Combat (14/15)
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"Can I sleep here tonight?" Kevin slurred once a somewhat disgruntled, very sleepy Sarah opened her front door.
"Um, sure," she replied cautiously. "What happened?"
"Don’t wanna go home," Kevin explained as he walked into the living room, stumbling slightly. "So empty there."
"Did you drive here?"
"Nah," Kevin said, shaking his head and then reaching out to the couch for balance. He sat down and then immediately curled onto his side. "Took cab."
"Good," Sarah sat next to him, lifting his head and putting it in her lap. "You’re lucky the kids are at Joe’s. I don’t know how I’d explain their Uncle Kevin showing up at...God, 2:30, smelling like a distillery."
Kevin yawned. "You’re such a good mom," he murmured, eyes falling closed. Then he added sadly, "I’m never gonna have kids, am I?"
"Sure you are. I think you'll make an incredible father."
Kevin shook his head. "Gonna die alone."
Sarah sighed. "Come on, Kev. Tell me what happened."
"I just wanted to help him. Things to be easy for him - ’s all I want." Kevin took a shaky breath. "I did everything he asked an’ it wasn’t enough."
***
"Did you guys want to go to a movie after lunch?"
"Yes!" Jordan exclaimed.
"Yeah, fine," Scotty agreed.
Jordan and Tracy looked at each other, and then Tracy turned to Scotty. "OK, what is with you?"
Scotty looked up, somewhat startled at the tone of her voice. "What?"
Jordan looped his arm through Scotty’s. "Honey, you’ve been in your own pathetically sad little world pretty much all day."
Scotty sighed before saying, "Kevin and I had a fight. I’m pretty sure our ‘understanding’ is no longer...understood."
"Understanding?" Jordan asked, confused. "What, were you two fuckbuddies or something?"
Scotty laughed ruefully. "No, anything but." Then Scotty added indignantly, "And, you know, there is more to a relationship than sex!"
"Not in my experience," Jordan observed.
"Well, there is," Scotty argued. "And it’s not like I don’t want to. God, I want to. I’m not some sort of saint either, you know. He’s acting like he’s the only one that this is hard for."
"Wait," Tracy said, "so you guys fought because he’s pushing for sex?"
"No," Scotty allowed. "That was just some jerky comment he made at the end of the fight." Scotty sighed. "We fought because he offered to pay my tuition."
Tracy furrowed her brow. "The man you’re in love with wants to loan or give you a couple thousand dollars so you can pursue your dream career, and he doesn’t want anything in return, not even sex."
"Ye-yes," Scotty agreed.
Jordan and Tracy looked at each other again.
"The bastard," Jordan said.
***
"All right, I’m here. What was so urgent?" Justin called out as he walked into Sarah’s house.
"Shhh!" Sarah said, pointing at the kitchen counter where Kevin sat, his head buried in one arm, while the other hand gripped a coffee mug.
"Dude," Justin observed. "Are we going to have an intervention? I’ve never been on this side of one before."
Sarah smacked his arm. "Have you talked to Scotty at all?"
Justin shook his head. "No, I haven’t talked to him in a couple days. What happened?"
Kevin sat up, groaning. "You know, I’m hung over, not deaf."
Sarah and Justin both turned to Kevin. Justin walked over and sat next to his brother. "So what happened?"
Kevin sighed, then shook his head. "I...don’t know."
***
Once Scotty got home from the movie, he spent several minutes trying to find his phone. It had landed behind the couch when he threw it but, thankfully, it still worked. Surprisingly, however, there were 14 messages. He sat down on the couch and pressed play, raising the phone to his ear warily.
"One-forty-four A.M." the mechanical voice said. The next thing Scotty heard was the sounds of a bar - people laughing and talking, music, glasses clinking. No one spoke, and then the call was ended. Scotty pulled his knees up, wrapping his free arm around them, and resting his forehead on his knees. He swallowed and blinked back the tears that had sprung to his eyes.
"Seven A.M." the next message started. "Scotty? It’s Sarah. Sorry for calling so early; I just wanted to make sure you were OK. Call me."
