A/N: Thanks for hanging in there, my doves!

Carlisle wasn't a stranger to drinking. It was the only thing that had gotten him through some of the hardest days. He'd had enough self-control to keep it from getting to the point where he needed alcohol just to function in the world, but he hadn't minded dulling the edge of the worst of it.

Though he was well aware a party wasn't supposed to be an anxiety-wracked circumstance, he desperately needed a whole bunch of edges dulled. Carlisle's heart was pounding a mile a minute as they approached the well-lit and noisy house. There were people everywhere, and he had the simultaneous urge to grab Edward's hand for comfort and to get as far away from his friend as possible, lest anyone assume they were together. He felt as though gay was stamped on his forehead, and there had to be someone here who had a problem with that.

After Edward found Bella and introduced the two of them, Carlisle agreed to her offer of alcohol embarrassingly quickly. But no one judged. In fact, Bella came back with a handsome, dark-skinned boy in tow. Each of them carried two drinks and two shots.

"Come on," Bella said over the din. "Why don't we go outside?"

The cool air of the evening was a welcome refuge to Carlisle's overheated skin. He followed, Edward tight at his side, to a spot just to the side of the pool where there was some lawn furniture set in the semi-darkness. There, the vice grip on his chest began to ease.

"This is Eleazar, by the way," Bella said as they sat down. "You'll like him. These were his idea." She set bothshots in front of Edward as Eleazar set both his shots on front of Carlisle.

Eleazar pounded his fist on the table. "Drink, drink. It'll help you relax." He winked, and Carlisle felt a thrill go down his spine. It occurred to him the man—who looked younger than Edward—was looking him up and down with an expression that suggested he liked what he was seeing.

Carlisle instantly dropped his gaze to the drinks in front of him, feeling his cheeks heat. He was both positive he was delusional and terrified he wasn't. "What's this?"

"Does it really matter?" When Carlisle chanced a glance up, a smirk played at Eleazar's lips.

"I guess not." Carlisle eyed the shot suspiciously.

"I can tell Biology isn't your major," Eleazar said.

"How's that?"

"You seem to be under the mistaken impression you can imbibe a drink through osmosis. That's not how it works, my friend." Eleazar grinned at him. "You have to drink it."

"Can you blame him for being careful?" Bella gave Eleazar a light smack to the arm. "We're a couple of strangers blatantly trying to get two very pretty men drunk."

Edward and Carlisle glanced at each other, each of them going pink in the cheeks.

"Really, you don't have to trust us," Bella said with a genuine smile. "There are straws over by the bar that will tell you if there's something in your drink if you're worried about that."

Carlisle sat up ramrod straight. "That's not… I'm not..." He huffed. The thought had passed through his mind, though not exactly in the context she was referring to. It was one of a million thoughts racing through his head. He was just out of sorts, that was all. There were a lot of people here, all of them strangers.

But none of that was Bella and Eleazar's fault. He'd wanted a drink, and he was being weird about it. They were looking at him with earnest, friendly, if amused expressions. He picked up the glass and took his shot, pressing his lips tightly together afterward to keep from wincing. "Tequila," he said, his voice a rasp.

"Oh, man. That's a dangerous game, isn't it?" Edward muttered, but he took his first shot too. He did wince, and Carlisle watched, oddly fascinated, as he licked his lips.

The burn must have passed, because Edward's pinched expression evened out as he glanced at Carlisle. When Edward smiled, the warmth that had followed the tequila shot down to his belly spread through Carlisle's blood to his cheeks. He smiled back, distracted momentarily by how handsome Edward was tonight. He knew how to dress, and he was hot.

Shock jolted through Carlisle at the thought. He glanced around, as though someone must have heard his inner monologue. Eleazar and Bella were still looking at him, and he had to tell himself it was his imagination that he could have sworn Eleazar's eyes darted between him and Edward. A chill went down his spine coupled with a rush of paranoia.

Carlisle grabbed for the second shot and downed it. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as the alcohol made its way through his system, dulling the sharp points of panic.

Edward was attractive and Carlisle wasn't blind. There was nothing wrong with either of those things even if he had said them out loud, which he had not.

"Are you all right now?" Eleazar asked not unkindly.

Carlisle pressed his lips together, savoring the last few seconds of the sting. He breathed in through his nose and out again, letting his spastic thoughts fall into the slight buzz that had started between his ears. He nodded, relaxing. "Yeah. I'm good." He opened his eyes and looked to Edward. "You good?"

Edward choked on a little laugh, flashing a somewhat goofy smile. "This is why they call alcohol social lubricant, right?" He raised his empty shot glass and tipped it against Carlisle's. "We're now fit to be among normal people."

