The first and only thing Theo could think about, upon waking up with Boris's head against Theo's bare shoulders in his bed, was howcoldit was. He felt the cold all the way through his blanket and bed-sheets. Even though he understood that it was morning, judging by the pinpricks of light under his eyelids, he didn't want to open his eyes.
He felt disoriented and groggy, the low humming of ceiling fan was getting too loud for comfort. Finally, his eyes opened and he turned to the other side. His vision was blurry and the world was slightly shaking. He gave a slight groan and glanced at Boris. Boris was holding on to Theo's right arm and his head rested on his shoulders. Theo slowly removed his arm from Boris' grip and moved his head from his shoulder to the pillow. Then, he sat up and put on his glasses.
If Theo was surprised to find Boris sleeping in his bed again, he didn't show it. It happened more often than not, he couldn't remember the last time he had slept alone. Though it raised some questions on what got them in this suspicious situation, he was almost grateful for this arrangement. Theo had grown to really rely on the dark haired boy, and he understood just how dependent he was on him, howboth of themwere so tangled with each other.
Theo got up to look for a shirt. From the corner of his eyes, he looked at Boris. It was a routine at this point; Theo always got up first, sometimes early enough to make breakfast for both of them. But most times, he would watch Boris, wondering abouteverything; his mother, about what would've happened if he hadn't met Boris, and how they went from playfully skipping school and getting drunk togetherto then, Boris would soon wake up as well, the day started once again and passed in what seemed like an insignificant blur, like a sped up mundane film.
He couldn't find his shirt or trousers from last night. Huh, that was strange. Clothing he had just been wearing the previous night, didn't felt a t-shirt on the floor and picked it up, instinctively putting it on. He recognized it by smelling it, it belonged to Boris. Theo could recognize the scent anywhere, it was this odd mixture of reeking alcohol and wood. The shirt was definitely too big for him, but it was good enough.
The headache pounding in his head had started becoming apparent. He lightly touched his forehead and reached for his doorknob. Immediately, he was hit with the light from the bright room, making it hard for him to see. His room was always left dark and it was hard to adjust, especially when he was hungover.
He could hear the light clicking of heels, a sound he always associated with Xandra. Sure enough, there she was, holding what looked like… his clothes?
"I believe these belong to you," her stuttery voice rang in his ear. She handed his clothes to him, not gently. Theo instantly recognized them, they were the clothes he had worn the previous night, the ones he couldn't find this morning. He looked at Xandra's tanned face. She was wearing the usual look she gave to Theo, the look of mild annoyance and displeasure. Her voice made it sound like she was talking to an irritating stranger she just couldn't avoid.
"Found them in front of your bedroom door," Xandra tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "I would love to know how they ended up there, and not on your body, where they're supposed to be."
Theo didn't reply. He genuinely had no idea what she was trying to say. Maybe she was annoyed about him messing up her house?
"Imagine my surprise when I came home last night, to find those in front of your room and extremely loud noises from your room." At this statement, Theo rubbed his .That was what she was implying.
He could almost feel himself getting a bit red. You see, Theo wasn't entirely oblivious. Hedidhave a vague sense of what he and Boris did sometimes, it was too intense and just soferventto fully forget. But it wasneverwhat it was supposed to be, it wasn' were just boys who were bored and tooinvolvedwith each other.
What Boris and Theo did in the late hours of the night, when the alcohol made them woozy and disoriented, was sex. There, he admitted that to himself. And it was true, he never avoided Boris' drunken suggestion or said no. But that just didn't mean anything. And that also didn't mean he would admit it to his dad's girlfriend.
"We didn't do anything," Theo lied. "It's nothing. We were just… yeah."
"Apparently," her tone suggested that she didn't believe him one bit. "You're lucky it was me who found out and not your dad."
"We didn't do anything!" Theo exclaimed, a bit too defensively. Before he could say anything further, the sound of light footsteps against the linoleum sounded. Even before Boris said anything or made himself known, Theo immediately guessed it was him, which didn't exactly help his case.
"Potter! Did you see my shirt?" Boris asked, rubbing his eyes. He was wearing nothing but his boxers. He raised his eyebrows when he saw Theo and Xandra looking at him. Then, his eyes slid down to the shirt Theo was wearing.
"There it is," Boris pointed to the shirt.
"If it isn't the little Russki. Anyways, I don't mind, you do you. Boys will be boys, it's natural to experiment like that. Just be discreet about it anddon'tmess up my house in the process."
"What," Boris looked to Xandra and then to Theo, who was getting more embarrassed by the minute, "are you talking about?"
"Your little friend will tell you, when he actually admits that you two fuck each other. I sort of knew from the start, I see the connection you two have with each other. One thing always leads to another, it's fine. Just don't be loud about it." Xandra gave a quick nod and spun around, heading to the kitchen. Theo absentmindedly stood there, fiddling with his clothes.
"Was she talking about you and me having sex?" Boris asked. Theo just looked in the distance, not saying a word.
"Don'tyouknow that we have sex?" Boris asked, interpreting Theo's silence as confusion. "Because we do that. A lot. I remember, you are quite keen about it, too."
"Of course I know we have sex!" Theo replied, also a bit mortified that he was also supposedly enthusiastic about it. "It doesn't mean anything, does it?" It also occurred to Theo, that since his clothes had been outside his door and Boris' had been in his bedroom, he had been the first one to actually take off his clothes last night.
"Of course it doesn't. I mean, we aren'tgayor anything. Just having fun."
"Yeah," that was the only thing Theo could reply with. Of course he wasn't gay. He loved Pippa, always had. There was no reason to get all worked up about that. What Boris and he did was nothing, and certainly not Xandra's business.
He took the clothes to his room and dumped them on the bed. "You can keep that shirt," Boris told him, pointing to the black shirt on Theo's torso. "It suits you."
Theo could only nod and head to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them.