"Eight-oh-five A.M." "Hey man. Do you want to go surfing today? Let me know."
"Nine A.M." "Hi, hon. It’s Tracy. Don’t forget lunch today! Call me if you can’t make it."
"Nine-thirty A.M." "It’s Justin again. Look, I just left Sarah’s. I heard you and Kevin - call me as soon as you get this."
"Nine-fifty-five A.M." "Scotty? It’s Kitty. Did you want to get lunch today? I’ll do my best to explain to you the twisted workings of Kevin’s mind."
"Ten-ten A.M." "Uh, hey. It’s Tommy. Walker. I don’t really know what’s going on, but Sarah told me to call you. I guess Kevin’s pretty miserable. Will you just call him and let him apologize for whatever he did? Thanks."
"Ten-thirty A.M." "Hi sweetie, it’s Tyler. Call me, OK? We can avoid all Walkers if you want, but check in with me, at least. I’m on my cell, or try Julia’s. - ‘Hi Scotty!’ - We’re shopping together, so you’ll get one of us."
"Eleven A.M." "I’m not kidding. Don’t do anything stupid. Call me. It’s Justin, by the way."
"Twelve-fifteen P.M." "Hi Scotty. It’s Nora. Why don’t you come over this afternoon or tomorrow even? We can figure this out, I’m sure. Kevin loves you so much. And so do I! Stop by whenever."
"Twelve-thirty P.M." "Scotty, it’s Kevin’s uncle Saul. You’re probably witnessing your first Walker family crisis response. It’s kind of scary, I know. But call someone and let us know you’re all right."
"One-oh-seven P.M." "It’s Kitty again. Look, Kevin’s - he always says the wrong thing. Always. He’s pretty much an idiot when it comes to relationships. Give him another chance."
"One-twenty P.M." "Hi Scotty. It’s Sarah. Everyone’s starting to get really worried. Please call someone."
"Two P.M." "Justin again. This is getting ridiculous, Scotty. All we know from Kevin - before he threw up and passed out again - is that you guys had a fight and, I don’t know, broke up or something. You gotta call one of us, or I’m coming over there and busting down your door."
By the last message, Scotty’s shoulders were shaking in silent, disbelieving laughter. "Wow," he said to himself. Then he sighed and picked up the phone again, dialing. He started to feel incredibly, inexplicably nervous as he listened to it ring.
"Hello?"
"It’s Scotty."
"Oh thank God," Justin exhaled. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah," Scotty said, laughing slightly. "I’m fine. I went to lunch and a movie with Tracy and Jordan."
"Oh, that’s just great. Here I am, worried that you OD’d and were lying in a ditch somewhere, and you were catching a matinee."
"I’m sorry. I didn’t realize everyone would be so...I’m sorry."
"So what happened?"
"I promise I’ll explain everything, but first - is Kevin all right?"
"Ah, he will be. He got pretty wasted last night. He finally woke up again about twenty minutes ago. Sarah and I dropped him off, and we’re going to get his car later today."
Scotty sighed and nodded. "Good," he said softly. "Look, I’m on my way over there. Will you please ask everyone to give us a couple hours?"
"Yeah, you bet. Could you just please forgive him for whatever he did? I kind of like the idea of you being a part of the family."
Scotty smiled. "None of you give Kevin enough credit. I just hope he forgives me."
***
Scotty pounded on the loft door three times before he finally heard muttering on the other side. Kevin pulled it open, wearing nothing but boxers and a t-shirt.
"What?" he said angrily before registering Scotty’s presence. Then he stopped completely, staring at Scotty in surprise.
Scotty brought his hand to his chest. "I - " he started before realizing he didn’t have anything planned. He looked at Kevin as imploringly as he could. "I’m sorry," he finally said.
Kevin reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. It was the tightest embrace Scotty could remember ever being in, and he had difficulty breathing. But he wasn’t complaining, and he was squeezing Kevin back just as much.
"I’m sorry," he said again, voice muffled by Kevin’s shoulder. "I know I’m asking way too much of you. I’ve been incredibly selfish, and I - "
"No, no," Kevin interrupted him. "You have to be thinking of yourself right now. I get that. I would do or give up anything for you, you have to know that."
