He was adorable—and very sad, drunk, and sitting in the sand.
Nora came over to sniff him, but when he didn’t respond, she jumped onto the chair with Smudge and lay down behind Teddy, which prompted Smudge to begin grooming her as if she were his kitten.
Finn smiled at them, lopsided but genuine. When his eyes shifted back to Teddy, the way they darkened with want trapped him in place.
“Finn.”
“Room for one more up there?” he asked, sliding his hands onto the chair on either side of Teddy’s hips and patting the cushions.
Teddy couldn’t resist licking his lips as Finn started to climb onto his lap. “Wait, I—” He hissed almost immediately, unable to support Finn’s weight with those strong thighs clamping down on his incision site.
“Oh shit, sorry!” Finn scrambled off him. “Shit.Fuck, I am so drunk.”
“Yes, you are.” Teddy had to laugh because it hadn’t hurt that badly.
“I’m sorry,” Finn said again, steadying himself by clamping his hands down on Teddy’s shoulders.
“It’s okay. We just need to save this for another night.”
“You don’t mean that. I ruined it.”
“No, you didn’t.” Taking one of Finn’s hands from his shoulder, Teddy brought the palm to his lips and kissed it, charmed by the owlish gaze that blinked down at him. “If I didn’t by being an ass, then you didn’t by having a bad night and needing someone to listen to you.”
“I don’t let people listen to me on this night. Ever,” Finn said, a smile quirking at his lips as he nudged between Teddy’s legs, which parted for him willingly this time; he couldn’t help it. “I just wanna be left alone so I can get drunk and not think about it.”
“Then why are you letting me listen?”
“I don’t know. Maybe coz it’s the first one since I moved, and I’m supposed to be better. I wasn’t as better… as good, in the city. That’s why I had to leave. New beginnings. Like you.” He smiled dopily, twining his arms around Teddy’s neck. “You know what was the last straw that got me to leave my ex?”
That didn’t sound like something to smirk about while wrapping arms around someone else, but Teddy was too riveted to care.
“He said I was never gonna be happy if I didn’t learn to move on. He meant coz I get like this every year thinking about Mom and Dad, but it’s like I suddenly woke up and realized I was miserable and playing it safe, coz I was too afraid to move on from him.
“Not anymore. No more not taking chances or not going after what I want. Which probably sounds pathetic coming from a drunk.”
“No.” Teddy tentatively reached for his waist to hold him steady. “It doesn’t sound pathetic.”
“I’m only this bad once a year. I’m allowed once a year, right?”
“You’re allowed whatever you need. Like you keep preaching to everyone else,Doc.”
Finn crowded closer to press his forehead to Teddy’s like he had with Nora. He smelled like beer, but Teddy didn’t care. “At first I thought you were pretty and interesting, and I just wanted to kiss you. But I really like you, Teddy.”
“I like you too,” Teddy said, thumbs circling at Finn’s hips.
Their foreheads were still together, Finn’s eyes dropping to Teddy’s lips. He was going to kiss him, and Teddy wasn’t sure he had the willpower to stop him.
Then Finn pulled back before their lips could touch. “Urg… the beach is kinda spinning.”
No kisses tonight.
“Come on.” Teddy pushed Finn back so he could stand but hung on to him and looped an arm around his waist to help him walk. He couldn’t carry Finn, but he could manage that much.
Smudge and Nora followed them inside without prompting, and Teddy got Finn to the sofa, a parody of their first night. Finn had gone quiet, sleepy, and looked nauseated. While he didn’t seem ready to hurl, Teddy got him water anyway.
Finn hummed more than said thank you, only uttering a soft “Teddy,” with a smile. When Teddy refilled the glass and came back, Finn had passed out on the cushions.
After setting the water on the coffee table for later, Teddy situated Finn more carefully, covered him with a blanket, and had to smirk at Nora and Smudge snuggling onto the sofa with him.