"Pfft." Bella looked around them. "I wouldn't go as far as using the word normal to describe college kids. Behold." She swept her arm out in a dramatic gesture. "Observe the college frat boy in the wild. The frat boy is a social species with many absurd rituals. Look at that one." She pointed to a blond-haired boy who was doing some kind of weird, ass-shaking dance in front of his friends. "Is it trying to attract a mate? Is it trying to establish dominance, or submissive willingness, within the pack? Is it trying to please the alpha male? The world may never know."

They got to the business of small talk then. Though there was noise and chaos all around them, their little corner of the party remained relatively peaceful. Once, a woman came over, wrapping her arms around Eleazar's neck and giving him a kiss as she spoke in his ear, but he shooed her away quickly enough.

It was easier to relax than Carlisle would have imagined, but that might have had more to do with the fact Bella and Eleazar were easy to get along with. They were kind, interesting people, and Carlisle found himself sitting up straight before long, leaning forward as he got more involved in the conversation.

Before Carlisle knew it, over an hour had passed. He'd nursed his drink to the last few sips when Eleazar got up, thumping him on the back and gesturing toward the house. "Come on. Let's go get another round."

Since they'd discovered they were both Monty Python fans, he and Eleazar had been wrapped up in a discussion about the films and the television show. As such, Carlisle didn't think twice about loping off with Eleazar, leaving Edward and Bella to their own devices.

Distracted by their conversation, it didn't really click to Carlisle that they were wading into a virtual sea of people. He didn't notice until a woman had tripped and fallen right into him. He raised his arms automatically to steady her, his eyes gone wide and startled.

She giggled. "Hey, thanks." Her eyes swept him up and down just as Eleazar's had earlier. Carlisle flushed. He opened his mouth to ask if she was all right, but a man who had a good twenty-five pounds on Carlisle appeared behind the woman looking none too pleased. He put a possessive hand on her shoulder, and Carlisle let her go, stumbling back a few steps.

He ran into someone else. That was when it occurred to him that he was surrounded by people.

The alcohol and easy conversation had the intended effect. His anxiety had dissipated at least enough that he knew in his rational mind that even if they knew he was gay, the people at this party who had a problem with it wouldn't jump straight to the conclusion they should kick his ass. Still, finding himself surrounded by people left him discombobulated. He knew it should be a simple matter to speak—apologize to the man he'd bumped into and say something benign to set the glaring, possessive man at ease. But his words jumbled, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

His tendency to ramble when he was nervous went into overdrive when he realized belatedly that this guy's problem was that he thought Carlisle was straight and making a move on his girl.

"Excuse me. Sorry."

Carlisle turned in the direction of Eleazar's voice. They must have gotten separated. Eleazar reached for him, grabbing his hand. He smiled at Carlisle. "I didn't mean to lose you."

"This one yours, El?" the glaring man asked, his features softening a degree.

Eleazar sighed dramatically. "If only. If only." He looked to Carlisle and winked quickly, still not letting go of his hand. Then, he turned back to the glaring man. "You don't have anything to worry about. Believe me. He's not interested in Lizzie." He gave Carlisle's hand a tug. "Come on."

Among other things, Carlisle felt a great sense of relief as he let the much younger man lead him through the throng of people. It got particularly crowded around the table of drinks, and Eleazar put an arm around Carlisle's shoulders.

"Sorry," he said, stepping to the side a bit when Carlisle stiffened. "I'm used to my sister."

Carlisle furrowed his brow, not quite following, and Eleazar laughed. "That sounds wrong. Uh, my sister's an introvert. Parties are hard for her, too. They get too people-y." He handed Carlisle two drinks before he picked up two of his own. He had to lean in, speaking near Carlisle's ear to be heard over the music and conversation. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Introvert." Carlisle turned the word over in his head. He hadn't thought about it before. He'd have used recluse or just plain weird. "Isn't the point that people make me uncomfortable?" He shrugged away to avoid colliding with yet another tipsy party-goer. "I like people just fine. I just don't want to be in their way."

"My sister likes people too, but they can get a bit overwhelming, that's all." He grinned at Carlisle. "But my bad if I was reading the signs wrong. Bella said Edward is a bit skittish. That doesn't mean you are."

"Not skittish. Just not used to parties." He swallowed hard, trying to shake off the tension and failing. "How did you know?" He asked softly. "I mean, that I'm gay?"

Eleazar looked startled. "You mean what I said to Jake the Hothead?" He laughed. "He's a nice guy most of the time, but he's kind of dumb when he's drunk. Gets real territorial. I was just throwing him off before he ruined a good time."

"Oh." Carlisle looked away quickly. He was embarrassed, but his paranoia was fading again.

"Though, I probably could have figured by the way you look at Edward."

Carlisle's head snapped up. "What?"