"But I...I - " Scotty exhaled. "I do want to be an equal partner with you, and I’ve just been focusing on myself. I never even considered that you were unhappy."
"I’m not, I swear I’m not. Scotty, I’m so unbelievably happy all the time, it’s...it’s disgusting."
Scotty laughed quietly, and Kevin continued, "And it’s all because of you."
Scotty pulled back slightly. "Me too," he said quietly, smiling at Kevin. Then he took a deep breath. "If you want...I mean, you can...will you please help me out with my tuition?" he asked awkwardly.
Kevin grinned, nodding. "Yeah, yeah." He reached out, placing his hands on Scotty’s neck and pulling him in for a soft kiss. "I really want to," he whispered, before kissing him again quickly.
Scotty reached a hand up, wrapping his fingers around Kevin’s wrist. They stared at each other for several seconds. Then Kevin focused on something over Scotty’s shoulder. Blushing slightly, he called out, "Hi Mrs. Berryman."
Scotty twisted to look at Kevin’s neighbor. He laughed in embarrassment, then turned to face Kevin again. Kevin tugged slightly on his hand. "Get in here," he said, and Scotty followed him into the loft.
***
Scotty was just about to leave his apartment when his phone rang. He stared at it, one hand on the doorknob, debating whether he should just let the answering machine get it. It rang again, and he sighed. Walking over to the end table, he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Scotty?"
Scotty froze, then slowly sat down on his couch. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it’s me. How are you?"
"Good," Scotty cleared his throat. "I’m really good. Is everything OK?"
Wally laughed. "Yeah, I called to wish you a happy birthday."
"Oh," Scotty said, still somewhat in shock. "Oh! Um, thanks."
"I wanted to come visit you, but your mother...do you have plans?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I’m having dinner with some friends."
"That’s good. Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to..."
There was a long moment of silence. "Thanks for calling, Dad," Scotty finally said.
Scotty remained in a slight daze the entire drive to the Walker house. He forced himself to snap out of it when Kitty opened the door to let him in, but his mind was still halfway focused on the short phone conversation through most of the meal.
After dinner, while Nora was lighting candles on the cake, Kevin leaned sideways to whisper in his ear. "Are you OK?"
Scotty turned to him, blushing. "Yeah. I mean I think so. My, um, my dad called earlier tonight."
Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. "He did?"
Scotty nodded, beginning to smile. "He wanted to wish me a happy birthday."
Kevin reached over, putting a hand on his knee underneath the table. "That’s good; that’s really good."
Scotty swallowed, moving his own hand to rest on top of Kevin’s, intertwining their fingers.
And the rest of the night went really well. They had cake, and Scotty opened presents from the Walkers - ranging from serious and thoughtful presents to gag gifts that made both Scotty and Kevin blush deeply. One by one, they left until only he, Nora and Kevin were still in the house.
"Scotty, follow me," Nora commanded. Scotty looked confused for a moment, then allowed Nora to lead him into the kitchen.
She began packing leftovers into a container. "I’m sending you home with this food. You’re far too skinny."
Scotty looked down, blushing. "Nora, really. You don’t have to. I’m fine."
"Don’t argue with me."
Scotty smiled. "Yes, ma’am."
She looked up at him. "How are you?"
"I’m good," Scotty said, nodding.
"It’s been a long, tough year for you, I know."
Scotty shrugged. "It’s - "
"I said, don’t argue with me," Nora repeated, and Scotty laughed.
"Yeah, it hasn’t been the easiest."
Nora nodded. "You should know, I’ve been keeping an eye on you. Even before I knew about you and Kevin, back when you were just Justin’s sponsee. The changes I’ve seen in you this year, how much you’ve grown. Scotty, you’ve accomplished so much. You should be really proud of yourself."
Scotty smiled, suddenly bashful. "Thank you."
Nora snapped the lid onto the Tupperware. "OK, food’s all ready. Come here, give me a hug. Everyone gets a birthday hug in this family."
