumb would move absentmindedly against the back of D3r’s hand where their fingers were still linked together, and each tiny motion sent warmth spiraling embarrassingly far through D3r’s chest.

It had been a long time since physical affection had felt uncomplicated.

Safe.

But Avery somehow made it feel easy.

Easy enough that D3r eventually realized he’d unconsciously leaned back against him in return.

Avery noticed immediately, of course. His entire body seemed tuned specifically to any scrap of affection D3r gave him. A tiny pleased sound escaped him before he could stop it.

D3r looked down automatically.

Avery immediately hid his face against D3r’s shoulder. “…No.”

“What?”

“You heard nothing.”

“I absolutely heard something.”

“This is awful. I’m being perceived.” Avery groaned softly into his shirt.

D3r laughed under his breath.

The sound vibrated through both of them with how close Avery was tucked against him now.

“You make happy noises when people pet dogs,” D3r informed him quietly.

“That’s different.”

“You hum when you eat good food too.”

“Oh my god.”

“And you did that little bounce thing at the airport when you saw me.”

Avery lifted his head slowly, scandalized. “You noticed that?”

“You nearly tackled me.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“It absolutely is.”

Avery stared at him for another second before muttering, “I liked seeing you.”

The honesty in it landed squarely in D3r’s chest.

“I know,” he said softly.

Avery’s expression immediately melted into something terribly fond.

Then his stomach growled loud enough to interrupt the moment completely. The silence afterward lasted exactly one second before D3r started laughing.

Avery looked deeply betrayed.

“You heard nothing.”

“That was incredibly dramatic timing.”

“I’m starving.”

“You forgot to order food.”

“You’re distracting.”

D3r raised an eyebrow.

Avery squeezed his hand defensively. “You are!”

“Interesting accusation from the man using me as a pillow.”

“You’re comfy,” Avery said immediately, like that explained everything.

Unfortunately, it did explain everything a little.

Eventually Avery managed to untangle himself enough to grab his phone properly again, though he still stayed pressed shoulder-to-shoulder against D3r while scrolling through food options.

“Okay,” he announced seriously. “Important decisions. Noodles or burgers.”

“Noodles.”

“Correct answer.”

Avery ordered enough food for at least four people despite D3r’s protests, then immediately settled back against him once the order was placed.

“You’re gonna make yourself sick,” D3r informed him.

“Worth it.”

“You say that about everything.”

“Because life is temporary.”

“You’re exhausting.”

“You like it.”

D3r looked down at him.

Avery looked back up immediately.

There it was again.

That feeling.

That awful dangerous softness sitting between them now almost constantly.

D3r realized suddenly that they’d slipped into something fragile and important without ever really discussing it aloud.

The flirting wasn’t accidental anymore.

Not really.

Neither was this.

Avery seemed to realize the same thing at roughly the same moment because his expression shifted subtly. Softer around the edges. Nervous underneath.

But he didn’t pull away.

Neither did D3r.

“Avery,” D3r said quietly.

“Hm?”

“I’m not very good at this.”

Avery blinked slowly. “At what?”

D3r gestured vaguely between them with his free hand. “This.”

The words felt clumsy immediately.

Avery’s face softened so completely it almost hurt to look at. “Oh.”

D3r stared down at their joined hands.

“I don’t…” He exhaled slowly. “I’m not used to people wanting to be close to me like this.”

Avery was quiet.

“I keep thinking I’m gonna do something wrong,” D3r admitted softly. “Or misunderstand something.”

“Aww, D3r.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.” Avery shifted slightly so he could look at him properly. “Hey.”

D3r looked up reluctantly.

“You know you can just ask me things, right?”

“What things.”

“Anything.” Avery shrugged one shoulder. “If you’re not sure about something. If you wanna know if something’s okay. I’m not gonna think you’re weird.”

The sincerity in his voice made D3r’s throat feel tight suddenly.

Avery squeezed his hand gently.

“I like you,” he said plainly.

D3r’s heart stuttered.

“I know we’ve been kinda…” Avery made a vague motion with his free hand. “Orbiting around it for a while. But yeah. I like you. A lot.”

The room felt very quiet suddenly.

Rain against the windows.

The low hum of the refrigerator.

Avery watching him carefully like he was trying not to scare him off.

D3r swallowed once.

“You make me feel safe,” he admitted before he could lose the nerve.

Avery went completely still. The expression that crossed his face afterward was so unbearably soft that D3r had to look away for a second.

“Oh,” Avery whispered.

D3r laughed weakly under his breath. “You keep reacting like I’m saying devastating things.”

“You are saying devastating things.”

“I don’t know what qualifies anymore.”

Avery shifted closer again until their knees pressed together fully.

“Well for starters,” he said softly, “if someone tells you they feel safe with you, that’s usually kind of a big deal.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

D3r considered that.

Then considered Avery.

The warmth of him against his side. The steady pressure of his hand. The way he kept looking at D3r like he was something precious instead of difficult.

“…Oh,” D3r repeated faintly.

Avery smiled helplessly. “Yeah, there he is.”

D3r covered part of his face with one hand again. “This is humiliating.”

“This is cute.”

“Don’t call me cute.”

“You flew across the country for a guy who sends you sheep pictures.”

“You send good sheep pictures.”

Avery laughed so hard he nearly dropped his phone.

The tension broke instantly after that, softening back into something easy.

Then, after a second, Avery tilted his head slightly against D3r’s shoulder again and asked very carefully:

“Can I kiss you?”

Everything in D3r’s brain stopped.

Completely.

Avery immediately looked nervous.

“Only if you want to,” he added quickly. “I just— y’know. Thought maybe. But no pressure—”

“Yes,” D3r blurted.

Avery froze. “…Yeah?”

D3r nodded once, suddenly very aware of his heartbeat.

Avery stared at him for half a second like he couldn’t believe that had actually worked. Then, impossibly gently, he lifted their joined hands and pressed a quick kiss against D3r’s knuckles first.

Like he was asking again silently.

D3r’s chest ached so hard it almost hurt.

So he used his free hand to catch lightly at the front of Avery’s hoodie and pull him closer. Avery made the tiniest startled sound before kissing him properly.

Soft.

Warm.

Careful in a way that immediately gave away how much Avery cared about getting this right.

D3r felt his entire body go weak with it almost instantly.

So this was why people wrote songs about kissing.

When Avery pulled back slightly, he was blushing hard enough to match the flush across D3r’s own face.

“…Oh,” Avery breathed.

D3r laughed shakily before he could stop himself.

Avery immediately smiled against his mouth and kissed him again, but now Avery knew D3r liked kissing him. Which apparently did catastrophic things to his self-control.

Avery made another one of those quiet pleased sounds against D3r’s mouth before he could stop himself, and D3r felt warmth rush straight down to his chest so fast it almost made him dizzy.

Avery kissed like he talked.

Earnestly.

Like every feeling he had leaked through no matter how hard he tried to contain it.

D3r’s hand tightened unconsciously in the front of Avery’s hoodie, pulling him a little closer like he couldn't get enough.

Avery immediately melted forward into it like he’d been waiting for permission.

The couch shifted beneath them as he moved, one hand coming up carefully to cup the side of D3r’s face.

Warm fingers.

Gentle touch.

D3r had not expected Avery to be this gentle.

Not because Avery himself was harsh—he wasn’t—but because there was always so much energy in him. So much movement and noise and emotion spilling everywhere all at once.

But this?

This felt precious to him.

D3r could tell.

The realization made something ache fiercely beneath his ribs.

When they finally pulled apart properly, Avery stayed close enough that their noses still brushed lightly together.

Neither of them spoke for a second.

Mostly because D3r suspected they’d both temporarily forgotten how.

Avery looked dazed.

Completely, utterly dazed.

His hair was falling into his eyes from where D3r had accidentally tangled his fingers in it at some point, cheeks flushed pink all the way down his neck, mouth slightly parted while he stared at D3r like he’d just personally witnessed a religious experience.

“You kissed me back,” Avery whispered finally.

“You kissed me first.”

“I know but.” Avery laughed weakly. “You kissed me back.”

D3r couldn’t help smiling a little at that.

Avery immediately looked even more wrecked.

“Oh no,” he breathed.

“What?”

“You’re smiling at me after kissing me. That’s dangerous.”

“You’re dramatic.”

“You have no idea.”

D3r huffed another laugh and Avery’s expression softened into something so openly fond it nearly knocked the air out of him again.

Then Avery abruptly buried his face against D3r’s shoulder with a muffled groan.

“Oh my god.”

D3r blinked. “What happened.”

“I’m happy.”

“That sounded distressed.”

“I contain multitudes.”

“You already reused that joke before.”

“I’m emotionally overwhelmed, let me recycle material.”

D3r laughed quietly again, one hand drifting almost automatically into Avery’s hair this time.

The second his fingers slid through it, Avery went completely still. Then he leaned harder into the touch with a tiny sigh.

D3r froze.

Avery froze too.

Slowly, Avery lifted his head just enough to look at him.

“…Do that again.”

D3r’s heart stuttered embarrassingly hard. “You like that?”

Avery stared at him for a long second like the question itself offended him.

“D3r,” he said softly. “I would let you ruin my life.”

“That seems excessive.”

“I’m serious.”

“That’s worse.”

Avery laughed breathlessly and leaned back into his hand anyway when D3r resumed playing gently with his hair.

The reaction was immediate.

His shoulders relaxed completely. Eyes half-lidded. Another quiet little pleased hum slipping out before he could stop it.

D3r had already liked all the little noises that Avery had made but this was on a new level.

“Avery.”

“Hm?”

“You really make noises for everything.”

Avery cracked one eye open. “You’re touching my hair.”

“And?”

“And I’m weak.”

“That’s not an explanation.”

“It’s the only one you get.”

D3r smiled helplessly and kept carding his fingers slowly through the curls near the nape of Avery’s neck.

Avery looked seconds away from melting directly into the couch cushions.

“You’re really warm,” Avery mumbled after a minute.

“You’re literally leaning on me.”

“Yeah.” Avery sounded sleepy already. “Good choice on my part.”

D3r looked down at him quietly.

The flight exhaustion was finally catching up to him too now that the adrenaline had worn off. Everything felt soft around the edges. Warm apartment. Rain outside. Avery draped halfway across him like an affectionate cat.

It felt dangerously easy to imagine this becoming routine.

The thought should probably have scared him more than it did.

Instead, it mostly made his chest ache.

Avery tilted his head up suddenly. “You thinking again?”

“A little.”

“Good thinking or scary thinking?”

D3r blinked.

Avery shrugged slightly against him. “You get this crease between your eyebrows when you’re spiraling.”

“You know that?”

“You do it all the time on calls.”

D3r stared at him for a second.

Nobody had ever paid attention to him that closely before.

At least not kindly.

Avery noticed his expression immediately and softened.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

D3r swallowed once. “You really see everything, huh.”

Avery smiled a little.

“Well, yeah.” His thumb brushed lightly across D3r’s wrist. “It’s you.”

The simplicity of the answer nearly killed him.

D3r looked away instinctively, overwhelmed all over again.

Avery made a soft sympathetic noise. “Oh, c’mere.”

Before D3r could react properly, Avery shifted fully into his lap.

“Avery—” D3r’s brain stopped functioning instantly.

“You look like you need pressure therapy.”

“That is not—”

Avery wrapped both arms around his shoulders and settled comfortably against his chest.

It absolutely was pressure therapy.

D3r made a faint, defeated noise and automatically put his arms around Avery’s waist.

Avery immediately relaxed completely.

“There we go,” he murmured before pressing a kiss to D3r's jaw.

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet.”

“And yet,” D3r admitted quietly, holding him a little closer, “I flew across the country for you.”

Avery looked up at him then with that same unbearably soft expression from earlier.

“You know,” he said gently, “I think that might’ve been the hottest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

D3r choked on air.

Avery burst into helpless laughter immediately afterward. “Oh my god your FACE.”

“You cannot say things like that unexpectedly!”

“Yes I can.”

“No, you absolutely—”

A knock at the door interrupted him and both of them froze.

Then Avery gasped. “The food!”

He made absolutely no move to get up.

D3r stared at him and Avery stared back.

“…I don’t wanna move,” Avery admitted.

D3r laughed helplessly into his hair.

“Go get your noodles, Avery.”

“You come too.”

“It’s your apartment.”

“And you’re my emotional support D3r.”

“That’s not a real thing.”

“It is now.”

Still clinging to him slightly, Avery finally dragged himself out of D3r’s lap with immense reluctance.

D3r immediately missed the warmth with an intensity that was deeply concerning.

