"Make yourself at home." Rory opens the door to his house, allowing Joshua to go in first. "You've been here before, so you pretty much know where everything is, right?"

Joshua nods. "Yeah, I still remember my way around."

As the front door shuts and locks behind him, Joshua realizes there is no going back.

He has the urge to pinch himself, wanting to be sure he isn’t dreaming any of this right now. Joshua didn’t think he’d step foot back into Rory's house, not after what happened between them the last time he was here. No matter how hard he tries to stay away from Rory Carter, Joshua somehow finds himself being sucked right back into Rory's world again and again.

"The guest bedroom on this floor is kind of a mess because I've been using it as a storage room for some of my equipment." Rory chuckles, looking a bit embarrassed. "The room you'll be staying in is on the second floor with mine. It's small but cozy,” Rory says as they make their way upstairs. "I think you'll like it, though."

Joshua tries his best to ignore how fast his heart is beating as they near Rory's bedroom; a place that holds pleasant and unpleasant memories for both men.

"Something else I need to mention is that it tends to run cooler up here than what it does downstairs," Rory says. "If you need an extra blanket or whatever, you can find them in the closet inside your room. I never turn on the heat around here, so take out as many as you need."

Joshua laughs. “You sound like my roommate. She hates feeling hot and almost always keeps the AC blasting. It’s because of her that I’ve now gotten used to the cold.”

When they finally make it to where Joshua will be sleeping, Rory pauses by the bedroom door, allowing Joshua to step inside and explore.

"I'll grab you something of mine to sleep in,” Rory says. “Be right back."

"Thanks," Joshua replies before Rory turns away.

Slowly sobering up, Joshua tries to get as comfortable as he can. Instead of letting his mind wander to places that it shouldn't, after Rory returns with a t-shirt and pajama pants, Joshua heads to the downstairs bathroom to wash up and change clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, Joshua is feeling refreshed and much more alert as he makes his way back to his bedroom, no longer in the mood for sleep.

"Rory? You still in here?" Joshua gently knocks on Rory's bedroom door. It’s slightly ajar, so Joshua pushes it open all the way after a minute passes with no response. 

At the same time, Rory exits his bathroom wearing nothing but a white towel.

Joshua immediately locks eyes with a half-naked Rory Carter—the boy fresh out of the shower, his torso still glistening wet. A thin white towel is wrapped around Rory’s waist and Joshua wishes he could be it. Rory's black hair is damp, slicked back and away from his face while a sexy smirk dances at his kissable lips. Rory’s dark eyes never leave Joshua’s as he waves at him awkwardly, bringing the shy boy back to reality.

“Did you need something?” Rory asks, chuckling. 

"N-No, sorry!" Joshua runs back to his own room and shuts his door. He throws himself onto the bed, feeling embarrassed for the 200th time tonight, and also slightly turned on.

After a few minutes pass, Joshua calms down enough to where he’s finally able to laugh at himself. He's already reached second base with Rory, having French-kissed and even groped him a little, so seeing him shirtless shouldn't be that much of a big deal anymore, right?

"What are you in here giggling about?" Rory asks after entering Joshua's room, not having bothered to knock.

"Nothing! It was nothing." Joshua sits up on the bed, face flushed and eyes sparkling.

"Didn't sound like nothing..." Rory teases, but doesn’t push it any further. "So, I'm not as tired as I thought I was. How about you?" Joshua shakes his head in agreement. Rory smiles. "Well, in that case, do you wanna go downstairs and watch a movie? I've got popcorn and the TV has surround sound. It's pretty sweet, almost sounds like you're in an actual movie theater."

Joshua finds himself nodding and following Rory downstairs before his brain can thoroughly process what had been asked of him.

"You can pick the movie while I get our drinks and snacks." Rory hands Joshua the remote before disappearing into the kitchen nearby. "No sappy romances or corny romcoms, please! I don't feel like crying or dying from secondhand embarrassment tonight," Rory yells from the kitchen, making Joshua laugh.

"Whatever you say, boss." Joshua finds a comfortable spot on the couch and begins flicking through the movie channel. Even though this totally isn't one, Joshua can't ignore the weird vibes that he's getting from his current predicament with Rory...vibes that scream date night even though he and Rory are having no such thing.

I've got to stop reading into things too much, Joshua thinks to himself. I can't keep assuming the wrong thing. I only end up humiliating myself in the end.

Humiliate himself.

Embarrass himself.

Joshua's done more than enough of that around Rory and he isn't looking for a repeat tonight.

"Oh my God, that smells so good." Joshua eagerly grabs for the bowl of popcorn when Rory returns with it and their drinks. "I couldn't figure out what to watch, so you pick something instead." Joshua trades the remote for the popcorn bowl as Rory sits next to him. "Unlike you, sappy romances and corny rom-coms are my thing. I don't really mess with anything else, especially not scary movies. I hate those."

Rory raises a brow, then smirks. "Shame. Those happen to be my favorite."

"Oh, you’d better not even…" Joshua threatens, holding back a smile.

*

45 MINUTES LATER

"I honestly can't take much more of this!"

Joshua whines, leaning against Rory while shielding his eyes from the TV as yet another loud jumpscare flashes on the screen. Rory laughs, having found Joshua to be more entertaining than the movie that’s playing.

"Stop laughing at me! I'm seriously dying here…"

As the movie reaches its climax, Joshua is practically sitting on Rory's lap. He's hugged so close to Rory's side that if Joshua moves a few inches further their bodies may very well mold into one. Rory can't help himself anymore, doesn't even try to talk himself out of it as he drapes an arm around Joshua's trembling body.

"I guess you weren't kidding when you said you hate scary movies." Rory chuckles. Even though the movie is about twenty minutes away from ending, for Joshua's sake, Rory switches it to something less gory. "There. Found you a corny romcom." With his hand resting at the small of Joshua's back, Rory tells him that it's safe to look up. Joshua cautiously turns around, sighing in relief to see a different movie playing. "You're welcome."

Joshua playfully rolls his eyes. "And you're an ass."

"What? You said I have a nice ass?" Rory jokes. "Thanks! I'm glad to hear my gym visits are actually paying off."

"Shut up already!" Joshua giggles, eventually finding his way back to the opposite end of the couch. He'd been too frightened from the previous movie to appreciate Rory having an arm wrapped around him, even if it'd been for a few seconds. "On a serious note, thanks for changing the movie. Sorry you weren’t able to finish watching it."

"Honestly, your reactions were far more entertaining than that trash ass movie," Rory replies.

Another hour later, after the romcom comes to an end and the credits start rolling, Rory looks over and discovers Joshua is fast asleep.

Rory turns off the TV and scoops the small boy up into his arms, careful not to move too roughly and wake him. Rory carries Joshua upstairs to the guest room that he’s staying in, and Rory tucks him in bed before shutting off the light. On his way out of the room, Rory hears something that makes him stop dead in his tracks.

"Rory..."

He hears Joshua whispering his name.

"Stay with me..."

And Joshua is begging him to stay?

"I like you so much..."

"W-what did you just say?" Rory spins around quickly, his heart skipping a beat as he walks back to turn on the bedside lamp...only to see that Joshua is still fast asleep, his light snores confirming it. Rory exhales a shaky breath, smiling nervously. "I wish that I could be as brave as you are...please wait for me.” Rory sweeps a few curls away from Joshua's eyes, the temptation to kiss him is so intense that Rory’s hand begins to shake. "Sweet dreams,” Rory whispers, reluctantly pulling away from the sleeping boy. “Maybe I'll get to see you in mine tonight."

Switching off the bedside lamp, Rory walks out of the room without looking back.