Claude roused with the smells of food wafting through the air. Sunlight was streaming in the living room, warming his bare chest. He stretched, his muscles slightly sore from resting on the floor. He was slightly surprised to see that Sebastian was not asleep on the couch; it may be late in the morning, but it wasn't the usual time his companion would be awake.
Claude trudged into the kitchen to find Sebastian busying himself with breakfast preparations. Claude was slightly surprised; Sebastian was never awake in time to prepare breakfast.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Sebastian said with a smile. He gave Claude a one over and chuckled to himself. "You look like hell."
"You don't look too hot, either," Claude mumbled under his breath, feeling slightly snippy. It was true; Sebastian's usually flawless skin was tainted by several dark bruises, his lip looked incredibly painful, and his right eye was surrounded by a ring of purple.
Sebastian merely shrugged and continued on with his work. He was lining up several bowls of different flavored yogurt, and alongside that, several bowls of fruit. He then proceeded to present Claude with a steaming stack of crepes on a plate. Claude's mouth watered.
"I can't recall the last time you made breakfast," Claude remarked, teasingly. Sebastian only laughed.
"I swear I thought you were dead this morning," he retorted. "I got up at eleven thirty and you were still passed out on the floor." Sebastian snatched a couple of crepes from Claude's plate and began to smother them in yogurt and pour generous amounts of fruit on top. "Hannah called, by the way," he added, once he had taken a ridiculously large bite of his finished crepe. "Said she's coming over at three."
"What for?" Claude sighed. He wasn't irritated at Hannah, he just wasn't in the mood for company. Frankly, all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and stay there until Monday's bleak morning dawned.
"Dunno," Sebastian shrugged. "She said something about lunch. I wasn't really paying attention. But you're on your own. I have to work this afternoon."
"Please tell me you mentioned that to Hannah," Claude said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know Mey Rin's going to want to come and see you. I really don't want to-"
"-Relax!" Sebastian said, putting his hands up in defense. "I already talked to Mey Rin. We're going to hang out after I get off work. Not in the apartment," he added the last bit the second he saw the irritated look on Claude's face. Claude picked at his crepe, his cloudy mood dampening everything. Silence filled the kitchen for a moment.
"What are you doing the Friday after next?" Sebastian asked after a moment. His scarlet eyes were lit up. Claude racked his brain, trying to think what the date would be.
"Probably nothing, why?" he asked half-heartedly. He was hardly in the mood to plan another "Friday night out" with Sebastian, especially since they were both paying dearly for the last one.
"Oh, well, my friend is turning twenty-two, and I decided I should throw a party for him. You should totally come. It'll probably be lame, though," Sebastian smirked. Claude raised an eyebrow at his friend, whose satisfaction briefly dissipated. After a moment, Sebastian's invitation made sense.
"You're planning me a lame party, huh?" Claude said, cracking the first grin of the morning. His bitter mood was beginning to melt away; Sebastian was usually quite forgetful. Remembering a birthday was a big step of improvement.
"What are friends for?" he winked.
After finishing their (incredibly late) breakfast, Sebastian and Claude worked side by side cleaning the kitchen. The work was easy and didn't take too long. While Sebastian showered and dressed for work, Claude straightened up the living room. It was in shambles, though he had hardly cared- or even noticed- the night before. Since guests were coming, Claude figured it would be a good idea to at least make the apartment appear presentable.
"Well, I'm off," Sebastian called to Claude. Claude looked up from his work in time to bid a short good-bye to a sharply dressed Sebastian. Sebastian worked at the Dean's office, and was required to dress "professionally"; which meant button down shirt, tie, and slacks. Sebastian pretended to be irritated at his work dress code, and would rebelliously roll up his sleeves or leave the top few buttons on his shirt alone. It was quite apparent, however, that Sebastian was well aware of how great he looked.
"Be back by curfew!" Claude teased, calling after his friend. He was met by a laugh in response.
"Yes, mom," Sebastian replied, exiting the apartment.
Knowing that, once Sebastian's work was over, he was going to be spending time with Mey Rin bugged Claude. It was jealousy, yes. Though, Claude felt it was justified. Did Mey Rin nurse Sebastian's injuries last night? No. Did Mey Rin babysit Sebastian even when she didn't want to? No. Had Mey Rin known Sebastian as long as Claude had? No. But, Claude had learned- and accepted- a long time ago that life was a bitch. There was only so much he could do, and the rest he had to leave alone.
Claude shuffled off to the bathroom to shower. He stood under the warm water, letting it soak into his skin and soothe the aches. He wished his problems would just wash away down the drain. He sighed. If Sebastian wanted to be with Mey Rin, he could be with Mey Rin. And it only made logical sense. Sebastian and Mey Rin were both outgoing, attractive people. There were few reasons why they wouldn't be attracted to each other. Claude assured himself that he was being overly dramatic about the whole thing. Claude found it quite elementary to hate Mey Rin, just because Sebastian showed interest in her. If he didn't stop acting like a child, he feared he'd probably start believing in cooties again.
Claude exited the bathroom and sauntered down the hall to his room to find a clean shirt. From the abyss of his closet he heard a knock at his door. He leaned his head out of the closet, noting that it was just after three. He was expecting Hannah.
"It's open," he called from his room. He heard the apartment door open and close. "I'm in my room, I'll be out in a sec," he called again. He grabbed one of the first clean shirts he had and turned out of his closet. He was in the process of sliding his shirt over his head when he was greeted by a tinkling voice and a pair of bright blue eyes.
"Looking great as ever, Claude."
Claude froze, halfway in his shirt, halfway out. He stared at the figure before him, unsure of what to do. He was unsure of how he was reacting internally; he didn't know if he should be happy, sad, angry, or annoyed. He was definitely feeling a mixture of all of those emotions at the moment.
"Where's Hannah?" he asked, dumbly. The tinkling voice let out a laugh Claude had heard so many times. It was one he'd grown accustomed to, and even missed on occasion.
"She's coming," the blue eyes informed him. "I dunno when she'll get here though," the boy walked towards him. Hurriedly, Claude finished pulling his shirt on. "I thought we could use some time to catch up," said the blue eyed boy, wrapping his arms around Claude's waist. "It's been a while."
Claude froze, allowing the boy the close contact, though Claude was hardly enjoying it. He had learned from experience, however, that it was easier to just tolerate whatever torture the blue eyed boy put you through. He peered down at the small, smirking boy over the rim of his glasses.
"Yes it has, Alois."
A/N: Okay, so just for the record, writer's block has been kicking my butt. Hardcore. I had intended to update a long time ago, but I wasn't really happy with what I had written, etc, etc. So here, like two weeks later, I'm finally updating my crap. Apologies to you, I really need to get on the ball. PS- In the time that I've been a hardcore slacker, I've had lots of great feedback. Thanks guys ;)