Avery shuffled toward the door in socks, hair a disaster, hoodie wrinkled from being pressed against D3r.

Then halfway there he paused, looked back at D3r sitting on the couch flushed and smiling faintly after kissing him stupid, and visibly melted all over again.

“…Oh my god,” Avery whispered to himself.

“What now?”

“You’re actually here.”

The quiet wonder in his voice made D3r’s chest ache in the softest way imaginable.

“Yeah,” he answered quietly.

Avery smiled so brightly it almost hurt to look at.

Then he opened the door still looking completely in love with him.

The poor delivery guy looked deeply unprepared for the sight that greeted him.

Avery opened the apartment door still pink-cheeked and visibly glowing with happiness, hair completely wrecked from D3r’s fingers, oversized hoodie hanging crooked off one shoulder, and the kind of soft expression people usually only got after being kissed stupid.

Which, to be fair, he absolutely had been.

“Uh,” the delivery driver said eloquently.

“Hi!” Avery chirped.

D3r, still sitting on the couch where Avery had left him, watched the entire interaction with growing amusement.

Avery had apparently forgotten how to behave normally around other human beings.

The driver handed over the food slowly, clearly trying not to look too hard at Avery’s dazed expression.

“Have a good night,” he said carefully.

“You too!” Avery answered brightly.

Then he shut the door, stood there for exactly two seconds staring at it, and finally turned back toward D3r with the biggest smile D3r had ever seen on another human being.

“You kissed me,” Avery announced.

D3r laughed helplessly. “We established that already.”

“No but like.” Avery pressed a hand dramatically to his chest while carrying the takeout bags over. “You kissed me.”

“You are impossible.”

“And you like me anyway.”

D3r felt warmth bloom immediately in his chest again at the easy certainty in Avery’s voice.

Like there wasn’t even a question anymore.

Avery dropped onto the couch beside him again, immediately tucking himself against D3r’s side before opening the takeout containers.

“Okay,” he announced seriously. “If I’m emotionally compromised, at least I can also be full.”

“You’ve been emotionally compromised since I got here.”

“That’s true.”

Avery handed him chopsticks before promptly stealing one of D3r’s noodles off his plate anyway.

“You have your own.”

“Yours looked better.”

“It’s the same order.”

“Different vibes.”

D3r snorted softly.

Avery immediately looked smug again.

“You know,” Avery said around a mouthful of noodles, “I genuinely thought there was a decent chance you’d get here and realize I’m annoying in person.”

D3r blinked.

“Avery.”

“What?” He shrugged one shoulder. “Online’s easier. You can curate yourself more.”

“You think this is curated?”

“You know what I mean.”

D3r looked down at his food for a second before answering quietly.

“I liked you in person the first time too.”

Avery froze halfway through another bite. “Oh.”

“You slept on me like a tranquilized housecat.”

“That was tactical.”

“You stole my hoodie.”

“It smelled like you!”

“You admitted that with zero hesitation.”

Avery pointed his chopsticks accusingly. “I’ve kissed you now. We’re past dignity.”

D3r laughed again before he could stop himself.

God.

It was so easy tonight.

Too easy.

Usually socializing felt like balancing carefully on a narrow ledge. Constantly calculating responses. Monitoring tone. Trying to avoid saying the wrong thing or missing cues everyone else somehow understood instinctively.

With Avery, there was still uncertainty sometimes—but it felt survivable.

Like mistakes wouldn’t automatically ruin everything.

Like Avery would simply laugh and tug him closer instead.

The thought settled quietly in D3r’s chest while Avery continued rambling about a customer at work who’d tried to argue with him about whether tomatoes belonged in fruit salad.

“They absolutely do not,” Avery declared firmly.

“They’re technically fruit.”

“So are pumpkins and if you handed me pumpkin fruit salad I’d call the cops.”

“That feels excessive.”

“You’re right.” Avery nodded solemnly. “I’d call the military.”

D3r nearly choked laughing.

Avery looked delighted with himself immediately.

“There it is.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And yet you flew here.”

D3r shook his head fondly while Avery beamed at him over his noodles.

“I’m really glad you did.” The sincerity in Avery’s voice softened the room around them again instantly.

D3r looked at him for a long second.

Rain still tapping against the windows.

Warm apartment lights.

Takeout containers spread across the coffee table.

Avery sitting close enough that their knees pressed together while he looked at D3r like he was something cherished.

It almost felt unreal.

“You keep looking at me like you think I’m gonna disappear,” D3r murmured before he could stop himself.

Avery blinked before his expression turned painfully open.

“A little,” he admitted softly.

D3r’s chest tightened.

“I kept thinking this was one of those things that’d never actually happen,” Avery continued, quieter now. “Like. We’d keep talking online forever and maybe dance around everything forever too.”

He laughed weakly. “Honestly I kinda convinced myself you probably didn’t like me back.”

D3r stared at him.

“Avery.”

“What?”

“You bought a second desk chair for me.”

“That’s not—”

“You panic-cleaned your apartment.”

Avery covered part of his face immediately.

“You send me sheep pictures when I’m anxious.”

“They’re emotional support sheep.”

“You looked at me like I’d hung the moon when I got off the plane.”

Avery made a distressed noise.

“You weren’t supposed to NOTICE all that.”

“How could I not?”

Avery looked at him helplessly for a second before dropping his forehead directly onto D3r’s shoulder.

“You make me feel very perceived,” he mumbled.

D3r smiled softly and rested his cheek briefly against Avery’s hair. “You’re easy to see.”

The room went very quiet.

Avery slowly looked back up at him, eyes wide and warm in a way that made D3r’s heartbeat stumble.

“That,” Avery whispered faintly, “was the smoothest thing you’ve said all night.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know.” Avery looked devastatingly fond. “That’s why it worked.”

D3r groaned softly and hid his face in Avery’s shoulder this time.

Immediately, Avery wrapped both arms around him.

“Ohhhh, there he is.”

“This is your fault.”

“You’re cuddling me voluntarily.” Avery sounded unbearably pleased. “I’m never recovering from this.”

D3r could feel him smiling against his hair.

Then, after a moment, Avery pressed a soft kiss against D3r’s temple so gently it almost hurt.

Not rushed.

Not teasing.

Just affectionate in the simplest, sincerest way possible.

D3r melted a little and Avery noticed instantly.

“Oh my god,” he whispered, delighted. “You like forehead kisses.”

D3r closed his eyes briefly. “…Maybe.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Don’t call me adorable.”

“You flew here for me, let me sit in your lap, and immediately folded when I kissed your forehead.” Avery grinned against his hair. “You are unbelievably adorable.”

D3r made a muffled offended noise into his shoulder while Avery laughed quietly and held him closer.

Outside, the rain kept falling steadily against the windows.

Inside, wrapped up together on Avery’s couch with half-eaten noodles growing cold nearby, D3r realized something slowly and with terrifying certainty.

He could get used to this frighteningly fast.

Eventually the food containers ended up abandoned on the coffee table entirely.

Mostly because Avery had slowly, almost unconsciously, ended up half sprawled across D3r again sometime during the conversation about whether sheep recognized human faces.

Which they apparently did.

Avery had become deeply emotional about this fact.

“They remember people,” he insisted, curled warm against D3r’s side with his chin tucked into D3r’s shoulder. “That’s important information.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t.”

“You sounded dismissive.”

“I said ‘huh.’”

“Tone matters.”

D3r laughed softly under his breath and felt Avery immediately smile against him in response.

The apartment had gone softer around the edges as the night deepened. Rain still tapped steadily outside, though lighter now, and most of the lights were off except the warm lamp beside the couch.

Avery tilted his head up slightly to look at him.

“You sleepy?”

“A little.”

“You’ve had a long day.”

“You’ve been using me as furniture for three hours.”

“And?” Avery looked entirely unashamed. “You’re good furniture.”

D3r snorted.

Then Avery yawned.

Not a normal yawn either. A huge, unguarded thing that scrunched his whole face up halfway through before he blinked dazedly at the ceiling afterward.

D3r smiled before he could stop himself.

Avery caught it immediately.

“Oh, don’t do that.”

“What?”

“The fond little smile thing.” Avery pointed weakly at him. “It makes me wanna climb into your ribcage and live there.”

“That sounds medically concerning.”

“You understand my point though.”

Unfortunately, D3r did because every time Avery looked at him lately it felt like being warmed slowly from the inside out.

Avery shifted again, stretching slightly before groaning.

“Okay. Important question.”

“Hm?”

“Can you physically carry me to bed or are we both trapped here forever.”

“You’re not that heavy.”

Avery blinked then immediately looked delighted.

“Oh my god.”

“What now?”

“You could carry me.”

D3r instantly regretted speaking.

“Aves.”

Avery actually went still.

The room did too somehow.

D3r realized belatedly that he’d never shortened Avery’s name out loud before. It had just slipped out naturally.

Avery stared at him with an expression that looked dangerously close to emotional devastation.

“…You called me Aves.”

D3r looked away automatically. “I didn’t mean to make it weird.”

“Weird?” Avery sounded faint. “D3r, I might actually pass away.”

“That seems dramatic.”

“You gave me a nickname.”

“It’s barely shorter.”

“I don’t care.”

Avery looked at him for another long second before abruptly hiding his face against D3r’s neck again with a muffled groan.

“You can’t just be sweet unexpectedly.”

“You literally kissed me first.”

“And I stand by that decision.”

D3r laughed quietly, one hand slipping automatically into Avery’s hair again as Avery's eyes closed in contentment.

“You really are weak to this,” D3r murmured.

Avery tilted his head enough to peer up at him. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s dangerous information.”

“You flew across the country for me.” Avery smiled sleepily. “I think we’re past dangerous information.”

Fair point.

Eventually Avery managed to peel himself off the couch with immense reluctance, though not before stealing one more quick kiss that left both of them smiling stupidly afterward.

Then he grabbed D3r’s wrist and dragged him toward the bedroom.

“C’mon.”

“You’re acting like I don’t know where it is.”

“I’m escorting you with whimsy.”

“That means nothing.”

“It means vibes.”

D3r was too tired to argue properly.

The bedroom felt even cozier at night somehow. Rain-muted darkness beyond the windows, fairy lights casting soft gold across the blankets tangled over Avery’s bed.

And Avery had not, in fact, been lying.

The bed was absolutely big enough for two.

D3r noticed immediately, with private amusement, that the couch probably would’ve been perfectly fine too.

But he understood now that Avery had very intentionally wanted him here instead.

Not because Avery was pushy.

Just because Avery liked closeness the way flowers liked sunlight. Naturally. Openly.

And D3r, terrifyingly enough, had started wanting it too.

Avery yawned again while digging through a dresser drawer.

“You can steal a shirt if you want,” he mumbled. “Or not. Up to you. I’m not your dad.”

“That would be concerning.”

“Correct.”

Avery finally emerged holding a massive faded shirt with some old band logo half cracked from age and tossed it toward him.

D3r caught it automatically.

“It’s soft,” Avery explained.

“It looks ancient.”

“It is ancient. I think I got that thing in high school.”

“You still wear it?”

“It’s comfortable.” Avery shrugged. “Plus it smells nice after laundry.”

D3r looked at the shirt for a second too long.

Avery noticed immediately and grinned sleepily.

“Oh my god.”

“What.”

“You’re thinking about me smelling nice.”

“I am not.”

“You absolutely are.”

“Aves.”

“That’s not a denial.”

D3r threw the shirt lightly at his face.

Avery cackled.

Getting ready for bed together turned out to be strangely intimate in all the small ways D3r hadn’t anticipated.

Avery brushing his teeth while rambling through toothpaste foam.

D3r standing beside him at the sink trying not to laugh.

Avery bumping their shoulders together absentmindedly while rummaging through skincare products like a raccoon in a garbage can.

“Do you actually use all of these?” D3r asked.

“Sometimes.”

“There’s seven bottles.”

“Self-care is important.”

“You use three-in-one shampoo.”

“That’s DIFFERENT.”

By the time they finally crawled into bed, D3r felt wrung out in the warmest possible way.

Avery immediately flopped onto his side facing him, hair spread messily across the pillow.

For a second neither of them moved.

Just looked at each other in the soft dim light.

Then Avery smiled.

Small.

Sleepy.

Fond enough to ache.

“Hi,” he whispered.

D3r felt something in his chest melt completely.

“Hi.”

Avery shifted closer instinctively until their legs brushed beneath the blankets.

“You comfy?” he murmured.

“Mhm.”

“Good.”

D3r watched him for another quiet second before speaking softly.

“You know your couch would’ve been fine, right?”

Avery blinked once then slowly smiled wider.

“Yeah,” he admitted.

