"You sure this is what you want?"
Dave stood on the threshhold of Kaz's apartment with Kaz behind him. Howe and Charlie had said polite goodbyes to Kaz but it was clear there was no love lost between them. Their friendships with him had also been changed by the sex tape scandal, though for different reasons than the others.
Dave nodded as he let go of Howe's deep hug. "Yeah."
"You can still come with us, bro."
Dave shook his head, giving a warm half smile and a handshake to Charlie. "No, I can't. Not now. Not when things might actually work out for the best."
"We'll call." Howe said as he started to back away toward Gertrude. Then he spoke to the space between Kaz and Dave. "You call us if you need anything. Okay?" It was a pointed warning to Kaz that Dave wasn't sure he liked. But he couldn't blame them. Everything with Kaz was going to be fresh and sore for at least a little while.
Kaz excepted the warning and grace with his usual humor. "So if we run out of milk at three in the morning…"
Charlie shook his head and turned to go, following Howe. Dave sighed, realizing how hard it was to watch them go. Then suddenly he found himself barking out, "Take care of each other!"
"We will," they called back in unison. "We always do," Howe added. Dave saw them disappear around the corner, Charlie's arm around Howe's shoulder.
Dave looked down at the floor. He heard the rustle of Kaz behind him, and was startled when Kaz put his hand on Dave's shoulder. "You made the right choice. You know that, don't you?"
Dave found himself shaking out of Kaz's grip. "I…I know. But still."
Dave turned to see Kaz nodding, not necessarily disappointed at the lack of familiar comfort. "But still."
"So…what now?" Dave asked.
It took almost a week for Dave and Kaz to get used to the domestic routine, but it was easier because of their natural rhythms to have enough hot water for separate showers and to keep the groceries coming in and the dishes clean.
Dave came home one night to find Kaz in one of his more particularly upbeat moods, which was sometimes grating when Dave came home tired. But it was hard to stay mad at someone who had the enthusiasm of a golden retriever.
"You're just in time!" Kaz sang out from the kitchen.
"Just in time for…."
"Jeopardy!"
"You watch Jeopardy," Dave stated with mild incredulity. "My grandpa used to love this show."
Dave could barely see Kaz through the steam coming from the kitchen. But he found two bottles of Virgil's cola and a basket of garlic bread already on the coffee table in the living room/Dave's bedroom. "Are you kidding?! This is the best game show there's ever been! Watch me rock your world."
"That smell rocks my world."
"Oh yeah. I made noodles," Kaz responded with a contented wolfish grin as he brought out the large bowls and proceeded to sprawl himself over the couch, his legs pinning Dave down on the couch comfortably.
Dave's stomach growled at the scent. "Mother of God. After those giant cinnamon rolls you made this morning?!"
"I can't get enough. You don't understand what this is like! Bread! Bread, Dave! Do you know how long I've been starving myself and now….carbs! I can have carbs again!" Kaz twirled a big scoop of alfredo sauce and noodles onto his fork just to prove his point and then shoved it in his mouth.
Dave reached for a piece of garlic bread. "What the fuck, man? I've seen you eat French toast at six in the morning. And all that pizza?"
Kaz waved Dave off with his hand. "That was post-workout so it was fine. This, this is just pure indulgence….what is the Pythagorean Theorom!" he shouted out merrily.
They played along, Kaz conquering question after question while Dave scored a couple of points with information about old Sandra Bullock movies he'd watched with his mom awhile ago. Thoughts of his mom brought him into serious contemplation about something he'd witnessed at rehearsal at Rockmore High School for the charity Little Shop show.
"Hey Kaz, can we not Tivo through the commercials?"
"That's the best part of having it, though."
"Well, I have a couple things I'd like to talk to you about."
Kaz set down his bowl and muted the commercials. His lips fell into a serious line and his legs receded to their side of the couch. "Is it something I did?"
"No…No! It's nothing like that."
Kaz visibly exhaled. "Good. For a moment there, I thought that maybe…"
"No. I just…well, I think something happened today during Little Shop rehearsals and I…I kinda failed to step in."
"What happened?"
"There's this kid playing one of the extras, name's Denns, Andrew Denns. This poor kid's suffering through some horrible teasing. Came in white as a sheet today and I saw…I saw a letterman jacket through the gap in the door as he ran into rehearsal. He tried to shrug it off, but…"
Kaz nodded, looking down so he could process. "You're thinking it's the same kind of thing that you went through in high school?"
"Hope not. But something about it seemed…familiar. I was thinking of asking Mr. Plender if the Trevor Project does assemblies."
"Can't hurt to ask."
"But what if I'm wrong?"
Kaz shook his head. "Trust your instincts. What if you're not?"
It was Dave's turn to exhale. "Fine. Yeah. I'll do that on Thursday when I head in for my shift. Maybe give Mr. Plender a call before hand."
"Well, that wasn't too difficult. What else you got? Or are we back to Trebek?"
"Not quite. I…" Dave thought about how he was going to phrase his words. "I've been thinking about the wedding in Lima."
"You don't wanna go now? You worked pretty hard getting the stars to align so you could go."
"That's not it. I just…I was just thinking I'm not sure I want to go stag, like I thought I would."
"Are you asking me to be your date?" Kaz quirked his brow, betraying the casual question.
"Ummm…maybe? I don't know. Things are just settling down after what happened and even though Kurt and Blaine and Mercedes will be there….I don't know what I'm really gonna find and I don't wanna drag anyone into anything, you know? Personal drama. And then there's the matter of my dad. And I haven't even gotten my outfit or the gift or anything yet."
Kaz chuckled, shaking his head and reaching for the pasta. "Well, now I know you're nervous. You're rambling."
"You're not helping."
"It's very simple." Kaz stated between bites. "I'm buying your outfit since I'm sure you've never had a suit tailored in your life."
"But-"
"And I'll help you find a date. If there's no one you find acceptable, I'll drive cross country with you."
"Hey wait, I didn't-"
"Can't help you with the gift thing though. That's not really my thing so much. At least not happily ever after shit like that."
"Kaz! You can't just plan things for me like that!"
Kaz unmuted the Tivo so he could catch up on Double Jeopardy. "Please. That's why you brought it up."
"Kaz…"
Kaz sighed as he paused the show again so he only missed a couple of questions about 13th century France. "Look, we'll go as friends. I can pose as your boyfriend or just be your shoulder or whatever. As far as the outfit goes- look- I'm saving a ton of money on booze and going out and stuff because of what happened and it would be more fun for me to do this than most of what I've done in ages. Further, I've never done the cross country thing and I haven't taken a week off in about four years. So if you think we can stand each other in a car for the three or so days it probably takes to get to Ohio, I'd recommend taking me up on my offer. I'll even chip in for separate hotel rooms if you want."
"You're serious then."
"As serious as the contestants on Biggest Loser during the temptation challenge. Now can we watch Jeopardy please? I wanna watch the pilot episode of Lost before I have to write over it and then I've gotta head to bed so I can be up when my gym opens. I've signed up for a new Zumba class."
Dave's mind reeled as Kaz sunk into his food and television. Dave wasn't sure he thought it was a good idea, but it was better than the incomplete ones he had formed in his mind. He just hoped that Kaz wasn't underestimating how much of a mistake this could be. He acquiesced to Kaz's assertive nature in silence and hoped for the best as he reached for another piece of garlic bread.
