A/N: Hello again everyone! I'm back slightly early with another chapter!
Before we get to that though, I would like to give a huge thank you to winterschild11, annabellex2, Guest, Side1ways, and RainbowDiamonds for reviewing last chapter! I'm glad that you all enjoyed the skating and that we are all in agreement that Kendall is pretty clueless :P
I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
A week after a potato and mince mash-up with rubbery eggplant that Katie spat out and James chowed through, Kendall caught a cold.
It was his own fault, really. He should have listened to James when he suggested Kendall dry his hair and wear another layer of clothing before going outside the day before yesterday. But Kendall had been in a stubborn mood and stalked off through the cold, pretending not to feel it.
Now he definitely felt it. Runny nose, sore throat, and a cough that threatened to give him away.
He lay on the couch hiding behind the final chapter of his econ book. Katie sat on the armchair next to him, listening to an audiobook on her headphones, while James chopped and tossed fuckloads of vegetables into a large pot.
Kendall smuggled another tissue behind his book and discreetly pinched his nose with it. God, his body ached. Was it him or was it freaking cold in here?
He tugged the throw blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over his shivering body. Nothing conspicuous about that. They all used that blanket from time to time.
He rested the book on his face, welcoming the darkness and pressure against his forehead.
He heard James paused his cutting. James' phone chimed with the 'Freakonomics' theme song.
Whenever Kendall heard that ringtone, he started humming or tapping out the tune until James joined in. But tonight he wanted to cover his ears and make it stop.
James answered the call, his smooth voice infinitely more soothing than the ringtone. Damn this headache.
"Dak, how are you? Yeah, I'll be home next week as planned...I'm making soup…"
Kendall's mouth watered, and a moan slipped out of him, but at least it wasn't that throat-itching cough.
"Can I call you back?" James asked. "I've got to wrangle a stubborn someone into his bed."
Kendall stilled, then slowly pulled the book down his face. He looked over at James, who was staring right at him as he hung up the phone.
"How much longer were you going to lie there suffering?"
Kendall wanted to talk back, to have that last word he so often sought. Instead, a chest-rattling cough barked into the room. His sister jumped.
She pulled her headphones off. "Damn, Ken, are you okay?"
No, no, and more no.
"He'll be fine." James said to Katie as he grabbed a bowl and ladled soup into it. Calmly but firmly he said, "Kendall, bed. I'll bring this to you."
For once, Kendall did as he was told. He even murmured a thanks as James tiptoed into his room with a bowl of soup, a bottle of water, and a few Tylenol on a tray.
"You're going to say 'I told you so' aren't you?" Kendall's throat sounded pathetic mincing up his words.
"Well, I did tell you so."
Kendall aimed for a smirk that might've come out as a grimace. "You always being right is a pain in my ass."
James dropped his folded arms and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He stared down at Kendall, a concerned crease between his brows. "Eat your soup and get some sleep."
"Lucky you made soup tonight, huh?" Kendall said, dipping his spoon into the broth.
James retreated from the room, but not without Kendall catching his last words. "Luck had nothing to do with it."
XxX
"Can I sit here with you?"
Late Tuesday afternoon after three days of self-induced quarantine, Kendall dragged himself out of bed. He'd shaved, showered, and dressed in the clean clothes Katie had folded and James had brought him. His sister was out having coffee with a friend.
Kendall heard James return home and sneak up to his room. Now that he was fresh-faced, Kendall decided to head upstairs too. He was bored and he wanted to ask how James' meeting with his advisor went, but one question had been flirting in and out of Kendall's mind: Why did James want the truth-or-dare card? What did James want him to admit or do that he couldn't just ask for?
James swiveled on his bedroom desk chair, taking Kendall in at his doorway and gesturing to the corner armchair. "Sit? Sure."
Kendall bypassed the armchair and threw himself lengthwise onto James' comfortable bed. He wadded a soft cotton pillow under his head and smiled as he took in the newest addition to James' room: three framed prints of The Emperor's New Clothes.
James' belongings looked like they were here to stay a while, and Kendall liked it.
A small cough escaped him and he sniffed. He expected James to be too engrossed in whatever he was doing to notice or care, but James stopped typing, passed him a box of tissues from the side of his desk, and brought the wastebasket over to the bed.