D3r huffed a quiet laugh.

“Aves.”

“What?” Avery tucked himself a little closer shamelessly. “I like sleeping next to you.”

The honesty of it settled warm and heavy in D3r’s chest.

He reached out without thinking and brushed a strand of hair back away from Avery’s eyes.

Avery immediately softened beneath the touch.

“You keep looking at me like that,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re happy I’m real.”

D3r went quiet.

Because.

Well.

“…I am,” he admitted softly.

Avery’s expression turned impossibly gentle.

Then he scooted forward the last few inches between them and tucked himself carefully against D3r’s chest like he’d always belonged there.

D3r wrapped an arm around him automatically and Avery proceeded to contentedly sigh against him almost immediately.

“Good,” he whispered drowsily. “You’re here.”

D3r pressed a tired kiss onto his forehead before he could overthink it.

Avery melted completely.

And lying there in Avery’s bed with rain against the windows and Avery half asleep in his arms, D3r realized the truly dangerous part wasn’t that he’d flown across the country for Avery.

It was that he was already quietly thinking about the next time he’d get to come back.

D3r woke slowly, the rest of the world coming to him in pieces:

Warm blankets, soft rain-muted light filtering through the curtains, and Avery curled halfway on top of him like sometime during the night he’d decided proximity was a biological necessity.

D3r blinked blearily at the ceiling for a moment, still caught somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

Then he became aware that Avery was awake already.

Not moving much, just lying there unusually still with his phone in one hand and his face buried halfway against D3r’s chest.

Something felt… off.

D3r frowned faintly and looked down.

Avery immediately tried to smooth his expression over when he noticed he was awake.

It was a terrible attempt.

“Morning,” Avery said softly.

His voice had that careful brightness to it. The kind people used when they were trying very hard not to let something show.

D3r’s chest tightened instantly.

“Morning.” He glanced at the phone still clutched loosely in Avery’s hand. “Something happen?”

Avery hesitated.

“…Maybe.”

That answered the question immediately.

D3r shifted a little more awake, one hand automatically sliding into Avery’s hair where it was spread against his chest.

Avery melted instinctively for exactly half a second before the tension crept back in.

Definitely something wrong then.

“What is it, Aves?”

Avery made a tiny face at the nickname—still visibly weak to it—but sighed afterward and held the phone up slightly.

“Got invited to dinner.”

D3r blinked once.

“…Okay?”

“With my parents.”

Ah.

There it was.

D3r had noticed before, over months of calls, that Avery talked about his family strangely.

Not like someone who hated them.

Just… someone perpetually orbiting around being forgotten.

Little comments slipped out sometimes. Mentioning picking up younger siblings from school constantly growing up. Joking about being the “backup parent.” Stories where Avery disappearing for hours apparently hadn’t even been noticed, hell Avery had told him that he'd never told them about the time he got hit by a car while on his bike.

Nothing dramatic enough to sound alarming individually.

But together they painted a quiet picture D3r didn’t particularly like.

“When?” he asked softly.

“Tonight.”

Avery laughed weakly and rubbed at his face with one hand.

“They probably want help setting up something for one of my siblings honestly.”

There was no bitterness in his voice.

Which somehow made it worse.

D3r looked at him carefully.

“You don’t want to go.”

Avery was quiet for a second.

“…Not alone.”

The honesty in it sounded reluctant. Like he hated admitting it.

D3r’s arm tightened around him slightly without thinking.

Avery immediately relaxed into him on instinct before catching himself again.

“I mean, it’s fine,” Avery added quickly. “I can handle dinner.”

“Aves.”

“I can.”

“I know.”

Avery went quiet again.

Rain tapped softly against the windows while D3r watched him chew anxiously on the inside of his cheek.

“You want me there,” D3r said gently.

Avery buried his face against his chest immediately with a groan.

“Oh my god, don’t say it out loud.”

“Why.”

“Because then it becomes a real feeling and I have to deal with it.”

D3r huffed a quiet laugh.

Avery stayed hidden against him.

“I just…” Avery exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not.”

“I haven’t seen them in a while and every time I go over there by myself I end up feeling weird after.” His voice got quieter. “Like I’m visiting somebody else’s family instead of mine.”

D3r’s chest ached.

Avery laughed softly after a second, but it sounded tired.

“And now suddenly I have this terrifyingly nice guy in my bed who makes me feel safe and my first thought was ‘oh god I wish D3r was there.’”

D3r felt warmth bloom painfully through his ribs despite the sadness underneath the words.

“Avery.”

“I know, I know.” Avery peeked up at him miserably. “It’s clingy.”

“No,” D3r said immediately.

Avery blinked.

“It’s human.”

The expression Avery made afterward nearly killed him.

Soft.

Startled.

Like nobody had ever framed his needs that gently before.

D3r brushed his fingers slowly through Avery’s curls again, easing out another quiet sigh from him.

“You don’t have to go alone,” D3r murmured.

Avery froze.

“…You’d come with me?”

D3r looked at him for a second.

The answer felt obvious.

“Of course.”

Avery stared.

Then immediately looked guilty.

“No, wait, hold on.” He pushed himself up slightly. “You don’t even know them. And family dinners are weird and loud and my siblings are all insane and my mom’s probably gonna ask a thousand questions and—”

“Aves.”

Avery stopped.

“You said you didn’t want to go alone.”

“…Yeah.”

“So you won’t be alone.”

The room went very quiet.

Avery looked at him like he’d just handed him something impossibly fragile.

“You say things so casually that completely alter my emotional state,” he whispered.

“That sounds unhealthy.”

“It probably is.”

D3r smiled faintly despite himself.

Avery stared at him for another long second before abruptly collapsing back onto his chest.

“You’re too nice to me.”

D3r’s hand settled between Avery’s shoulder blades automatically.

“No,” he said quietly. “I think maybe people just haven’t been nice enough.”

Avery went completely still.

D3r immediately worried he’d overstepped.

Then he felt Avery’s fingers tighten suddenly in the fabric of his shirt.

“Oh,” Avery whispered weakly.

D3r looked down.

Avery was very visibly trying not to cry.

“Oh, Aves.”

“I’m okay,” Avery mumbled instantly.

“You are absolutely not.”

“I just woke up emotional, leave me alone.”

D3r smiled softly and pulled him a little closer instead.

Avery came willingly.

Of course he did.

“You don’t have to pretend with me,” D3r murmured into his hair.

That did it.

Not dramatic crying.

Just quiet.

Avery hiding his face against D3r’s chest while his breathing went shaky for a minute.

D3r held him through it instinctively, one hand moving slow and soothing through his hair.

“You know the worst part?” Avery said eventually, voice muffled. “They’re not bad people.”

D3r stayed quiet.

“They love me.” Avery laughed weakly. “I know they do. They just always had somebody who needed more.”

The words settled heavy in the room.

D3r thought suddenly about Avery’s constant instinct to take care of everyone around him. How quickly he minimized his own feelings. How automatically he made himself useful.

Like he’d learned early that being needed was the safest way to stay visible.

Something protective and aching twisted hard in D3r’s chest.

“Aves,” he said softly.

“Hm?”

“When’s your birthday exactly?”

Avery went quiet. “…Tomorrow.”

D3r stared at him.

“They forgot,” he realized.

Avery shrugged against him without lifting his head.

“They usually do until someone mentions it.”

The calmness in his voice hurt far worse than if he’d sounded angry.

D3r felt genuine irritation spark hot in his chest toward people he’d never even met.

Not because they were monsters, but because they’d somehow made Avery feel forgettable, which was insane to D3r, utterly incomprehensible. He'd briefly known the unknowable and yet he still couldn't understand how you could forget someone like Avery, forget someone with that much love in their heart.

“Aves.”

Avery made a sleepy little noise against him.

“You know I’m spending your birthday with you, right?”

That finally got a small smile out of him.

“Yeah,” Avery whispered.

D3r pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

“And tonight,” he added quietly, “I’ll go with you.”

Avery melted against him all over again. “…Okay.”

Then, after a second. “You’re holding my hand under the table if my mom starts asking weird questions.”

D3r laughed softly.

“Deal.”

The problem with agreeing to attend dinner with Avery’s family, D3r discovered several hours later, was that it required existing in public as an actual person.

Which unfortunately meant names.

Avery realized this approximately halfway through making coffee.

“Oh no.”

D3r looked up from where he sat at the kitchen counter wrapped in one of Avery’s hoodies and mild sleepiness.

“What?”

Avery stared at him in visible distress from across the kitchen.

“I can’t call you D3r at dinner.”

D3r blinked once.

“…Okay?”

“No, you don’t understand.” Avery pointed at him accusingly with a coffee spoon. “That’s your name.”

“It’s a nickname based off of my username.”

“It’s your name.”

D3r felt warmth creep embarrassingly up the back of his neck.

Avery noticed instantly and D3r looked away automatically but unfortunately, that only made Avery light up further.

“Oh my god.”

“Aves.”

“You’re soft about it!”

“I’m not soft.”

“You looked away immediately.”

“That proves nothing.”

Avery abandoned the coffee entirely to shuffle over closer, socks sliding against the kitchen floor.

“It’s cute,” he informed D3r solemnly.

“Don’t.”

“No, no, hold on.” Avery leaned against the counter beside him, visibly fascinated now. “You don’t react when people call you D3r online. But Derek gets the whole little avoidance thing.”

D3r groaned softly into one hand.

“This is why I shouldn’t talk to you.”

“You’ve kissed me several times. It’s too late to become mysterious now.”

Fair point.

Avery grinned lazily at him for another second before the original problem visibly returned to his brain.

Then he looked genuinely distressed again.

“But seriously,” he said mournfully, “I can’t just call you D3r in front of my parents. They’ll think I dragged home a discord moderator.”

D3r snorted before he could stop himself.

Avery immediately looked pleased about earning the laugh again.

“See? You get it.”

“I think your family can survive hearing a nickname.”

“No, because then they’ll ask questions.” Avery gestured wildly. “‘Oh, how’d you meet?’ ‘Why do you call him D3r?’ and then suddenly I’m explaining eldritch horror laptop lore over meatloaf.”

“That does sound difficult.”

“Exactly.”

D3r accepted the mug Avery handed him a second later, fingers brushing briefly together, Avery lingered in the contact for half a second too long.

D3r was beginning to suspect he did everything with his entire heart.

“So,” Avery continued, climbing onto the stool beside him instead of sitting normally like a human being, “I guess I have to call you Derek.”

D3r made a face immediately.

Avery noticed.

“Oh, there it is again!”

“It’s too formal.”

“That’s your government name.”

“I know, I just…” D3r frowned slightly into his coffee. “I’m not used to hearing it much.”

Avery’s expression softened instantly.

“Derek,” he repeated gently this time.

Something about hearing it in Avery’s voice specifically made D3r’s chest feel strange. Not bad, just vulnerable somehow, like Avery was holding something careful.

Avery clearly noticed the effect immediately because his entire face went soft and fond.

“Oh,” he said quietly.

D3r narrowed his eyes. “Don’t start.”

“You trust me with your real name.”

“That is a completely normal thing.”

“Not for you, I think.”

D3r went quiet because, unfortunately, Avery might actually be right.

D3r wasn’t exactly secretive about his real name online, but it rarely felt like him anymore. Derek belonged mostly to paperwork and airports and strangers calling attendance.

D3r was the name that had become real over time.

The name Avery said like it mattered.

Avery nudged his knee gently under the counter.

“You know,” he said softly, “I like Derek too.”

D3r looked over at him reluctantly.

Avery smiled a little.

“It sounds warm.”

That was such an Avery thing to say that D3r almost laughed.

“What does that even mean.”

“I don’t know.” Avery shrugged one shoulder. “It just fits you.”

D3r took another sip of coffee to avoid responding immediately.

Avery watched him over the rim of his own mug for a second before suddenly gasping.

“Oh my god.”

“What now?”

“I can compromise.”

D3r felt immediate dread. “Avery.”

“What if I call you Der?”

Silence.

D3r stared at him and Avery stared back hopefully.

“…Der.”

“It’s cute!”

“It sounds like you forgot the rest of my name.”

Avery burst into laughter loud enough to nearly spill his coffee.

“Oh, that’s so mean.”

“I’m right.”

“No, hold on, I can make this work.” Avery straightened up importantly. “Der.”

“It sounds like an edgy nickname.”

Avery was fully cackling now.

“Okay, maybe it needs workshop time.”

“Please never say workshop time again.”

Avery ignored him completely, still visibly entertained before looking at him all soft. “D3r still suits you best though.”

D3r looked over at him.

