tea

PROMPT: someone walks in at exactly the wrong moment

it was a quiet weekend morning. jake had an early shift, harry went for a walk (he always said he'd jog if it wasn't for his darn leg), and roger was still asleep. he was the sleepiest of the four, and also the most babied (most of the time), and... well, still an adult. and so was stanley. to him, having someone else get babied for once was great. harry and jake were condescending enough to both of them; not to shame or anything, sometimes condescension and patience and parental sternness were really needed, but also — the hell? weren't all of them equal members of the household? they weren't that many years apart in age. well at least not the older three, so roger...

when they just took stanley in, it was nice, to have someone care for him and do things for him. to give him time to adjust and get better and all. but he was better at this point, so the attention had to be shifted elsewhere. and roger never seemed to change much for the better.

it was both funny and concerning, and stanley couldn't decide what feeling would be worse.

it was a slow morning. harry accidentally woke stanley up by shutting the door a bit too harshly, and he couldn't fall asleep after. roger, on the other hand, kept sleeping. man, was stanley jealous.

it's been only half an hour. felt like hours, though.

stanley roamed around the apartment a little, made himself some tea, then decided that it was too hot and left the kitchen. he cleaned his phone a bit, making sure to check the bottom too, and under his handset. then he stared in the fridge for a solid minute. then he went back to the room. looked at roger. looked in the window. avoided the mirror. checked on his tea. still hot. fridge. room. tea. jake and harry's room. empty and lit up with the rising sun. fridge. room. tea. roger. tea. living room. the blanket fell from the couch. he fixed it and put the remote next to the TV instead of leaving it on the couch. tea. roger. living room. the shoe stand was a mess. he sorted everything (everything? like, three pairs? oh come on), and the jackets too. tea. roger. fridge. roger. tea. drinkable enough. stanley got a straw and stood in front of the window, elbows on the sill, observing. he always thought the firth floor was the best to live on. well, as far as he remembered he did. maybe he didn't. whatever. it's nice. not high enough to really struggle walking up the stairs (for most people) and not low enough so the only view are tree crowns.

tree crowns are nice but other things are nicer.

there are people outside. going to work or strolling or taking their dogs out for a walk. dogs are cool, stanley thinks.

quiet rustling behind him. probably roger.

"you've been walking around the place," he stated. "is everything okay?"

"yeah. didn't want to wake you up, though."

"you didn't! it's okay, it's fine. i woke up by myself," roger reassured him, entering the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of milk. "sigh. gotta tell jake we're low on milk, since he'd probably stop by for groceries on his way home."

"...did you just say 'sigh' out loud?"

roger looked up at him. then slowly nodded.

"...okay."

"okay."

"why don't we go ourselves?" stanley asked directly. "jake's gonna be tired and you know that. and he was mad enough last time."

"i mean... he always does it though."

"because you always ask him!"

"he never said no..."

stanley sighed and took another sip.

"you gotta go outside more, rog. and also, what the hell, maybe i invited you to hang out and get groceries ourselves."

"oh."

roger fiddled with the hem of his sleeve, and accidentally poked himself with a straw, before successfully putting it back into his nutrition opening. stanley laughed quietly before turning back to the window. roger stepped closer, right next to him, and said "sigh" again.

"so?"

"...i'd like that, actually," roger tilted his phone and shrugged (his favourite way of expressing a potential smile). "it seems nice outside. where's harry, by the way?"

"out on a walk. let's wait till he comes back so he'd know where we are and then go."

"sounds like a solid plan," roger agrees. "you know. i like being alone with you sometimes."

"how so?"

"well you know. i still feel like harry and jake are closer to each other than they are to us. maybe i'm wrong. but don't you feel like it's 'harry and jake, and also roger and oh stanley is also there' and not 'harry, jake, roger and stanley'?"

"i never really thought of it that way."

"i mean, it's okay? good for them. they've known each other a long time and they have some history wa-ay back. at least i think they do. but then they act like some kinda parents and i feel so awkward because they aren't — i mean, jake kinda is, but also not ours? do you see what i'm trying to say."

"that's true," stanley nodded. "are you worried about that?"

"maybe? i don't know. i'm not sure? i love them and all, and it's nice to see they care since they make it so obvious, but it's weird considering the whole... arrangement."

"huh?"

"well you know... how we all... uh..."

roger put his glass on the windowsill to awkwardly fiddle with his fingers.

"how we all kinda, uh..."

"your phone is turning candy-red."

"no it's not! i just- nevermind, maybe i'm overthinking it all, maybe i'm- nevermind, i just said something really stupid didn't i, don't- forget about it," roger mumbled, taking an awkward step back, but stanley caught his arm.

"i don't think it's stupid," he comments, and roger squeaks like a cornered animal. stanley pulls him a bit closer, into a one-arm hug, still holding his damn tea, and roger can't even find the bravery to move.

then they heard the door unlocking.

stanley jumped in surprise, spilling a bit of his tea on both of them.

"oh fuck!"

"ouch!"

"woah, wo- sorry, i'm-"

"no no, i shouldn't have-"

"oh god are you okay does it hurt?"

"does it hurt YOU?"

"what's going on over there?" harry shouts from the hall. "is everyone alive?"

"yeah yeah we're good!"

stanley put the mug on the table. for safety.

"well, some food for thought. is it stupid or not. now uh..."

"do you still wanna go outside?"

"sure, yeah. but we should change probably."

roger looks down at his wet shirt and laughs shortly.

"we really should."