Kendall gripped the box of tissues as James bent over him and planted his palm over his forehead.
"I'm feeling better." Kendall said, looking up at a tired-looking James. "I'm just bored."
James hummed. He hurriedly lifted his hand, as if realizing he didn't need to feel his temperature anymore.
Kendall's gaze followed James as he moved back to his desk and sat down. He sat there staring blankly at his laptop screen, then peeked at Kendall out of the corner of his eyes. He shut his laptop and swiveled toward the bookshelves.
When he turned back around, he was holding a collection of games.
"Checkers? Chess? Ludo?" James asked.
Kendall sat up and leaned against the headboard. He eyed the box, and then James climbing onto the middle of the bed with it.
"There's a deck of cards too." Kendall said. "I vote Snap."
They split the deck and flipped the cards onto a pile, using the chessboard for a flat surface.
Kendall had a habit of speaking first and thinking later. He wished he could call upon the skill today, but for whatever reason, Kendall was nervous to ask about truth or dare.
Just a little.
Down his king went on James' jack, ten on five, eight on queen.
He sucked in a breath and let it go, saying instead, "I like the prints."
"Thanks. I want to get a couple more pictures for that wall." James said, nicking his head in the direction of the wall behind Kendall.
"Same style?"
"Doesn't have to be."
Kendall had a few sketches lying around that would look good above the bed. "Your birthday is coming up soon."
James stopped flipping, thumb resting on the deck of cards. "Twenty-second of March. Should I keep the wall free?"
"You could at least pretend you had no idea where I was going with that."
"Looking forward to it."
They resumed the game, still no pair in sight.
Eventually it would come though. It had to.
"Spring break is around the corner." Kendall said on a second failed attempt to ask the question that had his thoughts spinning at night. "You still up for taking us home?"
"Of course."
Kendall slapped the pair of aces and James' hand naturally landed over his own with a solid, warm thump. Kendall wiggled his fingers under his palm. "Why do I get such a thrill beating you?"
He drew his hand out from under James' but James tightened his grip. "How about a game you won't win?"
"You're goading me."
"Up for the challenge?"
This challenge, yes. Not the truth-or-dare one, though. Not yet.
Kendall watched as James lifted his hand and readjusted his grip so their fingers hooked tightly in a monkey grip. "Are you declaring a thumb war?"
James' gaze sparked.
"Oh, you are so on." Kendall said. He proceeded to utter the initiating rhyme as their thumbs passed over each other in time to the words. "...five, six, seven, eight, try to keep your thumb straight."
James' thumb lunged to pin Kendall's. "Hold on. First we bow and kiss before we wrestle."
James looked at him sharply and Kendall caught the jut of his Adam's apple as he swallowed.
Kendall grinned. "Why yes, Mr. James Diamond, I'm good at this game too."
He bowed his thumb and waited for James to follow. The pads of their thumbs pressed together in a pre-war kiss. James' light touch tickled, and a ripple of goosebumps blossomed on his arm.
The kiss was fleeting though. As soon as James withdrew his thumb, the fight was on. They were well-matched but James, damn him, was better. No matter how much Kendall twisted his mouth and begged his thumb to overwhelm James', James was stronger, faster, better. Kendall tried playing possum, but it was to no avail. James won every time.
Finally feeling defeated-by the game and his question-Kendall dropped his hand and slouched against the headboard. James would say he was pouting, and he might be right. "Your hand is larger. So."
"Fractionally. You had speed on your side, you just weren't quick enough."
"I'm still sick." Kendall said, forcing a cough. "Otherwise I would have owned you."
"Give it up, Kendall. Let me have this."
Kendall stretched out the moment before sliding his foot across the bed and bumping James' knee. "Fine. You won fair and square. You are the master. I'll bow before you forever and always."
"Now that that's settled, how do you feel about a trip to the supermarket?"
XxX
Kendall was putting away their crazy amount of green leafy things in the fridge. They'd done the weekly shopping because James wanted to hit the badminton court on Saturday morning with some friends of his.
He didn't even suggest Kendall come along.
Not that Kendall wanted to subject himself to any more embarrassment on the court. But still.