Avery was smiling into his coffee now, hair a mess, oversized hoodie sleeves swallowing his hands while he watched D3r over the mug rim.

“You became that name,” Avery said quietly. “I dunno how to explain it.”

D3r’s chest tightened.

“You hear some people’s usernames and it’s just internet stuff, right?” Avery shrugged slightly. “But with you it’s like…” He smiled faintly. “That’s just you.”

God.

There Avery went again.

Saying things so simply that they slid directly beneath D3r’s ribs before he could defend himself from them.

“…You’re very sentimental for someone who consipired to set a cursed laptop on fire with me.”

“We contain multitudes.”

“You already reused that line.”

“And I’ll do it again.”

D3r laughed quietly.

Avery immediately softened all over again at the sound.

Then he leaned over without warning and pressed a quick kiss to D3r’s cheek.

“Morning, Derek,” he murmured softly afterward.

D3r’s brain short-circuited instantly.

Avery grinned against his skin.

“Oh, wow.” He sounded delighted. “That one really got you.”

“You weaponized my legal name.”

“And I’ll do it again.”

D3r covered part of his face with one hand while Avery laughed helplessly beside him.

The laughter faded gradually into something quieter though.

Warmer.

Avery reached over after a second and linked their fingers loosely together against the counter.

“You nervous about tonight?” he asked softly.

D3r considered it.

“…A little.”

“Yeah.”

“Mostly because I don’t know what they expect from me.”

Avery’s expression softened instantly.

“Oh.” He squeezed D3r’s hand gently. “Nothing scary.”

“You say that like you didn’t warn me your siblings are feral.”

“They are feral.” Avery grinned weakly. “But you don’t have to perform or anything.”

D3r looked at him carefully.

Avery seemed to realize something then because his expression turned guilty.

“…You’re worried they won’t like you.”

D3r didn’t answer immediately.

Avery made the saddest noise imaginable.

“Derek.”

“My mom is gonna adore you,” Avery informed him firmly. “My siblings will probably also adore you because you’re quiet and mysterious and they all think I have terrible taste in people.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“And my dad’s gonna spend at least ten minutes talking to you about something incredibly specific for no reason.”

D3r smiled faintly despite himself.

Avery scooted closer on the stool until their shoulders bumped together.

“You don’t have to impress anybody,” he murmured. “I already like you.”

And there it was, that awful soft feeling again. The one D3r was starting to suspect might just permanently live in his chest now whenever Avery looked at him like that.

D3r then spent the next several hours discovering that Avery became progressively more nervous the closer dinner got.

Not outwardly at first. At first it was just little things. Checking the time too often. Starting tasks and immediately abandoning them halfway through. Walking into the kitchen, forgetting why he’d entered, then staring into the fridge like answers might manifest there spiritually.

D3r noticed all of it.

Mostly because Avery usually moved through his apartment with easy familiarity, all casual momentum and comfortable chaos.

Now he kept hovering and thinking too hard.

“You’re spiraling,” D3r observed from the couch eventually.

Avery, currently standing in front of his bookshelf holding a screwdriver for reasons neither of them understood, looked personally attacked.

“No I’m not.”

“You’ve reorganized those shelves twice.”

“They needed enrichment.”

“You’re anxious.”

Avery sighed dramatically and collapsed sideways onto the couch beside him, immediately pressing his face into D3r’s shoulder.

“Maybe a little.”

D3r slid an arm around him automatically now. The motion felt strangely natural already.

Avery relaxed almost instantly.

“There he is,” he mumbled into D3r’s shirt.

“You’re very clingy.”

“You like it.”

D3r did not answer quickly enough.

Avery lifted his head just enough to grin smugly at him.

“Exactly.”

D3r rolled his eyes faintly, but his hand drifted into Avery’s hair anyway.

Immediate happy little hum every single time.

“You’re Pavlovian,” D3r informed him.

“You pet me and I feel joy.” Avery shrugged against him. “Seems normal.”

D3r smiled despite himself.

Avery looked at him quietly for a second after that, expression softening.

Then he sighed. “I just hate this weird guilty feeling.”

“What guilty feeling?” D3r’s fingers slowed slightly in his hair.

Avery picked absently at the sleeve of D3r’s borrowed hoodie.

“That I don’t really wanna go, but I still feel bad saying no.” He shrugged weakly. “And then I feel worse because nothing’s even wrong exactly.”

D3r stayed quiet.

Avery always did this when talking about his family. Minimized first. Explained away second.

Like he needed permission to feel hurt if nobody had technically done anything unforgivable.

“They’re not cruel,” Avery murmured. “They just…” He laughed softly without humor. “Forgot me a little sometimes.”

D3r’s chest ached.

Avery said it so casually too, like being forgotten was a small thing.

“You know what’s stupid?” Avery continued quietly. “I used to purposely stay awake when my parents were up late helping my siblings with stuff.”

D3r frowned slightly. “Why?”

“Because if I was awake too, sometimes they’d remember to check on me before bed.”

The words hit like a punch directly to the sternum.

Avery looked down immediately afterward like he regretted admitting it out loud.

“Oh,” D3r said softly.

“Yeah.”

There was no self-pity in his voice, just old resignation.

D3r tightened his arm around him instinctively and Avery immediately leaned into him harder.

“You deserved better than that,” D3r murmured before he could stop himself.

Avery went still, then he laughed weakly into D3r’s shoulder.

“See, that’s the kinda thing that makes me wanna keep you forever.”

D3r felt warmth climb his neck immediately.

“You can’t say things like that unexpectedly.”

“Yes I can.” Avery tilted his head up slightly. “You’re in my apartment. I make the rules.”

“You make terrible rules.”

“And yet you flew here voluntarily.”

D3r huffed softly.

Avery smiled a little at the sound before his expression gentled again.

“I’m okay, y’know,” he said quietly. “Really.”

D3r looked down at him carefully.

Avery met his gaze steadily.

“I figured things out.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I have good friends. My siblings actually adore me.” A tiny smile tugged at his mouth. “And now apparently I have this weird sweet guy who crosses state lines for me.”

D3r looked away immediately.

Avery laughed softly.

“Der.”

“Oh my god.”

“No, c’mon.” Avery was visibly delighted with himself. “I’m trying it out.”

“It still sounds fake.”

“You’re fake.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“It makes emotional sense.”

D3r laughed quietly despite himself.

Avery softened instantly at the sound.

God.

There it was again.

That constant look.

Like D3r had become something Avery wanted to protect and keep close all at once.

“You know,” Avery said thoughtfully, “my parents are probably gonna think you’re way cooler than me.”

“That seems unlikely.”

“No, seriously.” Avery sat up slightly now, warming to the topic. “You’ve got the whole quiet mysterious thing going on.”

“I’m awkward.”

“Mysterious and awkward.” Avery pointed at him. “Powerful combo.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re nervous.” Avery’s expression gentled again. “Hey.”

D3r looked over reluctantly.

“You don’t have to impress them,” Avery repeated softly. “You’re there for me, not them.”

D3r’s chest tightened.

“That’s why I’m going,” he admitted quietly.

Avery visibly melted.

“Jesus christ,” he whispered. “You can’t just say things like that with those eyes.”

“What eyes?”

“The…” Avery gestured vaguely at his face. “The soft ones.”

“I do not have soft eyes.”

“You absolutely do.”

D3r covered his face with one hand while Avery cackled beside him.

Then, gentler this time, Avery tugged his hand back down.

“You know what the funniest part is?”

“What.”

“You’re probably gonna end up being the calmest person there.”

“That cannot possibly be true.”

“My younger brother once tried to microwave a fork because he wanted to ‘see what electricity looked like.’”

D3r blinked.

“…Why.”

“We still don’t know.”

Against his will, D3r laughed hard enough to bend forward slightly.

Avery lit up like a sunrise and D3r was beginning to suspect Avery genuinely treasured every laugh he got from him.

The realization was both deeply embarrassing and terrifyingly nice.

Avery reached over after a second and fixed a piece of D3r’s hair where it had fallen forward.

The touch lingered lightly near his temple afterward.

“You’re really pretty when you laugh,” Avery said softly, like he forgot to keep it to himself.

D3r froze.

Avery froze too.

“Oh no.”

“You did that to yourself.”

“I know.”

D3r looked at him for another long second before quietly catching Avery’s wrist before he could pull away.

Avery blinked.

D3r turned his head slightly and pressed a soft kiss against the inside of his wrist.

Avery made the tiniest shattered sound imaginable.

“…Derek,” he whispered faintly.

D3r smiled just a little against his skin.

“Thought we were trying out Der.”

Avery stared at him in complete emotional devastation for approximately five seconds.

Then he collapsed dramatically face-first into D3r’s lap.

“I’m not surviving this relationship.”

The ride to Avery’s parents’ house ended up happening at sunset.

Which, under literally any other circumstances, D3r thought he probably would’ve loved.

The city gradually gave way to quieter roads lined with trees turning gold under the evening light, the air cool enough through his helmet to feel refreshing rather than cold. Houses became more spread out. Traffic thinned. Somewhere nearby the forest smell lingered faintly beneath rain-damp pavement and summer grass.

It was pretty.

Really pretty.

D3r caught glimpses of the trees between the constant awareness that he was currently on the back of a motorcycle heading toward a family dinner with the guy he’d kissed stupid less than twenty-four hours ago.

Unfortunately, the combination of those two facts made focusing difficult.

Also, the ride was way too short.

D3r realized this with immediate annoyance the second Avery slowed at a red light.

Already?

He’d only just gotten comfortable.

Which was only mildly concerning.

Because “comfortable” currently meant arms wrapped around Avery’s waist, chest pressed lightly against his back, and his chin occasionally brushing Avery’s shoulder whenever the motorcycle slowed.

Avery absolutely noticed every single time too.

D3r could feel the tiny pleased reactions through him.

“You okay back there?” Avery asked through the helmet headset softly.

“Mhm.”

“You got quieter.”

“I’m thinking.”

“Oh no.”

D3r huffed a laugh against the back of Avery’s shoulder.

“There it is,” Avery said warmly.

The light changed and they started moving again.

D3r let his gaze drift over the passing scenery, trying not to think too hard about the knot of nerves sitting low in his stomach.

Avery seemed to sense it anyway.

He always did.

“You know,” Avery said after a minute, voice gentler now, “we can leave whenever.”

D3r blinked.

“What?”

“At dinner.” Avery shrugged slightly beneath his hands. “If it sucks. Or if you get overwhelmed. Or if I get overwhelmed.”

The simple practicality of it settled something quietly in D3r’s chest.

“You already planned an escape route?”

“I always plan escape routes.”

D3r smiled faintly at that.

Then Avery added more softly. “I don’t want you feeling trapped.”

God, there he went again making care sound casual.

D3r tightened his arms around Avery’s waist slightly without thinking.

Avery immediately relaxed back into him harder.

“You do that on purpose?” Avery asked quietly.

“What.”

“The squeezing thing.”

“No.”

“Hm.” Avery sounded deeply unconvinced. “Well, keep doing it.”

D3r laughed softly.

The motorcycle curved down another winding road, trees arching overhead now while sunset spilled amber light through the branches. D3r caught glimpses of little neighborhoods tucked away behind stone walls and gardens.

Pretty.

Too pretty to pass this quickly.

“You know,” Avery said suddenly, “you’re taking motorcycle passenger duty very seriously.”

“What does that mean.”

“You lean with me naturally now.”

D3r blinked.

“…Oh.”

“You did not notice?”

“No.”

Avery laughed softly through the headset.

“Cute.”

“Don’t start.”

“You’re literally instinctively trusting me with your body weight.” Avery sounded unbearably fond. “That’s adorable.”

D3r hid part of his face briefly against Avery’s shoulder despite the helmet making that mostly ineffective.

Avery noticed anyway.

“See? There it is again.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet.”

The road straightened after that.

Avery’s speed slowed slightly then slowed some more.

D3r’s chest sank immediately.

No.

Too soon.

The realization startled him with how genuine the disappointment felt.

Avery turned down a quiet residential street lined with warm porch lights and old trees. The houses here looked lived-in in a way D3r found oddly comforting. Bikes left near driveways. Wind chimes. Flower pots overflowing onto porches.

Homey.

Avery’s hands tightened slightly on the handlebars.

D3r noticed instantly and thinking too hard about it, he tightened his arms around Avery ever so slightly before relaxing again.

Avery made a tiny startled sound through the headset.

Then he laughed softly.

“You’re comforting me now?”

“You seemed anxious.”

Avery was quiet for a second.

“You noticed.”

D3r wanted to say of course I noticed, wanted to say I always notice you, instead he settled for another small squeeze around Avery’s waist.

