Chapter Fourteen
Sunny lifted up the corner of the blanket he’d barely given up all day in offering as Grant sat down, secretly hoping that Grant would choose to snuggle under it with him.
Grant paused, setting two mugs of hot chocolate and the remains of a bottle of whisky on the coffee table. After a moment of what Sunny assumed was careful consideration, he took hold of the corner Sunny was holding up and wrapped it around his shoulders as he sat down.
It was a big blanket, but with two grown men sharing it, they had to sit within an inch of each other.
Sunny grinned as he reached forward to grab his hot chocolate, curling both of his hands around the mug.
“World’s best hot chocolate,” Grant said. “Or at least, Hope says so.”
“I’m sure she’s right,” Sunny agreed. “You seem like a man who’d know his way around a hot chocolate.”
“You want a shot?” Grant asked, raising the bottle he’d set down before.
Sunny hesitated, and then shrugged and held his mug out. “Why not. It’s Christmas.”
Grant smiled at that. “That’s the spirit,” he said, pouring a generous measure into Sunny’s mug, and then another one into his own.
“I assume this is the adults-only version, and you’re not in the habit of getting your twelve-year-old drunk,” Sunny said.
“Obviously,” Grant said, setting the bottle back down with the dull thud. “But I figured we could both go for taking the edge off. It’s been a rough day.”
“It hasn’t been so bad,” Sunny said. “You kept feeding me, so I’ve actually had a pretty great day.”
“I guess,” Grant shifted his weight, settling deep into the couch cushions. “I didn’t mean for you to get stuck here.”
“I know, and you’ve already apologized a thousand times. You’re forgiven. I was never even all that mad. This way, I get to avoid all my other relatives,” Sunny said.
Grant sipped his hot chocolate, a tiny, satisfied sound escaping him.
Sunnyreallyliked that sound.
“Not a huge fan of your extended family?” Grant asked.
“I could live without having an awkward argument with one of them every year about them being… racist, or sexist, or homophobic, or transphobic, or… generally assholes.” Sunny sighed, pressing his mug to his lips, but not taking a sip yet. He was waiting for the marshmallows to finish melting.
“Yeah, I get that. I… am very glad I have my own little family now,” Grant said softly.
Sunny’s heart sank. Grant clearly missed his family, and Sunny would have happily traded this moment to give him them instead.
As much as he liked being near Grant, he would have preferred for Grant to be happy.
“I wish I could trade places with them,” Sunny said, his stomach bottoming out as he made the decision to snuggle closer to Grant.
This was what he’d wanted before, though he would have liked Grant to be happier about it. All the same, if he could provide even a little comfort, that was all Sunny could ask for.
“It’s good having you here, actually,” Grant murmured, sipping his hot chocolate. “I would’ve hated to do this alone. Besides, this is kinda nice.”
Sunny smiled to himself as his heart skipped a beat. He’d takekinda nice.
He reached out to hit play, and then leaned back into the couch, letting his shoulder press against Grant’s. For warmth, obviously. Not because he desperately wanted to be close to him.
Just as the opening credits were rolling, the laptop screen went black.
“Oh,” Sunny said, blinking at it. “I might’ve… forgotten to charge it, and I guess it’s been cold… I’ll get the power cord.”
Grant put a hand out to stop him. “Don’t worry about it. We’ve got a nice open fire to watch. How often do you get that?”