Laughing slightly, Scotty stepped closer, pulling Nora to him as she wrapped her arms around him. He quickly stopped laughing though, at the long-missed feel of a motherly embrace. He swallowed thickly, trying not to succumb to the emotions running through him. Nora started to pull back, and Scotty unintentionally made a noise deep in his throat and tightened his hold on her.
"Oh, OK," Nora said in soft surprise. She wrapped her arms around him again, and patted his back.
Sometime later, Kevin and Scotty finally left the house, walking slowly down the driveway. They swayed closer, the backs of their hands brushing against each other. Finally, Scotty hooked Kevin’s hand with his pinky. Kevin turned his palm toward Scotty, adjusting the grip until they were holding hands. Scotty looked down at the ground, smiling softly.
They stopped at Scotty’s car, and he turned to face Kevin. Leaning back against the door, he stared as Kevin dropped Scotty’s hand, raising his own to run a fingernail down Scotty’s chest.
"Happy birthday," Kevin said quietly. "I’d offer to give you your spankings, but..."
Scotty chuckled. "Hold that thought," he said.
Kevin grinned at him, eyes narrowing in amusement. Then he leaned in and kissed Scotty. Clearing his throat as he drew back, Kevin reached into his pocket, then handed Scotty a small box.
"Here."
"What’s this?"
"One last gift. Call me when you get home and open it then."
***
Kevin picked up on the first ring. "Hello darling," he said.
"You’re lucky it’s me."
Kevin smiled. "I took a chance."
"Can I open my present now?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yay!" Scotty said as he sat down and picked up the box he had set on the coffee table. Propping the phone between his shoulder and ear, he quickly tore off the wrapping paper and lifted the lid. "It’s...a key," he said.
"It’s a key to my loft."
"Really?" Scotty asked.
"Yeah. I want you to feel comfortable coming over here whenever you want. And I thought maybe...in six weeks - or, uh, when you felt ready for it - maybe...you’d move in?"
Scotty raised his hand to his face, pressing his fingers to his lips in a futile attempt to stop his wide smile. "OK."
"You will?" Kevin asked, excited.
"Yeah," Scotty said, laughing. "Yeah, absolutely."
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"Can I sleep here tonight?" Kevin slurred once a somewhat disgruntled, very sleepy Sarah opened her front door.
"Um, sure," she replied cautiously. "What happened?"
"Don’t wanna go home," Kevin explained as he walked into the living room, stumbling slightly. "So empty there."
"Did you drive here?"
"Nah," Kevin said, shaking his head and then reaching out to the couch for balance. He sat down and then immediately curled onto his side. "Took cab."
"Good," Sarah sat next to him, lifting his head and putting it in her lap. "You’re lucky the kids are at Joe’s. I don’t know how I’d explain their Uncle Kevin showing up at...God, 2:30, smelling like a distillery."
Kevin yawned. "You’re such a good mom," he murmured, eyes falling closed. Then he added sadly, "I’m never gonna have kids, am I?"
"Sure you are. I think you'll make an incredible father."
Kevin shook his head. "Gonna die alone."
Sarah sighed. "Come on, Kev. Tell me what happened."
"I just wanted to help him. Things to be easy for him - ’s all I want." Kevin took a shaky breath. "I did everything he asked an’ it wasn’t enough."
***
"Did you guys want to go to a movie after lunch?"
"Yes!" Jordan exclaimed.
"Yeah, fine," Scotty agreed.
Jordan and Tracy looked at each other, and then Tracy turned to Scotty. "OK, what is with you?"
Scotty looked up, somewhat startled at the tone of her voice. "What?"
Jordan looped his arm through Scotty’s. "Honey, you’ve been in your own pathetically sad little world pretty much all day."
Scotty sighed before saying, "Kevin and I had a fight. I’m pretty sure our ‘understanding’ is no longer...understood."
"Understanding?" Jordan asked, confused. "What, were you two fuckbuddies or something?"
Scotty laughed ruefully. "No, anything but." Then Scotty added indignantly, "And, you know, there is more to a relationship than sex!"
"Not in my experience," Jordan observed.
"Well, there is," Scotty argued. "And it’s not like I don’t want to. God, I want to. I’m not some sort of saint either, you know. He’s acting like he’s the only one that this is hard for."
