“It is,” Marin confirmed, returning the expression.
“All right, it’s a party,” Blake concluded.Matt hollered in triumph, pumping his fist in the air.He immediately dove for the bag Noel was holding, extracting several containers filled to bursting with confectionaries.
“Did you rob a bakery?”Celeste choked in disbelief.“Holyshit.”
“I uh,” Noel stuttered, looking sheepish.“I bake when I get nervous.”
“Clearly.”
“This all looks so good,” Blake marveled, eyes rounding at the sight of a gallon-sized bag overflowing with snowball cookies.
The front door opened once more, Ryan strolling in with his helmet tucked under one arm.He met Celeste’s eyes for a brief moment before they both glanced away from each other, Ryan clearing his throat.
“Hey,” he greeted them, offloading his helmet onto the counter.“Having a party without me?”
“Guess so.”Blake shrugged.“Is that okay?”
“It was kind of an impromptu thing,” Marin laughed.
“Ryan, you’vegotto try one of these,” Matt said, reaching into the Ziploc bag and extracting a cookie.Powdered sugar fell from the sweet, leaving a trail of snow in its wake.
“Hey, as long as there’s food I’m not complaining,” Ryan shrugged, reaching down to accept Matt’s offering.Matt dusted his hands clean on his shorts, reaching into his bag and extracting the disc for the Jackbox party pack.
The night devolved from there.
Several hours later, Matt and Noel were passed out on the sleeper sofa.Ryan and Marin were crowded around the television, undergoing an intense one-versus-one battle on Super Smash Brothers while talking in hushed tones.Blake couldn’t hear them over the rush of water as he and Celeste tended to the dishes, but Celeste continuously threw glances over their shoulder, as if checking where Ryan’s attention was.
“You are unfairly good.”Ryan heaved a sigh, setting his controller aside.“I can’t say I’ve ever been bested by a Pikachu main.”
Blake suspected that it had less to do with Marin’s skill and more to do with the furtive looks Ryan had been shooting Celeste throughout the game.
“Thank you both for hanging out with us tonight,” Marin told Ryan and Celeste, being sure to give them both a gracious smile.“I really appreciated the company.”
“No problem,” Ryan told him, his eyes now properly locked with Celeste’s.
“I…” Celeste muttered, dropping their gaze to the kitchen floor and tucking a strand of platinum hair behind their ear.“I should probably get go—”
“Wait,” Ryan interrupted them, pushing up off of the floor.“You don’t have to leave.”
Celeste rested their elbows on the counter, shooting what they probably thought was a surreptitious glance at Blake, their eyes pleading for space.
“Well, we have an early morning tomorrow,” Blake addressed Marin.“We should probably turn in for the night.”
“Agreed.”Marin nodded, slotting the controller back into the Switch.He nodded between the uncomfortable pair.“Sleep well when you get to it.Goodnight.”
Ryan and Celeste were still poised on opposite ends of the living room.Ryan’s eyes were trained on Celeste, while they glanced around at anything but him, hands folded in front of them.
“Night,” Ryan said, attention never leaving Celeste.
“Goodnight,” Celeste said with a gentle incline of their head.
Blake and Marin retired to the other side of the apartment, Blake certain to shut the hall door behind him to give them a bit of extra privacy—although he wasn’t sure how much it would help, considering that Matt and Noel were asleep in the same room.
The awkwardness of the kitchen melted away as they prepared for bed, replaced by the quiet domesticity between Blake and Marin.Leaning into the intimacy, Blake reached out to comb his fingers through Marin’s soft hair, hesitating a moment before bringing a strand up to his lips and giving it a delicate kiss.
Marin smiled at him, eyes sparkling with warm affection.“You’re so sweet.”
“It’s hard not to be sweet when it comes to you,” Blake admitted, settling the lock of hair down against Marin’s cheek.