Avery visibly melted forward slightly at the gesture.

“Derek,” he murmured softly.

There it was again. That tone. Warm enough to ache.

“What?” D3r’s chest tightened immediately.

“You’re really good to me.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly knocked the breath from D3r’s lungs.

Before he could think of a response, Avery slowed fully near a two-story house glowing warm gold through the windows.

Cars already lined the driveway.

D3r felt Avery tense slightly beneath his hands again.

Then Avery exhaled hard through his nose.

“Okay,” he said softly, mostly to himself. “We can do this.”

D3r looked at the house, then at Avery, then tightened his arms around him one more time before they got off the bike.

Avery went very still.

“You’re staring again,” D3r observed quietly.

Avery turned his head just enough that D3r could see the edge of his smile through the helmet visor.

“You keep doing sweet things and then acting surprised when I fall more in love with you.”

D3r’s brain stopped functioning entirely.

Avery immediately made a strangled noise.

“Oh my god.”

Silence.

The motorcycle engine ticked softly beneath them as it cooled.

Avery slowly lowered his head until his forehead thunked lightly against the handlebars.

“I said that out loud.”

D3r stared at him.

“You did.”

“I’m gonna throw myself into traffic.”

“No you aren’t.”

“No, because then you’d look sad and I’d feel guilty.”

Despite everything—despite the nerves and the looming dinner and the emotional whiplash—D3r laughed softly.

Avery looked up immediately at the sound.

There it was again.

That look.

Like D3r laughing mattered more than anything else for a second.

And suddenly the house didn’t seem nearly as intimidating anymore.

The second the front door opened, D3r understood two things immediately.

One: Avery’s family was loud.

And two: Avery had not been exaggerating even slightly about his siblings being feral.

“Avery’s here!”

“Did you bring food?”

“Holy shit, is that the guy you've been talking about for forever?”

“Avery, mom said you were supposed to bring ice—”

Three voices hit at once before the door had even fully opened.

A younger boy—maybe mid-teens—nearly crashed directly into Avery in the entryway before stopping short at the sight of D3r standing behind him.

“Oh,” he said immediately. “Whoa.”

Avery laughed weakly beside him while pulling his helmet off.

“Hi to you too, Eli.”

“Who’s that?”

Before Avery could answer, another sibling appeared around the corner, then another voice called from somewhere deeper in the house asking who was at the door.

The entire place buzzed with movement.

Not unpleasant.

Just… full.

Alive in that chaotic family way D3r had only really seen from a distance before.

Avery nudged his arm lightly.

“This is D3r,” he said automatically, then paused. “Derek,” he corrected reluctantly.

D3r caught the tiny mournful look Avery shot him afterward and nearly laughed.

“D3r?” the younger sibling repeated immediately. “thats a weird name.”

D3r glanced at him and Avery looked deeply betrayed already.

“See?” he whispered. “They’d ask questions.”

Before D3r could answer, another sibling leaned into the hallway.

“Oh my god, is this the best friend?”

Avery went visibly pink.

“Yes,” he said quickly. “This is my best friend.”

Honestly?

D3r absolutely was Avery’s best friend.

Whatever else they were becoming sat beside that fact, not instead of it.

“Cool,” the sibling declared immediately. “You look exactly like somebody Avery would emotionally imprint on.”

“Audrey,” Avery hissed.

“What? I’m right.”

D3r bit down hard on a laugh while Avery looked moments away from bodily disintegrating.

Then suddenly a woman appeared in the hallway behind the siblings, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

“Oh! Avery, honey, you made it.”

Avery straightened automatically beside him.

“Hey, mom.”

His mother smiled warmly before her attention shifted to D3r.

“And you must be Derek.”

There was genuine kindness there immediately. Open and easy.

D3r liked her instantly despite himself.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, don’t do that,” she laughed. “You’re Avery’s friend, not a police officer.”

“Avery’s best friend,” one sibling corrected loudly from the hallway.

Avery made a distressed noise.

D3r finally lost the fight and laughed quietly.

Every single member of the family immediately noticed.

“Aww,” Avery’s mom said instinctively. “You got him to laugh.”

“Oh, Avery loves those,” the younger brother informed her solemnly. “Like Pokémon cards.”

“That is slander.”

“It’s true,” Audrey said immediately. “You literally texted me once because he laughed at one of your jokes.”

Avery looked genuinely betrayed now.

“That was private information.”

D3r could physically feel Avery melting a little beside him from embarrassment while the siblings cackled.

It was… nice.

Warm.

Easy in a messy sort of way.

Then Avery’s dad appeared from the dining room carrying extra plates.

“Oh good, you’re here.” His attention flicked briefly toward D3r. “You made the trip okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Long flight?”

“Little bit.”

“Hm.” His dad nodded approvingly. “Good friend.”

D3r glanced instinctively toward Avery at that and wasn't surprised to see that Avery was already looking at him with something horribly fond in his eyes.

Like the words meant something bigger than they should’ve.

Then his mother asked casually, “So what brought you into town, Derek?”

And before Avery could answer automatically for him, D3r spoke first.

“Avery’s birthday.”

The room went quiet, not dramatically but just enough for it to be uncomfortable.

Avery froze beside him.

His mother blinked once.

“…Birthday?”

And there it was, the exact kind of thing Avery had tried so hard to explain away earlier.

His father frowned slightly like he was mentally recalculating dates.

One sibling whispered a horrified “Oh my god” under their breath.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was Avery’s birthday and none of them had remembered until the stranger standing in their hallway casually mentioned flying across the country for it.

D3r felt irritation spark hot and immediate in his chest.

Beside him, Avery laughed softly.

Too softly.

“It’s fine,” he said immediately. “I didn’t really plan anything big anyway.”

That hurt worse somehow.

The automatic smoothing-over.

The immediate instinct to make them feel better.

His mother looked genuinely stricken now. “Oh sweetheart, honey, I’m sorry. Things have just been so busy lately with—”

“With Caleb’s tournament and Audrey’s college applications and Eli setting the microwave on fire,” Avery finished gently.

Nobody laughed.

Because the thing was—he didn’t sound angry, he sounded used to it.

And suddenly D3r understood with painful clarity what Avery had meant earlier.

Not bad parents.

Just parents who had unconsciously built a family rhythm around Avery being the easy one. The reliable one. The one who’d understand.

D3r looked over at him quietly.

Avery still had that same soft little smile on his face, trying to ease the tension for everyone else despite being the one forgotten.

Something protective twisted hard in D3r’s chest.

Then Eli suddenly blurted, “Wait, hold on, you flew here for Avery’s birthday?”

Every head in the room turned toward him.

D3r blinked once.

“…Yeah.”

The silence afterward felt different.

Audrey looked between them slowly.

“Oh my god.”

“Audrey,” Avery warned immediately, voice horrified.

“No, hold on.” She pointed dramatically between them. “You flew across the country for him?”

“We know each other online,” Avery said quickly. “It’s not—”

“That is the most romance movie sentence I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“AUDREY.”

D3r looked down immediately to hide the way his face heated which was a mistake because Avery noticed instantly.

“Oh my god,” Avery whispered faintly beside him.

His siblings immediately smelled weakness.

“Oh they’re weird weird,” Eli announced gleefully.

“We are not.”

“You’re blushing.”

“It’s warm in here.”

“Avery,” Audrey said slowly, “you look at him like a rescue dog who just got adopted.”

D3r choked on air trying not to laugh.

Avery looked seconds from death.

“This was a mistake,” he muttered into his hands.

But then, quietly, beneath all the embarrassment and chaos, D3r felt Avery’s fingers brush briefly against the back of his hand.

Tiny.

Careful.

Like he just needed the contact for a second.

D3r turned his hand slightly and hooked their pinkies together instinctively.

Avery went completely silent beside him.

No one else seemed to notice but D3r felt the way Avery relaxed instantly from the tiny gesture.

And standing there in the noisy hallway with siblings arguing and his parents apologizing and Avery still somehow trying to make everybody else comfortable first, D3r thought suddenly and fiercely:

How had nobody noticed sooner how easy it was to love him?

Dinner was loud.

Not unpleasantly loud, just constantly alive with overlapping conversations and siblings talking over each other and somebody always getting up from the table for something they forgot.

D3r found himself sitting between Avery and Eli while Audrey kept giving both him and Avery deeply suspicious looks across the table every couple minutes like she was watching a nature documentary unfold in real time.

Avery, meanwhile, had slipped almost seamlessly into helping mode the second dinner actually started.

Passing dishes before anyone asked.

Getting drinks.

Standing up automatically when his mom realized they were out of napkins.

It was so instinctive he clearly didn’t even notice he was doing it anymore.

That part alone made D3r’s chest ache.

Because every single time Avery got up, the conversation simply kept moving around the space he’d left behind.

Not cruelly.

Not intentionally.

Just… automatically.

Like the family had unconsciously learned that Avery would always fill whatever gaps existed.

And Avery had learned to expect it.

“Derek, right?”

D3r blinked and looked up from where he’d been watching Avery refill someone’s water glass.

Avery’s dad was looking at him from across the table.

“Yes, sir.”

“How’d you two meet?”

Immediately, three separate siblings answered at once.

“Minecraft.”

“The internet.”

“Autism probably.”

“AUDREY,” Avery groaned from beside D3r, finally sitting back down.

D3r bit down a laugh while Avery’s dad snorted into his drink.

“She’s not wrong,” Eli muttered.

“We met through a server,” D3r explained, smiling faintly despite himself. “Started talking a lot after.”

“A lot,” Audrey repeated meaningfully.

Avery kicked her lightly under the table.

“OW.”

“You deserve worse.”

“He flew here for your birthday!”

“You are never seeing the light of heaven.”

D3r laughed quietly before he could stop himself.

Avery immediately looked over and there it was again, that expression like D3r laughing was the best possible outcome of any conversation.

It honestly was driving D3r a little insane because Avery looked at him like that constantly without realizing how transparent he was about it.

“So what do you do, Derek?” Avery’s mom asked gently.

D3r answered, but his attention kept drifting back toward Avery almost unconsciously.

Watching the way he folded inward slightly whenever attention moved elsewhere, how quick he was to smile, how practiced he was at making himself easy to accommodate.

And the worst part? His family clearly loved him. His younger siblings leaned toward him naturally while talking. His dad asked Avery’s opinion on things automatically. His mom touched his shoulder every time she passed behind him.

The affection was real but so was the neglect.

That was what made it so quietly heartbreaking.

Nobody at the table seemed to realize Avery only spoke when someone directly addressed him for nearly ten straight minutes.

Not until Eli abruptly looked over and frowned, “Wait, Avery, did you ever finish that bike project?”

Avery blinked slightly like he’d mentally drifted somewhere else. “Oh. Uh, mostly.”

Immediately the attention shifted back toward him.

And D3r watched it happen in real time: Avery straightened subtly and brightened slightly like a plant turning instinctively toward sunlight.

D3r’s chest hurt.

“You never showed us the finished paint job,” Eli continued.

“That’s because he’s emotionally secretive,” Audrey said immediately.

“I’m not emotionally secretive.”

“You literally hid a whole cross-country best friend from us.”

Avery nearly inhaled water wrong.

D3r reached over instinctively and steadied the glass before it tipped fully.

Avery looked over at him immediately afterward, flushed and embarrassed. “…Thanks.”

The softness in his voice nearly killed D3r outright.

Then Audrey narrowed her eyes suddenly.

“Wait.”

“Oh no,” Avery muttered.

“You call him Derek.” She pointed at Avery accusingly. “But you almost said something else earlier at the door.”

Avery froze.

D3r froze too.

Eli gasped dramatically.

“Oh my god, you have a nickname for him.”

“It’s not a thing.”

“It’s absolutely a thing.”

“Avery.”

“Audrey.”

“Averyyyyy.”

D3r watched Avery visibly debate throwing himself bodily through the nearest window.

“He usually goes by D3r online,” Avery admitted finally, voice muffled into his hands.

Eli looked delighted instantly.

“That’s sick actually.”

“Thank you,” Avery said, sounding genuinely relieved.

But Audrey was still staring.

“No,” she said slowly. “Hold on. The way you said it was all soft.”

“Audrey, I’m begging you.”

“You were like ‘D3r 🥺.’”

“How did you make that sound with your mouth.”

Their mother laughed suddenly into her wine glass. “Avery did always get attached to people fast.”

“I do not—”

“Oh honey,” she said fondly. “You absolutely do.”

Avery looked horrified.

D3r, meanwhile, found himself weirdly fascinated by the interaction because Avery’s mom sounded affectionate saying it, like this was a known and loved trait, and yet somehow nobody seemed to realize how much Avery gave people once he cared about them.