"Wait," Tracy said, "so you guys fought because he’s pushing for sex?"
"No," Scotty allowed. "That was just some jerky comment he made at the end of the fight." Scotty sighed. "We fought because he offered to pay my tuition."
Tracy furrowed her brow. "The man you’re in love with wants to loan or give you a couple thousand dollars so you can pursue your dream career, and he doesn’t want anything in return, not even sex."
"Ye-yes," Scotty agreed.
Jordan and Tracy looked at each other again.
"The bastard," Jordan said.
***
"All right, I’m here. What was so urgent?" Justin called out as he walked into Sarah’s house.
"Shhh!" Sarah said, pointing at the kitchen counter where Kevin sat, his head buried in one arm, while the other hand gripped a coffee mug.
"Dude," Justin observed. "Are we going to have an intervention? I’ve never been on this side of one before."
Sarah smacked his arm. "Have you talked to Scotty at all?"
Justin shook his head. "No, I haven’t talked to him in a couple days. What happened?"
Kevin sat up, groaning. "You know, I’m hung over, not deaf."
Sarah and Justin both turned to Kevin. Justin walked over and sat next to his brother. "So what happened?"
Kevin sighed, then shook his head. "I...don’t know."
***
Once Scotty got home from the movie, he spent several minutes trying to find his phone. It had landed behind the couch when he threw it but, thankfully, it still worked. Surprisingly, however, there were 14 messages. He sat down on the couch and pressed play, raising the phone to his ear warily.
"One-forty-four A.M." the mechanical voice said. The next thing Scotty heard was the sounds of a bar - people laughing and talking, music, glasses clinking. No one spoke, and then the call was ended. Scotty pulled his knees up, wrapping his free arm around them, and resting his forehead on his knees. He swallowed and blinked back the tears that had sprung to his eyes.
"Seven A.M." the next message started. "Scotty? It’s Sarah. Sorry for calling so early; I just wanted to make sure you were OK. Call me."
"Eight-oh-five A.M." "Hey man. Do you want to go surfing today? Let me know."
"Nine A.M." "Hi, hon. It’s Tracy. Don’t forget lunch today! Call me if you can’t make it."
"Nine-thirty A.M." "It’s Justin again. Look, I just left Sarah’s. I heard you and Kevin - call me as soon as you get this."
"Nine-fifty-five A.M." "Scotty? It’s Kitty. Did you want to get lunch today? I’ll do my best to explain to you the twisted workings of Kevin’s mind."
"Ten-ten A.M." "Uh, hey. It’s Tommy. Walker. I don’t really know what’s going on, but Sarah told me to call you. I guess Kevin’s pretty miserable. Will you just call him and let him apologize for whatever he did? Thanks."
"Ten-thirty A.M." "Hi sweetie, it’s Tyler. Call me, OK? We can avoid all Walkers if you want, but check in with me, at least. I’m on my cell, or try Julia’s. - ‘Hi Scotty!’ - We’re shopping together, so you’ll get one of us."
"Eleven A.M." "I’m not kidding. Don’t do anything stupid. Call me. It’s Justin, by the way."
"Twelve-fifteen P.M." "Hi Scotty. It’s Nora. Why don’t you come over this afternoon or tomorrow even? We can figure this out, I’m sure. Kevin loves you so much. And so do I! Stop by whenever."
"Twelve-thirty P.M." "Scotty, it’s Kevin’s uncle Saul. You’re probably witnessing your first Walker family crisis response. It’s kind of scary, I know. But call someone and let us know you’re all right."
"One-oh-seven P.M." "It’s Kitty again. Look, Kevin’s - he always says the wrong thing. Always. He’s pretty much an idiot when it comes to relationships. Give him another chance."
"One-twenty P.M." "Hi Scotty. It’s Sarah. Everyone’s starting to get really worried. Please call someone."
"Two P.M." "Justin again. This is getting ridiculous, Scotty. All we know from Kevin - before he threw up and passed out again - is that you guys had a fight and, I don’t know, broke up or something. You gotta call one of us, or I’m coming over there and busting down your door."
