[Closed] Mending what was broken

[paenumbra]

It had been about a month since Matt had finally come home. To Matt's surprise, Simon hadn't asked him to leave. It seemed like an unspoken compromise not to discuss the events that had happened and Matt was perfectly fine with moving on. They fell back into a routine of semi-normalcy. They didn't avoid each other but their schedules really didn't allow for much time to hang out. Matt wanted to fix that. It was nice not to hate coming back to the flat, but he still didn't feel as though he and Simon were friends again. More like friendly acquaintances who simply shared the same living space. Matt wasn't satisfied leaving their friendship in the past. The weekend after St. Patrick's day was the perfect opportunity to mend what was broken.

Unlike Christmas, Matt didn't go overboard with decorations. He straightened the flat and rearranged the couch so that it was in perfect view of the new large screen HD television that he borrowed from a neighbor down the hall. Legitimately acquired as Keith was going on holiday and Matt had put a deposit down to rent the tv for the weekend. So, maybe he used a bit of persuasion to convince Keith that Matt would rather die than let anything happen to his baby but he left Keith the ability to say no. In Matt's mind, it was all for a good cause.

Once the tv was set up with an assortment of DVDs and games in a tower on the coffee table, Matt spent the rest of the day preparing the food in the kitchen. His goal was to make the best boys night in spread complete with all of the finger foods he could think of. Chicken wings, pretzel bites and mini-pizzas were only the beginning. Matt arranged the food on the counter and tossed a few of the beers and ciders he'd picked up earlier in the fridge. Everything was set. Now, all he needed to do was to wait for Simon to come home.

He just hoped Simon hadn't made other plans.

Comments

[protagonized]

Simon had made other plans, actually: he had a hot date with his bed.

Balancing two full-time jobs in the supernatural world and his final term as a UCL student meant he couldn't remember the last time he'd been able to snatch more than three or four hours of sleep at a time. Lately, he'd been home even less than usual. There were rumors the vampires were trying to get their hands on Bromley and the fact that didn't even strike him as unusual anymore was a sign of how intensely weird his life had gotten in the last few months.

So he was a bit surprised to find Matt in their living room (which he shouldn't necessarily have been, since it also doubled as Matt's bedroom) with the kind of spread Simon had only seen in American movies about (the other kind of) football and a clearly expectant look on his face.

"Planning a party?" He asked, yawning. "Don't be too loud."

Since when had he become his father?

[paenumbra]

"It's a party for us, actually," Matt said quickly. "More like hanging out than party unless you felt like cranking up some music and getting our groove on in here."

He grabbed two beers from the fridge and brought them over to Simon, handing one over. "You've been busy and we haven't really had time to ourselves where one of us wasn't rushing off."

Matt smiled awkwardly. It felt... forced. He'd spent so much time planning that he really didn't stop to think if Simon even wanted to hang out with him. He'd hedged all his bets on the hope that if he set the stage they'd both fall back into the easy friendship they'd had before.

"Is it too much?" Matt asked with a sigh. "I probably should have asked before I set this all up."

[protagonized]

Was it too much?

"A bit, yeah."

Simon yawned again, but he took the beer anyway. "Just don't hold it against me if I fall asleep. I'm fucking exhausted."

He eyed his bedroom door longingly, wishing he could just pass out. God, the things he did in the name of friendship.

[paenumbra]

"We don't have to stay up all night," Matt said, happy to find a compromise. "I thought a few drinks and maybe a couple of games or movies would help make things more normal. I miss normal. I'm not sure I ever really thought of myself that way but since I came to London my life in Philly seems as though it happened to another person. I promise - if you fall asleep I'll tuck you in and take care of cleaning up."