But this was not any other night, and when they all walked out with their stomachs full, still laughing, Joe found Oscar’s eyes and gave him a discreet nod.
“See you tomorrow, Ronnie,” he said, tugging on Anna’s hand and leading her away.
Maybe he’d heard them talk. Or maybe he could just assume. Maybe it was clear. Oscar imagined his irises had turned into heart-eyes, pumping large and quick like in the cartoons, his eagerness plain and clear for all to see. A Powerpuff Boy.
Any veneer of normalcy shattered when Aaron once again slipped his fingers into the gaps between Oscar’s, and they started walking in the other direction.
Aaron talked about his day, as if nothing had altered between them and the fabric of the universe hadn’t rewrittenitself in the hours they had passed in the company of Aaron’s friends.
And Oscar listened, because even if the universehadshifted, he would always want to know about Aaron’s day.
They talked about the gym and about the teenagers and Joe lecturing them.
“He’d make an amazing dad, honestly,” Aaron said, laughing. They had already passed a few bus stops, but Oscar didn’t mind the walk, not with Aaron’s hand clasped in his. “You should see the way he is with Riley. He really stepped up for them.”
“Are they much younger?” Oscar asked. He thought about Lina, and how she had been the one to step up forhim, even though he was older. He hadn’t asked her about Ryan yet, not in all their texts since she’d moved, since that night.
“Yeah. Joe’s twenty-four. Riley’s only nineteen. They had a really bad go of it when they came out to their parents as non-binary. Joe turned what used to be the laundry room into a spare bedroom for them until they could find somewhere to be on their own.” Aaron shrugged. “It’s how I even found the apartment. My old landlord didn’t want to accept me paying in installments for a while because of my surgery and being unable to work, and Tobe actually helped Joe and Riley with the whole process of going no-contact and coming to terms with it and stuff. And they helped Riley find a place closer to college, so they didn’t have to commute, and it was cheaper than student housing.”
“That’s so great.” Oscar had been quite impressed when Aaron had told him Marta and Tobe worked together for a non-profit helping queer people with housing and other aid. He could imagine that pink-haired person from Aaron’s pictures doing something like that, and the girl who’d helped Aaron with his transition, too.
“Yeah, so they knew that Joe and Anna had a spare roomfreeing up and asked if they’d accept me paying in installments.” Aaron’s lips wobbled. “I haven’t paid a cent yet, Spike. They said rent can wait and just asked me to help out with some food. That’s all.”
“Yeah. They’re really nice. Joe’s…different than I thought.” Oscar shrugged.
“He’s really the nicest guy I’ve ever met,” Aaron replied, shaking his head. “IwishI had siblings like him.”
Oscar squeezed Aaron’s hand because he didn’t know what to say. As tough as it had been with his mother, Oscar had struck gold with the rest of his family.
“Have they been together long, him and Anna?” Oscar asked.
“Three years, I think?” Aaron’s hand twitched in Oscar’s as he swung his arm, swinging Oscar’s with it. “You know, he gets her a cupcake every singlemonthon the anniversary of her legal name-change?”
“Oh?” Oscar hadn’t meant to sound so surprised.
“I thought you knew. She’s very open about it all and wears a trans pin on every shirt she owns. I didn’t mean to…” Aaron nibbled on his lower lip, distracting Oscar entirely from the conversation. “Oscar?”
“Hmm?” Oscar looked up, finding amusement in Aaron’s eyes. “Sorry, I got distracted.”
“Fair enough,” Aaron murmured. His voice was sweet as strawberry jam, trickling into Oscar’s chest, filling it with warmth.
“Well…” Oscar stopped walking, tilting his head back to look up at the building they had conveniently reached.
“Well.” Aaron was smiling when Oscar looked back down. “Shall we?”
The journey upstairs was a tumultuous voyage of hearts threatening to splatter on each sharp-edged step, Oscar’s handsgrowing clammier by the second as they got closer and closer to the front door of his apartment.
Through the wood, Luigi was mewing loudly, expecting dinner, because Oscar hadn’t left him enough dry food in his bowl to account for the extra hour he’d spent out, so the master would be waiting. He curled around their ankles when they came in, trilling and skipping and rubbing, tail curving into a question mark.
“I just have to…” Oscar’s voice trailed off.
Aaron gave him a nod, and Oscar zoomed off, rushing for the broom closet, reaching for the dry food as though Aaron would disintegrate should he take a minute too long.
But Luigi was munching and crunching happily a few minutes later and Aaron was still waiting where Oscar had left him, standing just behind the door, in his day-old cashier clothes and Oscar in his filthy gym wear.
And nothing in the history of the universe had ever been more perfect.
Oscar stood in front of Aaron, blinking, studying each curve of his soft face, the arch of his pink lips, the freckles underneath his nose, that hair.
