Oscar should have hesitated at least a minute, maybe, but Papa had always been so sincere, so why would Oscar want to play games like that? He nodded.
Aaron’s lips curled, eyes brightening, and it set something inside Oscar on fire, a simmering flame slow-cooking the feeling he’d nurtured since that day at the clinic. A moment later, they had slipped beneath the covers, nestled underneath the warm sanctuary Aaron had put together stitch by stitch, Aaron still moving blocks around in his little cartoon world, Oscar watching with hungry eyes, eager for this softness, aching to have as much of it as Aaron was ready to give.
He wasn’t sure at which point his body decided to move without command, resting his head on Aaron’s shoulder, but Oscar liked it, and judging from the way Aaron shuffled closer, it seemed that Aaron liked it too. It was a beautiful way to drift off.
That night, Oscar dreamed in technicolor.
8
PRIDE [FLAGS] AND PREJUDICE
The room was bathed in faint light that seeped through the gap between the curtains, giving Oscar no indication of what time it actually was. Groaning, he stretched, pressing his face into a pillow far plumper than his own, and as he drew in a deep breath, Oscar inhaled the faint spicy scent of Aaron’s cologne.
Right.
Blinking his eyes open again, he allowed his vision to adjust to the empty room. Aaron’s side of the bed was neatly made up, which was a testament to the fact that Oscar could sleep like a brick, proving his mother right when she’d said a bomb raid wouldn’t wake him. Oscar remembered telling her he wished a bomb raid would, so it would take him out and spare him her shrill voice at seven in the morning.
But Oscar’s mother was somewhere else, in the house where he’d grown up, and Oscar was in Aaron’s bed, facing the red gaming console that had lulled him to sleep, a small bar of orange chocolate, and a note.
His lips curled as he unfolded the notepaper, taking inAaron’s handwriting for the very first time. It was neat and round with large clear letters that curved over the lines.
Spike,
I had to go to work. Mean :(
But feel free to stick around as long as you’d like. Joe’s home all morning, and he knows you’re here. I have adouble shift(help), so you’ll probably be gone because of Luigi when I get home, but stay as long as you like and have somerealfood. In case you want to be a gremlin, I got you your favorite chocolate. I got it right, didn’t I?
You better like it; it cost a boob and half a kidney ;)
See you soon
Aaron x
Oscar’s eyes snagged on the little “x” beside Aaron’s name and imagined it as meeting mouths—theirs. He brought the paper close to his nose, inhaling, trying to capture the fragments of him he’d left behind.
You’ve got it bad, Spikey, Oscar thought. But deep down, he somehow knew that Papa would approve. He’d like Aaron, like him for Oscar. He’d find some other cool nickname to give him, something that wasn’t plain oldRon, like Joe had called him the previous night. Aaron didn’t look at all like a Ron. Maybe a Ronnie, but Papa would come up with something completely unrelated. Like how he’d called Oscar“Spike” and Lina “Minnie.” Maybe he’d call Aaron something like Sonicor Scooby.Papa had always loved cartoons.
Bambi. When Oscar thought aboutAaron, he imagined Bambi, a fawn fumbling around without his family, looking effortlessly majestic, being effortlessly kind.
The sound of a vibrating phone knocked Oscar out of his cartoon fantasies, and he reached for it, hand dropping as he found nothing but air.Right. No bedside tables.
Begrudgingly, he pushed himself out of bed and headed to the desk, where Aaron had plugged his phone in to charge.
Well, shit.
Several text messages and missed calls from Lina awaited him. Oscar sighed, opening the thread.
Lina: Let me know when you’re home.
Lina: Oscar, please. I was trying to give you some space before I texted. Are you okay?
Lina: Can you just let me know you’re alive? Stop being a dick.
Missed Call from Lina
Missed Call from Lina
Lina: OSCAR!! Please. Just a sign you’re alive. No need to talk to me. Please. I’ve just been to your apartment, and I know you’re not home.