By the last message, Scotty’s shoulders were shaking in silent, disbelieving laughter. "Wow," he said to himself. Then he sighed and picked up the phone again, dialing. He started to feel incredibly, inexplicably nervous as he listened to it ring.
"Hello?"
"It’s Scotty."
"Oh thank God," Justin exhaled. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah," Scotty said, laughing slightly. "I’m fine. I went to lunch and a movie with Tracy and Jordan."
"Oh, that’s just great. Here I am, worried that you OD’d and were lying in a ditch somewhere, and you were catching a matinee."
"I’m sorry. I didn’t realize everyone would be so...I’m sorry."
"So what happened?"
"I promise I’ll explain everything, but first - is Kevin all right?"
"Ah, he will be. He got pretty wasted last night. He finally woke up again about twenty minutes ago. Sarah and I dropped him off, and we’re going to get his car later today."
Scotty sighed and nodded. "Good," he said softly. "Look, I’m on my way over there. Will you please ask everyone to give us a couple hours?"
"Yeah, you bet. Could you just please forgive him for whatever he did? I kind of like the idea of you being a part of the family."
Scotty smiled. "None of you give Kevin enough credit. I just hope he forgives me."
***
Scotty pounded on the loft door three times before he finally heard muttering on the other side. Kevin pulled it open, wearing nothing but boxers and a t-shirt.
"What?" he said angrily before registering Scotty’s presence. Then he stopped completely, staring at Scotty in surprise.
Scotty brought his hand to his chest. "I - " he started before realizing he didn’t have anything planned. He looked at Kevin as imploringly as he could. "I’m sorry," he finally said.
Kevin reached out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. It was the tightest embrace Scotty could remember ever being in, and he had difficulty breathing. But he wasn’t complaining, and he was squeezing Kevin back just as much.
"I’m sorry," he said again, voice muffled by Kevin’s shoulder. "I know I’m asking way too much of you. I’ve been incredibly selfish, and I - "
"No, no," Kevin interrupted him. "You have to be thinking of yourself right now. I get that. I would do or give up anything for you, you have to know that."
"But I...I - " Scotty exhaled. "I do want to be an equal partner with you, and I’ve just been focusing on myself. I never even considered that you were unhappy."
"I’m not, I swear I’m not. Scotty, I’m so unbelievably happy all the time, it’s...it’s disgusting."
Scotty laughed quietly, and Kevin continued, "And it’s all because of you."
Scotty pulled back slightly. "Me too," he said quietly, smiling at Kevin. Then he took a deep breath. "If you want...I mean, you can...will you please help me out with my tuition?" he asked awkwardly.
Kevin grinned, nodding. "Yeah, yeah." He reached out, placing his hands on Scotty’s neck and pulling him in for a soft kiss. "I really want to," he whispered, before kissing him again quickly.
Scotty reached a hand up, wrapping his fingers around Kevin’s wrist. They stared at each other for several seconds. Then Kevin focused on something over Scotty’s shoulder. Blushing slightly, he called out, "Hi Mrs. Berryman."
Scotty twisted to look at Kevin’s neighbor. He laughed in embarrassment, then turned to face Kevin again. Kevin tugged slightly on his hand. "Get in here," he said, and Scotty followed him into the loft.
***
Scotty was just about to leave his apartment when his phone rang. He stared at it, one hand on the doorknob, debating whether he should just let the answering machine get it. It rang again, and he sighed. Walking over to the end table, he picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Scotty?"
Scotty froze, then slowly sat down on his couch. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it’s me. How are you?"
"Good," Scotty cleared his throat. "I’m really good. Is everything OK?"
Wally laughed. "Yeah, I called to wish you a happy birthday."
"Oh," Scotty said, still somewhat in shock. "Oh! Um, thanks."
"I wanted to come visit you, but your mother...do you have plans?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I’m having dinner with some friends."
"That’s good. Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to..."
There was a long moment of silence. "Thanks for calling, Dad," Scotty finally said.
Scotty remained in a slight daze the entire drive to the Walker house. He forced himself to snap out of it when Kitty opened the door to let him in, but his mind was still halfway focused on the short phone conversation through most of the meal.
