Chocolate.
Eric only punches Turtle twice in the shoulder for stealing the expensive truffles Vince sent from the set in Paris for missing their first Valentine's Day together.
"Man, how was I supposed to know that these were some grand romantic gesture?" Turtle whined as he checked his shoulder for bruises. Eric had been on edge since Vince had left for Europe the week before. It was the first time he hadn't been on set with Vince every day for awhile, but it was more than that. He wasn't just missing his client or his best friend this time. He was missing his boyfriend, his partner, his other half. "Seriously, I know you are all wound up with sexual tension or whatever, but you have got to take it easy."
It was Valentine's Day, their first one officially as a couple and Vince was more than 5,000 miles away cozied up with some hot brunette co-star making a romantic European caper set in the most romantic city in the world. It was the first time Vince had insisted on being on set alone; not even Drama was with him. Eric knew that he shouldn't be jealous. Vince had had girls like the cute actress since he was thirteen, but they weren't the ones that he came home to at night. He could have had his pick of the litter, and he still chose the mouthy redhead runt from Queens. Besides, he kept telling himself, he wasn't jealous; he just missed Vince.
"I thought you were going out with that girl you met last week at S Bar," Eric muttered as he messed with the basket on the coffee machine. It was well past nine and Eric was wound tight enough that the last thing he needed was more caffeine. He just hadn't slept well in weeks and had come to dread crawling into their big bed alone. "Why are you still even here?"
Turtle tried not to be offended by his friend's question. The last thing he wanted to do was spend Valentine's Day with Eric, but it was pretty clear how screwed up he was over missing Vince. It still weirded Turtle out to see them together. It was creepy how they could be so into chicks one day and into each other the next. Still, he was loyal to a fault, and there wasn't anyone whose back he had more than Eric, Vince and Johnny.
"I just thought you might want to hang or something. Besides, Sydney already had plans with some guy she went to college with," Turtle shrugged as he took the basket from a frustrated Eric. "Alright, we are not hanging out here all night. I know that you don't want to go to a club but how about that dive pub on West Eighth? You can get piss drunk and we'll drunk dial Vince in Paris. It should be getting close to morning anyhow."
So they set off into the unseasonably February night. Eric managed to down enough drinks that he lost track after eight. He didn't mind Turtle hitting on the cute bartender or the impossibly bad Celtic playing or the bitter aftertaste of the cheap Guinness. He was so used to needing to control everything that it was nice to lose himself for just one night. When Turtle finally peeled him from the stool and hauled him out to the taxi waiting at the curb, they were both pretty far gone. Eric was pretty sure that the driver must have hated both of them by the time they crawled into the house.
It felt bigger than usual and impossibly lonely. Eric flopped into the overstuffed couch and allowed himself to wallow about how much he missed Vince. "I really miss my boyfriend," he said aloud to no one in particular. Turtle lifted his head slightly from the other end of the sofa and just nodded knowingly. "I'm gonna call Vince. I wanna call Vince, Turtle. Where's my phone? Can you call Vince for me? I don't remember how to use it."
While a high Eric was a silent Eric, the drunk version of him talked a mile a minute. Turtle wasn't as obliterated as his friend, so he could focus on the BlackBerry enough to dial Vince's private cell phone. It rang a few times before going to voicemail. He grimaced at the silver device before dialing again. "Voice mail," he told Eric. The redhead frowned at him and snatched the phone away.
"Vincent Chase, this is your boyfriend speaking. Remember me? Eric Murphy?" he babbled into the phone. "Did you know it's Valentine's Day? I guess you did because you sent that candy. You could have called me! Instead, Turtle and me went out and drank. I think we drank a lot. I can't really remember right now. Oh, and Turtle was my Valentine. Isn't that fuckin' hilarious? Can you imagine? Turtle and me!"
"Alright, man, I think you've said enough," Turtle reasoned before ending the call. He took Eric's phone and tucked it on the top of a bookshelf so that E couldn't make any more phone calls he'd regret in a few hours. "Are you gonna crash here?"
"Mmhmm," Eric said happily, reaching for the whiskey bottle he'd found in the liquor cabinet. He curled up on the couch with the amber bottle, nearly spooning it like Turtle imagined Vince spooned E. "Hey, Turtle?"
"Yeah, E?"
"I miss Vince."
"I'm sure he misses you too, E."
Turtle went back to the kitchen to turn out the lights and set the alarm. By the time he came back into the living room, E was passed out to the world, his mouth open and his legs thrown haphazardly over the edge of the couch. Turtle threw a blanket over his friend and then headed upstairs to his own bedroom. He couldn't imagine ever missing anyone the way E seemed to miss Vince. There was a time he thought that he might love Jamie like those two loved each other, but it had never been as unconditional as their connection. It didn't even creep him out all that much that he was still thinking about his best friends' relationship as he drifted off to sleep. All he had ever wanted was for all of them to be happy, so in a way, E and Vince finally making this work was almost like a dream come true.
Morning seemed to come way too quickly, and before Turtle realized it, the harsh rays of early afternoon sun were beating down on his face. He could smell coffee brewing all the way from his bedroom and the comfortable hum of voices downstairs. He wasn't in a hurry to leave his bed. He figured it was the television or maybe Johnny had stopped by. Turtle could definitely make out E's voice, but he knew that his friend kept a running commentary while he watched Sports Center.
After another fifteen minutes of vegging, Turtle finally crawled out of his bed and slunk down the stairs in a hungover mess. "Yo, E, what do we have in the way of breakfast?" he called as he came through the living room. Turtle rolled his eyes when Eric didn't answer. "E? Did you hear me....oh, whoa."
A disheveled Eric turned around, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. A bright crimson crept up his Irish throat as he looked at his friend sheepishly. Vince chuckled beside him, his hand still resting beneath the hem of E's shirt. He looked tired, probably from a long Transatlantic flight, and his hair was longer than the last time they'd seen him.
"Hey. Turtle."
"Uh, hey, Vin," Turtle replied uncomfortably. "Aren't you supposed to be, I don't know, in Paris?"
"I had somewhere I had to be," he shrugged. "Besides, I heard you ate E's truffles, so I had to bring him some more. I can't have you ruining my boy's Valentine now, can I?"
"Right, so, um," Turtle stammered. He had a killer headache, felt uncomfortable and just wanted to go back to bed. "I think I'm gonna give you guys some space and go over to Drama's to sleep off this hangover. You deserve to have your reunion in private."
"Thanks, man," Vince said, reaching past E to bump his fist to Turtle's. I don't leave until the weekend, so we'll all have to catch dinner or something before I go back."
"Sure thing," Turtle retorted before starting for the stairs. He was just about out of the kitchen when E called his name. "What's up, E?"
"Thanks for being my Valentine, Turtle," E smirked. "You were the perfect gentleman."
"Yeah, thanks for taking care of my man," Vince added, wrapping his arm around E's waist. "By the way, there is a package for you on the sofa. Just my little sign of appreciation."
Turtle looked back at his best friends one last time and thought maybe, just maybe, this didn't have to be so weird after all. Maybe he would never understand it but he didn't think he really needed to get it. They hadn't let the business ruin the friendship and so far, they hadn't let the relationship mess it up either. It was still the four of them like it had always been, hanging out and having fun and being best friends. Besides, those were fucking great chocolate truffles, and as long as Vince still needed to impress E, Turtle was pretty sure that they were all going to be able to reap the benefits.