How fully.

D3r glanced over at him again.

Avery had gone pink all the way to his ears and was avoiding eye contact with the entire table now.

D3r felt something fond and helpless curl warmly in his chest.

“He calls me Aves,” Avery muttered suddenly, apparently deciding mutual destruction was preferable to suffering alone.

The entire table went silent.

Then Eli slapped the table so hard the silverware rattled.

“OH MY GOD.”

“Aves?” Audrey repeated, visibly emotional. “That’s adorable.”

D3r immediately looked down at the table.

Avery looked at him and there it was again that look soft enough to ache.

“He said it by accident first,” Avery explained quietly like it mattered, like he’d kept the memory somewhere careful already.

D3r’s face felt unbearably warm.

“You guys are disgustingly cute,” Eli informed them.

“We’re not—” Avery started weakly.

Then stopped because honestly what argument even existed anymore?

The table dissolved into laughter and teasing after that, but D3r barely heard most of it.

Because Avery was smiling now.

Not the smaller careful smile from earlier.

A real one, bright, relaxed, and extremely content.

The kind D3r had only seen when Avery forgot to guard himself completely.

And suddenly D3r understood something that made his chest ache all over again, Avery wasn’t invisible here because his family didn’t care, he was invisible because they trusted him to be okay, trusted him to always adapt around everyone else’s needs, trusted him to understand, and Avery had spent so long being understanding that nobody realized how lonely it sometimes made him.

Under the table, D3r quietly nudged his knee against Avery’s.

Avery glanced over immediately and D3r held his gaze for a second, just long enough to say I see you.

Avery’s expression softened instantly into something unbearably warm, then, without looking away, he hooked his pinky carefully around D3r’s again beneath the tablecloth like he needed the reminder too.

By the end of dinner, D3r had learned several things.

Avery’s younger brother absolutely would microwave silverware again if left unsupervised.

Audrey weaponized emotional insight recreationally.

Avery’s dad had very strong opinions about power tools.

And Avery, despite technically being invited as a guest, had somehow still ended up helping with nearly everything.

The second plates started emptying, Avery stood automatically.

“I’ll help clean up.”

Not can.

Not should.

Just immediate instinct.

His mom waved one hand distractedly while talking to Eli about school forms. “Thanks, honey.”

Avery was already gathering plates before the sentence even finished.

D3r watched him for half a second then stood too.

Avery blinked up at him immediately from where he was balancing three plates in his arms.

“You don’t gotta help,” he murmured quietly.

D3r took two of the plates from him anyway.

“I know.”

Avery stared at him for a second then something in his expression softened in that now-familiar way that made D3r’s chest ache.

“Oh.”

D3r followed him into the kitchen while the rest of the family conversation continued loudly behind them.

The second they were out of the dining room, Avery exhaled hard through his nose.

Not dramatic, just tired.

D3r noticed instantly.

“You okay?”

Avery glanced over while turning on the sink.

“Yeah.” Then, after a second, “Little overwhelmed maybe.”

The honesty came easier now than it had this morning and D3r would be lying if he said that he didn't like that.

Avery started rinsing dishes automatically while D3r dried them beside him.

The rhythm settled strangely easily between them within minutes. Avery washing. D3r drying and stacking. Their shoulders bumping occasionally in the cramped kitchen space.

Domestic.

Dangerously domestic.

“You know,” Avery said quietly after a while, “you absolutely didn’t have to help.”

D3r looked over at him.

Avery was staring down into the sink while speaking.

“I know how family dinners can feel when you’re the outsider,” he continued softly. “I didn’t want you getting trapped doing chores.”

D3r frowned slightly.

“Aves.”

“Hm?”

“You were doing it.”

Avery paused for a couple seconds before shrugging one shoulder.

“That’s different.”

D3r felt irritation flare immediately at how automatic the response sounded.

“Why.”

Avery blinked at him like the answer was obvious.

“Because it’s my family.”

D3r dried another plate carefully before answering.

“That doesn’t mean you should do everything alone.”

Avery went quiet.

The faucet kept running softly between them.

From the dining room, someone shouted something about a dog video and multiple people started laughing at once.

Meanwhile Avery just stood there looking suddenly a little wrecked over a sentence that probably felt very small to D3r but apparently didn’t to him.

“You do that a lot,” Avery said quietly.

“What.”

“Act like helping me is easy.”

D3r frowned slightly.

“It is easy.”

Avery laughed weakly under his breath.

“See?”

D3r watched him for another second before gently nudging Avery’s hip with his own. “You’d do the same for me.”

“Yeah,” Avery answered immediately.

“Then why’s it weird when I do it for you?”

That stopped him entirely.

Avery stared at the sink for a long moment before muttering, “Rude.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.” Avery scrubbed at a plate that was already clean. “That’s the problem.”

D3r’s chest tightened.

Avery really had gotten used to carrying things by himself, hadn’t he?

Not because nobody cared but because he’d quietly become the person expected to handle things and somewhere along the way he’d started expecting it too.

D3r made another mental note then—one he’d already been building all night.

Later, when they got home, Avery was getting absolutely smothered in affection.

No arguments.

D3r was going to hold him until the lingering sadness from earlier finally eased out of his shoulders.

Avery deserved softness directed at him for once instead of always being the one offering it outward.

“You’re thinking hard again,” Avery observed quietly.

D3r looked up.

Avery was watching him now instead of the dishes, sleeves shoved up to his elbows, curls falling into his eyes from the humidity in the kitchen.

Pretty.

Distractingly pretty.

“Maybe.”

Avery narrowed his eyes slightly.

“That’s your plotting face.”

“I don’t have a plotting face.”

“You absolutely do.”

D3r huffed quietly.

Avery smiled a little at the sound before bumping his shoulder against D3r’s.

“Thank you for coming with me,” he murmured.

D3r looked over immediately.

Avery’s expression had gone soft again, open in the quiet way he only seemed to become when it was just the two of them.

“I mean it,” Avery continued. “Tonight would’ve sucked way more alone.”

Something protective curled tightly in D3r’s chest.

Without really thinking about it, he reached over and brushed a damp curl back away from Avery’s forehead.

Avery stilled instantly.

The faucet kept running.

Neither of them noticed.

“You don’t have to thank me for staying beside you,” D3r said softly.

Avery looked at him like the sentence physically hurt him.

“Derek,” he whispered faintly.

There it was again.

That tone.

Warm enough to crack something open inside D3r every time.

Then suddenly Audrey appeared in the doorway.

“Oh my god.”

Both of them jumped slightly apart instinctively.

Audrey looked deeply offended.

“You guys are in here having a Hallmark movie while I’m being forced to watch Eli explain memes to dad while Caleb ignores everyone?”

“Audrey,” Avery groaned.

“No, seriously.” She pointed dramatically at them both. “You’re literally doing dishes together romantically.”

“We are not doing dishes romantically.”

“He touched your hair.”

“That’s not romantic.”

D3r wisely kept his mouth shut.

Audrey narrowed her eyes immediately.

“Oh, wow. You’re both gone.”

“Audrey,” Avery repeated weakly.

She grinned suddenly though, softer this time.

“You look happy,” she said simply.

Avery froze.

The teasing vanished from the room all at once.

Because the thing was—

He did.

D3r looked at him quietly.

Avery looked startled by the observation, like he hadn’t realized it himself until now.

Then Audrey’s expression gentled further.

“Good,” she said.

And before Avery could combust from emotional vulnerability, she vanished back into the dining room yelling about dessert.

Silence settled in the kitchen afterward.

Avery stared at the doorway for a second before laughing weakly.

“She’s evil.”

“She seems observant.”

“That’s worse.”

D3r smiled faintly.

Avery looked over at him immediately.

Then down at the dish towel in D3r’s hands.

Then at the stack of cleaned plates.

And suddenly his entire expression softened into something so fond it almost hurt to look at.

“You really stayed and helped me clean up,” he murmured quietly.

D3r blinked once.

“…Yeah?”

Like it was obvious.

Because to him, it was.

Avery looked at him for another long second before stepping closer and very quickly pressing a soft kiss to D3r’s cheek.

Then he immediately turned back to the sink before D3r could recover properly.

D3r stared at the side of Avery's face in stunned silence while Avery tried and failed to hide his smile.

“You can’t just do things like that unexpectedly,” D3r said faintly.

Avery looked unbearably pleased with himself.

“Yes I can.”

D3r spent the next several minutes trying very hard to recover from being kissed on the cheek unexpectedly while Avery washed dishes beside him looking entirely too smug about it.

The worst part was that Avery kept sneaking little glances at him afterward.

Not even subtle ones.

Just quick soft looks followed immediately by tiny pleased smiles every single time D3r’s face went warm again.

“You’re staring,” D3r muttered eventually.

“You’re cute when flustered.”

“You’re impossible.”

“And yet.” Avery bumped his shoulder lightly against D3r’s again. “You still came all this way.”

D3r rolled his eyes faintly, but he was smiling.

Avery noticed instantly, of course.

God, he really did collect D3r’s reactions like treasures.

The kitchen slowly emptied out behind them as the rest of the family migrated toward dessert and the living room. At some point Avery’s mom popped in briefly to thank them for helping before getting distracted halfway through the sentence by Eli loudly insisting somebody cheated at Mario Kart three rooms away.

Avery just laughed softly and kept rinsing dishes.

D3r watched him quietly.

And the thing was—Avery fit here.

Obviously he did.

This was his family. His house. His history tucked into every loud overlapping conversation and every old photograph hanging crookedly on the walls.

But D3r could also see the shape Avery had carved for himself inside the household over time.

The helper.

The easy one.

The adaptable one.

Someone reliable enough that everyone unconsciously leaned toward him without realizing how much they were asking.

And Avery gave so willingly that nobody thought to question it.

D3r dried another plate slowly.

“Aves.”

“Hm?”

“You don’t have to keep earning your place in rooms.”

Avery stopped moving entirely.

The sink kept running softly before he reached over blindly and shut the faucet off.

Silence settled around them.

“…What.”

D3r looked at him carefully.

“You help before anyone asks.” He shrugged slightly. “You apologize for needing things. You keep trying to make everyone comfortable first.”

Avery stared at the counter now instead of at him.

D3r continued more quietly. “You act like being useful is the same thing as being loved.”

The silence afterward felt enormous.

Avery laughed softly.

Not happy, just startled.

“That’s a horrifying sentence, Derek.”

“Is it wrong?”

Avery didn’t answer immediately and honestly? That was its own answer.

D3r’s chest ached fiercely.

Because Avery was so easy to love it made D3r feel vaguely insane that anyone had ever accidentally made him feel otherwise.

Avery finally leaned back against the counter beside him with a weak exhale.

“You know what sucks?” he murmured.

“What.”

“I know they love me.”

D3r nodded once.

“Which makes it hard to explain why stuff still hurts sometimes.”

The words settled heavily between them.

D3r understood that feeling more than he liked.

The complicated grief of not being treated badly enough to justify your loneliness.

“Sorry. This got depressing.” Avery rubbed tiredly at his eyes.

“No,” D3r said immediately. “It got honest.”

Avery looked over at him then, really looked at him and whatever he saw there softened his expression instantly.

“You’re good at that,” he said quietly.

“At what?”

“Seeing people.”

D3r looked away automatically at the directness of it.

Avery smiled a little.

“There he goes.”

“Don’t start.”

“You do the shy thing every time somebody says something sincere to you.”

“I do not.”

“You absolutely do.”

D3r huffed softly.

Avery’s smile widened.

Then suddenly footsteps thundered down the hallway and Eli appeared in the doorway holding a container of whipped cream.

“You guys are still flirting in here?”

“We are not flirting,” Avery answered automatically.

“You kissed him.”

Avery nearly dropped the dish he’d just picked up.

D3r looked down immediately to hide his face.

“I DID NOT—”

“You literally did,” Eli interrupted gleefully. “I walked by and saw it.”

Avery made a noise of genuine despair.

“You were spying on us?”

“No, I was getting whipped cream.” Eli paused dramatically. “Which I am now taking back before you weirdos make out against the refrigerator.”

“ELI.”

Eli cackled as he disappeared again before Avery could murder him.

The kitchen fell quiet afterward except for D3r still trying not to laugh.

Avery leaned forward until his forehead thunked softly against D3r’s shoulder. “I’m never recovering from this dinner.”

“You survived.”

“Barely.”

D3r smiled faintly and rested one hand against the back of Avery’s neck automatically, Avery immediately leaning back into it

“You know,” Avery mumbled into his shoulder, “this is kinda the most affection anyone’s ever shown me in this house.”