Eleazar stopped short. They were outside now, in the blessedly cool air. "Oh, man. Am I just sticking my foot in my mouth left and right?" He shook his head. "Look, full disclosure. I sat down at that table"—he nodded his head in the direction Edward and Bella still sat—"because that's three chances for a guy like me to have a shot at someone sexy and smart. I've been trying to figure out if Edward has you locked down and vice versa all night long."

"He doesn't," Carlisle said automatically, incredulous at the thought. Then, noting the way Eleazar lit up, he stumbled over his words. "But we don't… I mean, I don't…"

"Relax." Eleazar gave a laugh and hip bumped him lightly. "I'm picking up what you're putting down, and it's fine. Like I said. I had three chances tonight. You're only strike one."

Carlisle frowned. He didn't like the idea of Edward being strike two. He liked the idea of him being a possible score even less, but he didn't want to examine why that was yet. That was the whole reason Edward had wanted Carlisle there, right? To protect him from the pretty college boys? That was where his concern came from.

"Anyway." Eleazar started walking again. "I hope it's still okay to invite you to the movies next week. No funny business. It's a Monty Python marathon, and no one else I know would be interested. What do you think?"

This time it was Carlisle who came up short. He stared at the man, stunned for a couple of seconds before he regained his composure and kept walking. Friends, he'd said. When had the concept of friendship become so foreign to Carlisle? "Um. Yeah. That sounds like fun. I'll have to check my schedule, but yeah."

"Awesome."

When they got back to their little path on the wide yard, the first thing Carlisle noticed, as he set their drinks down in front of his place and Edward, was that Edward seemed moody. He cocked his head. "Are you okay?" he asked, leaning in so only Edward would hear.

"I'm fine." But his tone was clipped. He huffed, took a long drink, and swallowed audibly. "I'm fine," he repeated, his tone softer this time.

Perplexed, Carlisle sipped his own drink. Before he could think of what else to say, Bella laughed at something Eleazar had whispered in her ear. She had a coy smile on her face as she brought her drink up to his mouth and tilted it so he could drink. In the meantime, he smoothly slid his arm around her shoulder.

Carlisle had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. The kid had game; no one could deny that.

Beside him, Edward looked from the canoodling couple to Carlisle and snickered. His smile came back, all the furrows of his brow smoothing out as he relaxed again.

~0~

"Are you guys going to be okay? Do you need help?" Bella asked, hanging out the back window of the car Carlisle and Edward had just vacated.

Edward cackled. "If we needed help, what are you going to do about it?"

"What? I can carry you to bed." Bella grinned widely, just as drunk as they were.

"Baby, I already told you I don't swing that way."

"I have him, Bella," Carlisle assured, slinging an arm around Edward's waist and pulling him up against him. They both swayed.

"Oh, yeah. I can see that. Whatever. Call me if you die."

That sent them all into hysterics. They were still giggling as the car pulled away, and Carlisle and Edward stumbled to the door.

This wasn't the first time Carlisle had ever been drunk, but this was the first time he could remember that it felt this nice. The room was spinning, and that was kind of annoying, but he liked that Edward was here with him.

He liked how Edward felt in his arms as they made their way inside. Carlisle had forgotten to let him go, but that was probably for the best. Edward had leaned all the way onto him throwing one arm across his shoulder. Made it harder to walk, but Carlisle didn't care about that. "Careful," he said as Edward's near-dead weight pulled them off course. "We don't want to get blood on the floor."

"Or brains. No brains."

"That would also be a bitch to clean up."

"Blood, guts, and bones," Edward said in a slurred sing-song.

Carlisle laughed and brought a hand up meaning to pat his cheek. Instead he kind of smacked it loosely and let his hand linger there. "You're drunk."

"No shit, Sherlock."

They were at Edward's room now. Carlisle tried to ease his friend down on the bed, but Edward grabbed his hand, pulling him down with him. "Oof," he said as Carlisle landed half on him.

"Sorry." Carlisle tried half-heartedly to get up, but between the lethargy in his limbs and Edward pulling him back, he lost the battle almost instantly.

"S'okay." Edward rolled onto his side, slinging an arm over Carlisle's waist and resting a head on his shoulder. He closed his eyes. "You're warm."

"Yeah." He was very warm. And comfortable. He ran his fingers through Edward's hair. So soft. "I should get up."

"Why?" Edward mumbled, already half asleep.

Carlisle's eyes were drooping. He dipped his head, breathing Edward in. He smelled good. "Dunno," he admitted. There was a good reason he shouldn't be here like this, but he was far too distracted by the spinning in his head. Edward's weight felt good on his chest. That was strange, wasn't it?

It didn't matter enough for Carlisle to let the thought linger. His eyelids were so heavy.

Edward's breathing had evened out. Carlisle closed his eyes. Within seconds, he too was lost to sleep.

A/N: Thank you to Mina, Eleanor, Packy, MoH, and Betsy for all their help.