Katie, back from her coffee, had snagged James into conversation. She was waving her hands around excitedly as she spoke, twice clipping James on the chin.
Kendall continued unpacking, coming to a halt when he pulled out a peanut butter jar from the bag. Smooth.
He narrowed his eyes. That bastard! This meant war.
Kendall searched the cupboards for salted peanuts. He opened the jar, dug out some of the spread, and stirred peanuts into it. He capped the jar and placed it innocently on the condiment shelf.
Take that, Diamond.
XxX
"I know I'm talking dumb." James said. "But I have to for you to understand me."
Kendall threw a dish towel in his face. "Some days I wish your mother had sent you back and kept the bird that brought you."
"The stork, Kendall. And some days I think I should leave you to Drew."
Kendall tugged at the belt of the cooking apron that James had tied between the belt loops of their jeans. "Did you have to make this leash so short?"
"Yes."
Kendall growled and stared at the sliced eggplant on the cutting board in front of them. James had suggested cooking eggplant parmesan for Katie, and since Kendall 'sorely needed the instruction,' James insisted he help.
Kendall was beginning to despise the purple vegetable.
James' phone beat out the Freakonomics theme song and Kendall temporarily forgot that he found James infuriating and started slapping the bench to the beat.
Just for Kendall, James let it ring a little longer before answering. "Hey, Mom. How are you?"
"Hey, Mrs. Diamond." Kendall called. "Tell your son to release me from this prison."
James snorted and pointed for him to finish cutting the other eggplant.
"I wouldn't have to keep him chained up if he didn't always slink off to the bathroom in an ill attempt to avoid cooking."
"I'm still ill." Kendall said and fake-coughed into the crook of his arm.
"Then you won't want dessert."
"There's dessert? You know what? I'm actually starting to feel better."
To his mom, James said, "Yep, pretty much like always...uh-huh...don't ask, I don't know."
"Wait, what?" Kendall interrupted. "There's something you don't know?"
James cupped the back of Kendall neck and gave an irritated squeeze.
Kendall spun up against James and angled the phone, grinning as he said to Mrs. Diamond, "You should have kept the stork."
Katie walked into the living room and plunked herself on the armchair, where she pushed her sunglasses onto her head and pinched her nose.
"I'll call you back, Mom."
James hung up as Kendall asked, "You okay, sis?"
"Fine. I just"-she pulled out an envelope from under her arm and set it on the coffee table-"bumped into Ryder. He said our invitations should be coming any day. That day's today."
Kendall picked at the knot tying him and James together, and this time James let him. When he was free, he walked over to Katie and sat on the arm of her chair. The envelope was cream, embossed in gold. He picked it up.
It was their invite, all right.
"You know," Kendall started. "We can always change our minds and not go."
"And wimp out? Hell no. We're going, and we're going with dates."
Too curious for his own good, James asked, "Dates?"
"Yes." Katie said boldly. "You will be one of them."
Not quite the romantic lead-in Kendall thought Katie would use, but it was direct and to the point. He liked it.
"Hope you can dance better than you can skate." Kendall said to him. "We need to show everyone that we don't care about Ryder and Jo anymore."
"Will a waltz be enough?"
"What other dances do you know for a wedding?" Kendall asked sarcastically.
"Well, I guess it's settled then. I'll go with you."
Katie giggled.
"What?" Kendall asked.
"Nothing. It's just...never mind. You'll need a nice dinner jacket, James. You too, Ken."
"We'll cross the bridge closer to the event."
Katie leaned into the chair, her ponytail hanging over the back. "I'm hungry."
James looked pointedly at Kendall as he rolled lettuce onto his board. "Dinner is half ready."
Kendall grinned back at him as he, once more, slunk toward the bathroom. "Nature calls."
Done! So, we have a little mystery on our hands. Why did James want the truth or dare card? And the smooth vs chunky peanut butter battle returned!
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter as well as if you happened to have a favorite part/moment. I personally loved the 'I'm know I'm talking dumb' moment for some reason as well as the thumb war :P
Next chapter will be the trip, which I'm really excited about! You'll also find out the reason James wanted the truth or dare card. That will be up this weekend!
Until then!
-Epically Obsessed