“What?” D3r stilled.

Avery shrugged weakly without lifting his head.

“Nobody’s really touchy in my family.” He laughed softly. “Besides little kid stuff, I guess.”

D3r thought suddenly about the way Avery reacted every single time he touched his hair, the way he visibly relaxed under simple contact, how quickly he folded into hugs like someone starving quietly accepting warmth.

Something inside D3r twisted hard enough to hurt.

“Aves.”

“Hm?”

D3r hesitated only briefly before speaking honestly. “I think you should’ve been held more.”

Avery went completely motionless before slowly lifting his head to look up at D3r. His eyes looked wrecked, not crying exactly but just overwhelmed in that dangerous soft way D3r was starting to recognize.

“…Derek.”

D3r’s chest tightened immediately at the tone.

Warm.

Fragile.

Like Avery didn’t know what to do with being cared for this directly.

Without thinking too hard about it, D3r reached up and cupped the side of Avery’s face gently, like his body answered before his brain could.

D3r’s heart ached so fiercely he almost couldn’t stand it.

“You deserve softness too,” he murmured quietly.

Avery looked at him for one long second.

Then abruptly stepped forward and wrapped both arms around D3r’s waist, burying his face against his shoulder again.

Not embarrassed this time.

Just needing.

D3r held him immediately.

Of course he did.

From the living room, someone shouted about dessert again while laughter echoed through the house.

Meanwhile Avery stayed tucked against him in the kitchen, breathing slowly against D3r’s neck while D3r rubbed gentle circles between his shoulder blades.

And standing there holding Avery close while the rest of the house buzzed warmly around them, D3r realized he meant the mental promise he’d made earlier with terrifying sincerity.

Later tonight, when they got home, Avery was getting spoiled absolutely rotten with affection.

No escape.

By the time dessert ended, Avery had quietly hit his limit.

D3r noticed it before Avery himself seemed willing to admit it.

The signs were small if you didn’t know him.

Laughing a little softer.

Smiling without really joining conversations anymore.

Going still in those brief pauses between everyone else talking.

He was tired, emotionally more than physically, and honestly, after tonight, D3r couldn’t blame him.

Avery was currently half folded against D3r’s side on the couch while Eli argued loudly with Audrey over a movie neither of them had actually finished watching.

D3r felt Avery exhale slowly against his shoulder.

“You okay?” he murmured quietly.

Avery tilted his head just enough to look up at him.

There was still warmth there, still happiness, both were just worn around the edges now.

“Mhm,” he whispered back. “Think I’m peopled out though.”

“Do you want to go home?”

Avery just nodded in response, looking slightly relieved that D3r had asked.

Avery stayed like that another minute before finally straightening slightly.

Then, with visible reluctance, he stood.

“Hey,” he said into the room. “I think we’re gonna head out.”

Immediate complaints erupted from multiple directions.

“What?”

“You just got here!”

“Avery, it’s barely ten.”

“Audrey literally just started the movie!”

Avery laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry. I’ve got stuff tomorrow.”

Not technically a lie.

Tomorrow was his birthday.

D3r watched the way Avery unconsciously softened the statement immediately afterward though.

Trying to make leaving sound practical instead of necessary.

“And I wanna sleep before it,” Avery added lightly.

That quieted things a little.

His mom looked up from where she was curled into the armchair.

“Oh, sweetheart, of course.” Her expression softened immediately. “You should’ve said you were tired.”

Avery shrugged one shoulder with a smile that looked practiced.

“I’m okay.”

D3r’s jaw tightened slightly before he could stop it.

Of course Avery said that automatically.

Always okay.

Always easy.

Avery’s dad stood first to help gather leftovers into containers while Audrey pointed dramatically at both D3r and Avery from the couch.

“You’re coming back though.”

“Audrey,” Avery groaned.

“No seriously.” She narrowed her eyes. “I got emotionally attached to the mysterious internet boyfriend.”

D3r nearly inhaled wrong.

Avery looked moments from spontaneous combustion.

“We are not—”

“You flew across the country for his birthday,” Eli interrupted from the floor. “That’s legally romance.”

“It’s friendship!”

“That’s worse somehow.”

D3r covered part of his face with one hand while Avery made a wounded noise beside him.

The teasing rolled off easier now though.

Lighter.

Because underneath it all, the family genuinely seemed happy Avery had brought someone.

Happy Avery looked happy.

His mom hugged him tightly near the doorway before they left.

“Next time warn me more than a couple of hours before you bring guests,” she scolded gently. “I would’ve made more food.”

Avery laughed softly. “There’s enough leftovers to feed a small village.”

“That’s not the point.” Then she turned toward D3r with the same warm expression from earlier. “It was really lovely meeting you, Derek.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“And thank you,” she added more quietly, “for coming for Avery.”

D3r blinked once but before he could answer, she smiled gently. “He talks about you a lot.”

Avery immediately buried his face in his hands.

“MOM.”

“What?” She laughed. “You do.”

D3r looked over instinctively.

Avery was visibly dying and somehow still adorable.

D3r was so fucked.

The motorcycle ride home felt quieter than the ride there.

Not awkward.

Just softer.

The night air had cooled further now, wind carrying traces of rain and distant forest while the city lights blurred gold against wet pavement.

This time, D3r barely looked at the scenery at all.

Mostly because Avery relaxed visibly the second they got back on the bike, like tension had finally started draining from him in stages now that the social performance part of the evening was over.

D3r wrapped his arms around Avery’s waist automatically once they got moving again.

Avery made the tiniest relieved sound beneath the engine noise.

“You okay?” D3r asked softly through the headset.

“Mhm.”

“You sure?”

Avery was quiet for a second. “Better now.”

The honesty of it settled warmly in D3r’s chest.

He tightened his hold slightly.

Avery immediately leaned back into him harder.

The city lights reflected softly off rain-dark streets around them while they rode through the quiet.

No loud siblings.

No expectations.

No needing to smile at the right moments.

Just Avery warm against him and the steady rumble of the motorcycle beneath them.

“You know,” Avery said after a while, voice sleepy through the headset, “you didn’t have to keep doing that tonight.”

“What.”

“The hand thing.”

D3r blinked.

The little touches every time Avery started drifting too far inward.

“Oh.”

“Every time I got overwhelmed you touched me somehow.” Avery laughed softly.

D3r hadn’t even realized how automatic it had become. “…Sorry.”

“What?” Avery sounded startled. “No, idiot. Not bad.”

D3r smiled faintly against the back of Avery’s shoulder.

“It helped,” Avery admitted quietly. “A lot.”

The words settled somewhere deep and tender inside D3r’s chest.

Good.

That was good.

Because honestly? D3r had spent half the night wanting to drag Avery back home and hold him together in blankets for a few hours, not because the dinner had been awful but because Avery deserved rest afterward in the same way people deserved water after being thirsty too long.

When they finally reached Avery’s apartment building again, the relief in Avery’s posture was immediate.

“Oh thank god,” he groaned dramatically while pulling his helmet off. “Pants with buttons are a hate crime.”

D3r laughed softly while climbing off the motorcycle.

Avery looked over at him immediately afterward, hair messy from the helmet again, expression tired but warm.

Then his entire face softened.

“What.”

“You’re still here.”

D3r blinked.

Avery smiled sheepishly. “I know that sounds stupid.”

“It doesn’t.”

Avery looked at him for another second before stepping closer until their jackets brushed.

“You know what I kept thinking tonight?”

“What.”

“That you noticed everything.”

D3r went quiet.

Avery looked down briefly before continuing softer:

“When I got overwhelmed. When I stopped talking. When I started doing cleanup automatically.” He laughed weakly. “Nobody’s ever really… noticed that stuff before.”

Something in D3r’s chest twisted painfully. “Aves.”

“No, it’s okay.” Avery looked back up at him with that same soft expression from earlier. “It just felt nice.”

D3r reached up without thinking and brushed his thumb lightly beneath one of Avery’s eyes.

Avery melted instantly.

There it was again, that immediate leaning into affection like his body trusted D3r before the rest of him fully knew how to.

“You shouldn’t have to work this hard to be cared for,” D3r murmured quietly.

Avery looked at him like the sentence itself hurt.

Then he smiled.

Small.

Tired.

Wonderfully real.

“Good thing I don’t have to anymore, huh?”

Avery smiled at him like that for exactly three seconds before abruptly deciding to become unbearable again.

D3r should have known it was coming.

The softness in Avery always seemed to overflow eventually into affection so aggressive it bordered on physical comedy.

They’d barely made it into the apartment building lobby before Avery suddenly stopped walking.

D3r blinked at him.

“What.”

Avery tilted his head slightly, considering him with visible intent. “You know what the worst part of tonight was?”

“What.”

“I couldn’t touch you enough.”

“Aves.” D3r’s face warmed immediately.

“I’m serious.” Avery followed close beside him toward the stairs. “Do you know how hard it was not to climb into your lap at dinner?”

“That would’ve caused problems.”

“It would’ve solved problems too.”

D3r snorted softly.

Avery brightened immediately at earning the laugh.

Then his expression shifted suddenly into something deeply mischievous.

Oh no.

D3r recognized that look now.

“Avery.”

“Hm?”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“You know what.”

Avery grinned.

Unfortunately, D3r did keep forgetting one very important thing about Avery:

Avery looked like a vaguely scruffy disaster of a man when he was with D3r but underneath the oversized hoodies and constant emotional devastation was someone who hauled motorcycle parts around recreationally and spent weekends doing parkour and manual labor for fun.

Which meant—

D3r had approximately half a second to realize Avery was moving toward him before suddenly finding himself being picked up bodily.

“AVERY.”

Avery laughed instantly, arms locked securely around him like this was the easiest thing in the world.

“There he is.”

D3r stared at him in genuine betrayal while Avery carried him toward the stairs effortlessly.

“You cannot just pick people up unexpectedly!”

“Yes I can.”

“No, you absolutely—” D3r instinctively grabbed onto Avery’s shoulders as they started up the stairs. “Oh my god.”

Avery looked unbearably pleased with himself.

“You forgot again.”

D3r had.

Every single time.

Every time Avery lifted him like he weighed nothing at all, D3r reacted like it was physically impossible, mostly because Avery didn’t look like someone who should be able to carry another grown man up a staircase without even breathing hard.

Meanwhile Avery was climbing stairs while smiling at him fondly.

“This is humiliating.”

“This is enrichment.”

“You’re insane.”

“You love me.”

The words slipped out casually.

Easy.

Then Avery froze mid-step.

D3r froze too.

The silence stretched.

“…Well,” Avery said faintly after a second, “that one escaped containment.”

D3r’s brain had stopped functioning entirely somewhere around stair three.

Because Avery was still carrying him.

And also apparently accidentally confessing feelings.

And also looking at him now with widening horror while continuing to hold him effortlessly like this wasn’t completely catastrophic for D3r emotionally.

“Aves,” D3r managed weakly.

“I know.”

“No, I think maybe you don’t.”

Avery made a distressed sound and kept climbing.

“This is your fault somehow.”

“How.”

“You looked at me all soft tonight and held my hand under the table and then you told me I deserve softness and now my feelings are escaping my body unsupervised.”

D3r laughed helplessly despite himself.

Avery immediately softened again at the sound.

“You’re really not putting me down, huh.”

“You’ll escape.”

“I am not a cat.”

“Mhm.” Avery adjusted his grip slightly higher automatically. “And yet.”

D3r felt his stomach flip embarrassingly hard at how natural the movement was like he wanted to hold him again before he'd even set D3r back down.

“You’re very comfortable to carry, by the way,” Avery informed him conversationally.

“That is not a normal sentence.”

“I’m having a great time.”

“You’re carrying me up three flights of stairs.”

“And I could do more.”

D3r looked away immediately before Avery could see the exact moment that information affected him.

Unfortunately Avery felt the way he tightened slightly in his arms.

“Oh my god,” Avery whispered delightedly. “You like that.”

“No I don’t.”

“You absolutely do.”

“This is psychological warfare.”

Avery laughed warmly, the sound echoing softly through the stairwell.

By the time they reached Avery’s floor, D3r had fully accepted that escape was impossible, mostly because every time he considered demanding to be put down, Avery smiled at him and his brain immediately dissolved.

Avery finally stopped outside the apartment door.

Still holding him and not even slightly strained.

D3r stared up at him.

Avery stared back down.

The hallway light cast warm gold across his face, catching in his curls and softening the edges of his smile.

“You gonna put me down now?” D3r asked quietly.

Avery considered it.

“Nah.”

“Avery.”

“You’re warm.”

“You are literally the one holding me hostage.”