After dinner, while Nora was lighting candles on the cake, Kevin leaned sideways to whisper in his ear. "Are you OK?"
Scotty turned to him, blushing. "Yeah. I mean I think so. My, um, my dad called earlier tonight."
Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. "He did?"
Scotty nodded, beginning to smile. "He wanted to wish me a happy birthday."
Kevin reached over, putting a hand on his knee underneath the table. "That’s good; that’s really good."
Scotty swallowed, moving his own hand to rest on top of Kevin’s, intertwining their fingers.
And the rest of the night went really well. They had cake, and Scotty opened presents from the Walkers - ranging from serious and thoughtful presents to gag gifts that made both Scotty and Kevin blush deeply. One by one, they left until only he, Nora and Kevin were still in the house.
"Scotty, follow me," Nora commanded. Scotty looked confused for a moment, then allowed Nora to lead him into the kitchen.
She began packing leftovers into a container. "I’m sending you home with this food. You’re far too skinny."
Scotty looked down, blushing. "Nora, really. You don’t have to. I’m fine."
"Don’t argue with me."
Scotty smiled. "Yes, ma’am."
She looked up at him. "How are you?"
"I’m good," Scotty said, nodding.
"It’s been a long, tough year for you, I know."
Scotty shrugged. "It’s - "
"I said, don’t argue with me," Nora repeated, and Scotty laughed.
"Yeah, it hasn’t been the easiest."
Nora nodded. "You should know, I’ve been keeping an eye on you. Even before I knew about you and Kevin, back when you were just Justin’s sponsee. The changes I’ve seen in you this year, how much you’ve grown. Scotty, you’ve accomplished so much. You should be really proud of yourself."
Scotty smiled, suddenly bashful. "Thank you."
Nora snapped the lid onto the Tupperware. "OK, food’s all ready. Come here, give me a hug. Everyone gets a birthday hug in this family."
Laughing slightly, Scotty stepped closer, pulling Nora to him as she wrapped her arms around him. He quickly stopped laughing though, at the long-missed feel of a motherly embrace. He swallowed thickly, trying not to succumb to the emotions running through him. Nora started to pull back, and Scotty unintentionally made a noise deep in his throat and tightened his hold on her.
"Oh, OK," Nora said in soft surprise. She wrapped her arms around him again, and patted his back.
Sometime later, Kevin and Scotty finally left the house, walking slowly down the driveway. They swayed closer, the backs of their hands brushing against each other. Finally, Scotty hooked Kevin’s hand with his pinky. Kevin turned his palm toward Scotty, adjusting the grip until they were holding hands. Scotty looked down at the ground, smiling softly.
They stopped at Scotty’s car, and he turned to face Kevin. Leaning back against the door, he stared as Kevin dropped Scotty’s hand, raising his own to run a fingernail down Scotty’s chest.
"Happy birthday," Kevin said quietly. "I’d offer to give you your spankings, but..."
Scotty chuckled. "Hold that thought," he said.
Kevin grinned at him, eyes narrowing in amusement. Then he leaned in and kissed Scotty. Clearing his throat as he drew back, Kevin reached into his pocket, then handed Scotty a small box.
"Here."
"What’s this?"
"One last gift. Call me when you get home and open it then."
***
Kevin picked up on the first ring. "Hello darling," he said.
"You’re lucky it’s me."
Kevin smiled. "I took a chance."
"Can I open my present now?"
"Uh-huh."
"Yay!" Scotty said as he sat down and picked up the box he had set on the coffee table. Propping the phone between his shoulder and ear, he quickly tore off the wrapping paper and lifted the lid. "It’s...a key," he said.
"It’s a key to my loft."
"Really?" Scotty asked.
"Yeah. I want you to feel comfortable coming over here whenever you want. And I thought maybe...in six weeks - or, uh, when you felt ready for it - maybe...you’d move in?"
Scotty raised his hand to his face, pressing his fingers to his lips in a futile attempt to stop his wide smile. "OK."
"You will?" Kevin asked, excited.
"Yeah," Scotty said, laughing. "Yeah, absolutely."
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