well, when thomas put it that way… it was all kind of ridiculous. their tolerance for bullshit was zero, and their standards were, if not impeccable, then at least very, very rarely breached. the fact that the man could sustain a year with his company at all was, objectively, an act of devotion. of all his expectations, having his entire downward spiral listed out and calmly incinerated was the outcome he should’ve predicted from his boyfriend. “the eye patches are not a scam,” xavier protested out of instinct because he couldn’t help himself, even as his cheeks burned, “the mask literally says collagen infused, you can feel it tingle.” there was relief in the snipe-and-retort, and some unfathomable affection, because jesus, he loved a man who could recite his worst habits and then still want to get into bed with him immediately after. “but i know, i know. you could’ve ghosted,” he agreed, chuckling a bit himself, “but you didn’t.” it sounded right, spoken loud. thomas had told him, over and over, in the way he did everything: direct, patient, no sugar coating. the only thing wrong with xavier’s thinking was the thinking itself. still, habit bit deep, and the self-preserving instinct to keep the world at arm’s length didn’t just switch off because the math was now in his favor. his head tipped forward to rest his forehead against thomas’ collarbone, one arm curling loose and lazy, around the other’s waist. it was easier to be less mortified with his eyes closed. “instead you let me lure you into a horrifically depraved marathon of sex acts and an unstable dog situation. kind of noble, actually.”
finding the humor came easy, but the warmth that lingered underneath didn’t fade; if anything, it swelled higher, wrapping around his chest and making it all feel even more real. maybe that was the heart of the whole mess: the love was real, and he kept waiting for the feeling to vanish, because relationships came with end dates the way everything else in his life did. “okay, i get it,” xavier said, managing another breathy laugh, “you’re obsessed with me and my taste in frozen desserts. i’ll allow it.” he tipped his head up to catch thomas’ expression, his eyebrow arching. “but, like, you don’t ever freak out? not even a little?” he asked, squinting suspiciously. “i mean, you could’ve had a normal boyfriend,” he tried, concealing the truth within a joke, running a thumb over thomas’ bare hip. “the kind that likes football and, i don’t know, less likely to impulsively profess love at a holiday party. this is all hypothetical,” he clarified. “i’m just saying: you ended up with me. by choice. and you’re still here, even after all this time. you’re either extremely sentimental, or have a humiliating masochism streak. so, either way, you’re exactly my type,” he concluded with a sheepish smile.