“Mhm.”

D3r laughed softly again despite himself.

Avery’s expression melted instantly at the sound. “You really stayed beside me tonight.”

There it was again, that sudden sincerity that always cut straight through D3r before he could brace for it.

Avery shifted him slightly in his arms, closer now.

“I kept waiting for you to get uncomfortable,” he admitted softly. “Or overwhelmed. Or regret coming.”

D3r frowned immediately. “Aves.”

“I know, I know.” Avery smiled weakly. “But you didn’t.”

“No.”

Avery looked at him carefully. “Why not?”

The answer came so easily it startled him a little.

“Because you were there.”

Avery went very still.

D3r felt the way his arms tightened unconsciously around him.

Not trapping.

Holding.

Like something precious.

“…Derek,” Avery whispered.

D3r was beginning to think that Avery saying his real name softly might actually be what ends up killing him one of these days.

“You make it really easy to stay,” D3r admitted quietly.

Avery stared at him for one long second then abruptly buried his face against D3r’s shoulder with a groan.

“I’m obsessed with you.”

D3r laughed weakly and wrapped an arm around the back of Avery’s neck automatically.

“You say things so casually.”

“I can’t help it!” Avery looked back up at him miserably. “You flew here for my birthday and held my hand under the table while my family forgot what day it was and then you helped me clean up and now you’re letting me carry you around like some medieval bride.”

“That comparison made it worse.”

Avery grinned helplessly.

“But you’re still letting me do it.”

Unfortunately he was.

Which became significantly more embarrassing once Avery actually unlocked the apartment door and carried him inside like this was an entirely normal way for two grown men to enter a home.

“Avery,” D3r said weakly as the door shut behind them.

“Hm?”

“You can put me down now.”

Avery looked genuinely thoughtful for a second, then he walked straight past the couch.

D3r narrowed his eyes immediately.

“Aves.”

“I’m listening.”

“You are actively continuing deeper into the apartment.”

“Mhm.”

“This feels ominous.”

Avery grinned.

D3r realized with delayed horror where they were heading approximately three seconds before Avery kicked the bedroom door open with one foot. “Oh my god.”

“You said you wanted affection.”

“I did not say this.”

“You implied it spiritually.”

D3r laughed helplessly despite himself while Avery carried him straight to the bed.

Then Avery paused beside it.

And instead of dropping him dramatically like D3r expected—

He lowered him carefully.

One arm still wrapped securely around his back the entire time like Avery was instinctively making sure he felt supported even for something as small as being set down.

The gentleness of it nearly hurt.

Avery stayed close afterward too, kneeling partially on the mattress while looking down at him with that same impossible expression from earlier.

Soft.

Fond.

Like he still couldn’t fully believe D3r was real.

“There,” Avery murmured quietly. “Better.”

D3r looked up at him.

“You really needed physical contact that badly after dinner, huh.”

Avery immediately collapsed forward onto the bed beside him with a groan.

“You have no idea.”

D3r laughed softly while Avery rolled onto his side and tucked himself directly against D3r again like this was simply where he belonged now.

“I was trying so hard to behave.”

“You did fine.”

“Audrey literally accused me of staring at you with yearning.”

“She wasn’t wrong.”

Avery froze completely, then very slowly lifted his head and looked straight at D3r. “…Excuse me?”

D3r immediately realized what he’d admitted.

Avery’s eyes widened.

“Oh my god.”

“It’s not—”

“You noticed me yearning?”

D3r covered part of his face with one hand automatically.

Avery looked absolutely delighted.

“No, hold on, this is huge for me.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You thought I was yearning.” Avery sounded emotionally overwhelmed by the concept. “Which means you were looking at me enough to notice.”

D3r groaned softly.

Avery cackled and immediately climbed halfway on top of him again.

“There he is.”

“You’re awful.”

“And yet.”

D3r really needed Avery to stop being right about that.

Avery settled more comfortably against him after a minute, cheek resting against D3r’s chest while one of his legs tangled loosely with D3r’s beneath the blankets.

Warm.

Everywhere.

D3r was becoming increasingly aware that Avery’s preferred state of existence seemed to be “physically attached to D3r whenever possible.”

Not that D3r minded by any means.

“You know what my favorite part of tonight was?” Avery asked quietly after a while.

“What.”

“You noticed when I stopped talking.”

D3r looked down at him.

Avery was tracing absent little shapes against the front of D3r’s shirt now while speaking.

“Most people don’t,” he admitted softly. “Because I’m usually still smiling and stuff.”

Something protective twisted hard in D3r’s chest again.

“Aves.”

“No, it’s okay.” Avery shrugged slightly against him. “I got good at disappearing politely.”

The sentence hit with awful precision.

D3r thought suddenly about Avery moving automatically around the dinner table filling everyone else’s glasses before his own, about how quickly he smoothed over hurt, how instinctively he made himself manageable.

And then D3r thought about the way Avery had looked when D3r simply held his hand under the table, like someone starving quietly realizing food had been offered.

Without really thinking about it, D3r reached down and tilted Avery’s chin up gently.

Avery blinked at him, surprised.

“You don’t disappear to me,” D3r said softly.

The room went completely silent.

Avery just looked at him, then all at once his entire expression crumpled into something unbearably vulnerable.

“Oh,” he whispered faintly.

Avery reacted to affection like someone standing in sunlight after a long winter.

Like he never fully expected warmth to stay.

Before D3r could say anything else, Avery suddenly buried his face against D3r’s neck with a tiny distressed noise.

“You can’t just say things like that.”

“You say devastating things to me constantly.”

“Yeah but mine are usually accidents.”

D3r laughed quietly and wrapped both arms around him automatically.

Avery melted immediately, total instinctive relaxation whenever D3r held him close.

“You know what sucks?” Avery mumbled into his neck.

“What.”

“I think if you asked me to let you go right now I genuinely couldn’t.”

D3r’s heartbeat stumbled hard enough that Avery probably felt it.

Avery laughed weakly against his skin.

“See? That.”

“You can’t just confess things casually.”

“I’m not casual about you,” Avery admitted softly.

D3r went still.

Avery did too, like he’d only fully realized the weight of the sentence after it left his mouth. “I don’t think I ever really was.”

The honesty in his voice made D3r feel suddenly, terrifyingly tender.

He slid one hand slowly into Avery’s hair again and was treated to a soft content noise in return.

“C’mere,” D3r murmured.

Avery made a tiny wounded sound.

“That is literally what I’m already doing.”

Despite himself, D3r laughed.

Avery lifted his head just enough to look at him again, eyes warm and sleepy and devastatingly fond.

Then very carefully, like he was handling something precious, Avery up down and kissed him.

Slow and unhurried.

D3r felt himself melt into it almost immediately.

When Avery pulled back slightly afterward, he stayed close enough that their foreheads rested together.

“I’m really glad I came here for your birthday,” D3r whispered before he could stop himself.

Avery blinked slowly.

Then smiled in that small astonished way he did whenever D3r said something sincere enough to catch him off guard.

“…Yeah,” he whispered back. “Me too.”

D3r woke slowly for the second morning in a row.

Warm first again.

Warm blankets. Warm sunlight bleeding softly through the curtains. Warm arms underneath him—

Wait… Underneath him?

D3r blinked blearily against sleep and realized two things at once.

One: he was no longer in bed.

And two: Avery was carrying him again.

“…Aves,” D3r mumbled hoarsely, still mostly asleep.

Avery looked unbearably pleased immediately. “Oh good, you’re conscious.”

“Why am I moving?”

“You were comfy.”

“That does not answer the question.”

Avery adjusted him slightly higher against his chest with insulting ease while continuing toward the kitchen.

D3r, unfortunately, was still too sleepy to properly protest. Which meant he just instinctively curled closer instead.

Avery made the tiniest shattered noise under his breath.

D3r frowned faintly against Avery’s shoulder, still too sleepy to fully process the situation. “You kidnapped me.”

“I borrowed you.”

“I was sleeping.”

“Mhm.”

D3r considered this carefully for approximately two exhausted seconds before deciding it didn’t matter enough to fight about.

Especially because Avery was warm and smelled like coffee already.

Then another thought drifted slowly through the fog of sleep. D3r lifted his head slightly, hair sticking messily into his face. “…Happy birthday, Aves.”

The words came out quiet and rough with sleep.

Completely automatic.

Avery stopped walking.

D3r blinked up at him slowly and Avery was staring back down at him like D3r had just personally shot him in the chest.

“What,” D3r mumbled.

Avery looked genuinely emotional.

“You said it all sleepy.”

“That sounds fake.”

“No, no, hold on.” Avery looked wrecked already. “You mumbled it into my shoulder like some kind of romance movie protagonist.”

D3r groaned softly and buried his face back into Avery’s neck. “You’re dramatic.”

“It’s my birthday,” Avery informed him weakly. “I’m allowed.”

D3r could feel Avery’s heartbeat through his chest and D3r would be lying if he said that he didn't find it cute that he could spike Avery’s heart rate like this.

Avery finally resumed walking after another second, though now he looked visibly overwhelmed in that familiar way he always got after D3r said something sincere unexpectedly.

“ You still haven’t explained why I’m being transported like luggage,” D3r muttered sleepily.

“Oh.” Avery brightened instantly. “Pancakes.”

“…Pancakes.”

“I wanted company while cooking.”

“You could’ve woken me up normally.”

Avery looked offended by the suggestion.

“And miss the opportunity to carry my pretty birthday present to the kitchen?”

D3r’s brain stopped functioning, full on blue screen.

Avery froze too. “…Okay that one was insane even by my standards.”

D3r made a strangled sleepy noise into his shoulder.

Avery laughed helplessly and finally set him down carefully on the kitchen counter.

Not a chair.

The counter.

D3r stared at him blearily while Avery stood between his knees looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“You’re a menace.”

“And you’re adorable when sleepy.”

“I’m literally half dead right now.”

“Mhm.” Avery leaned forward slightly until their foreheads brushed for a second. “Happy birthday to me.”

God. D3r was never surviving this man.

The kitchen smelled faintly like coffee and vanilla already. Pancake batter sat half mixed on the counter beside a bowl of blueberries and a carton of eggs.

Avery had clearly started cooking, decided he wanted D3r nearby, and then immediately chosen physical abduction as the solution.

Which honestly tracked.

D3r watched him move around the kitchen for a minute while trying to wake up fully.

Avery in soft gray sweatpants and an oversized shirt that D3r blearily recognized as being one of his. Bare feet against the kitchen tile. Hair sticking out in every direction from sleep and pillow creases still faintly visible on one cheek.

Avery was distractibly pretty this morning and he was looking the happiest D3r had seen him since the airport and Avery realizing that he got to take D3r home.

That part hit D3r hardest.

Avery looked lighter today, still soft from last night, still a little emotionally bruised around the edges maybe.

But happy.

Avery caught him staring almost immediately.

“What.”

“You look different.”

Avery blinked once. “Good different?”

“Mhm.”

Avery smiled, small at first, then brighter when D3r reached out sleepily and hooked two fingers loosely into the hem of Avery’s shirt to keep him nearby.

“Oh my god,” Avery whispered immediately.

“What.”

“You’re clingy when sleepy.”

“No I’m not.”

“You literally just tethered me to you.”

D3r looked down at his own hand like he’d only just realized he’d done it.

Avery was visibly trying not to melt into the floor.

“This is the best birthday of my life,” he informed the pancake batter solemnly.

“That’s sad.”

“No, actually, I think it’s great.”

D3r watched him quietly while Avery started whisking batter again one-handed because he refused to move far enough away for D3r to let go of his shirt.

“You know,” Avery said after a minute, “I thought birthdays stopped feeling important after a while.”

D3r looked up.

Avery shrugged lightly without looking away from the bowl.

“Mine usually just kinda…” He made a vague motion. “Happen.”

D3r’s chest tightened.

Then Avery glanced over at him, expression softening immediately. “But this one doesn’t feel like that.”

The kitchen went quiet except for the whisk scraping gently against the bowl.

Sunlight spilled gold across the counters. Rain from yesterday had left everything outside washed bright and clean.

D3r reached out instinctively and caught lightly at Avery’s wrist this time.

Avery stopped moving immediately.

“You deserve to feel important,” D3r said softly.

Avery looked at him like he didn’t know what to do with the sentence.

Then, before D3r could recover from saying something that earnest before coffee, Avery leaned down and kissed him.

D3r could feel Avery smiling into the kiss and when he pulled back, Avery rested their foreheads together for a second.

“You saying stuff like that before breakfast should be illegal,” he whispered.

D3r smiled faintly despite himself.

“Happy birthday, Aves.”