Chapter 8 #5
They were interrupted by the skittering of Persephone's claws on the floorboards as she ran to the door, signalling the arrival of Sebastian and Quinn, both looking sexy and dishevelled. They'd opted to put on shirts as well as pants, unlike him and Peyton, who had just put on pants.
Their bed hair was sex hair, and Will wouldn't hear a word against it. He held out his hand, palm up, to Peyton as the two men greeted the beagle. “They were having sex. Pay up.”
“I would if we'd bet anything.”
Damn, he knew he'd forgotten something. A tragic loss of twenty bucks.
Sebastian shook his head. “Always get it in writing, Will.”
“Noted.”
“We don't need Will to learn your scruples,” Quinn said. He kissed Sebastian's temple on his way past. He filled the kettle and flicked it on.
“My scruples are sexy.”
“They look good in those pants,” Will said, grinning.
“Are you hungry?” Peyton asked, looking at the pile of toast he'd slowly accumulated. There were at least twelve pieces balancing precariously.
“So,” Will said, “we found peanut butter, strawberry jam, lemon butter—Peyton and I disagree on whether it's a spread, but Persephone is on my side, we'll vote later—and Vegemite. Also, this poser Vegemite.”
“It's Promite,” Quinn said.
“That's what I said,” Will replied. “Poser Vegemite. Annnnd you don't have honey.”
“I didn't think I had jam either, and yet here we are.”
“Might want to smell the jam first,” Sebastian said. “Haven't you two been staying here for a few days?”
“Yeah, but we got special treatment,” Will said. “Quinn made us eggs.”
“And bacon,” Peyton added.
“And bacon,” Will agreed. “With tomato, and mushrooms, and—”
“Does that service cost extra?” Sebastian asked.
“Yeah. Fifty kisses per bite,” Quinn said. “Plus interest.”
Sebastian started looking through the cupboards. Persephone followed him, sniffing around his feet. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think I can handle it.”
“I bet you can,” Peyton said.
Sebastian pulled out two mugs. Will tilted his head in question when Sebastian looked around and frowned.
“What's wrong?”
“There's no coffee machine.” He sounded horrified, and Will had to bite back his smile.
“Instant tastes just fine, Seb,” Quinn said absently. He put some small plates next to the toast tower and took the top two pieces.
“It tastes like dirty water,” Sebastian said, making a face.
“Then wait until you go into town to drink some.”
“Don't talk such blasphemy.” He got out two more mugs, paused, and then held up a mug to Will in question. “How many am I making?”
Will felt his eyes light up because Sebastian didn’t know , and maybe he could—
“No,” Peyton interrupted. “He's not allowed caffeine.”
Sebastian warily pulled the cup against his chest. “Why?”
“Not for medicinal reasons, I would like to point out,” Will said, pouting.
He liked coffee, and the fact no one would let him consume any was just cruel and unusual punishment.
Especially since he hadn't done anything wrong.
Break one keyboard, smash one window, and incite one office riot, and suddenly caffeine was banned.
The riot hadn't even really been his fault.
Not really. Okay, the markers had been his idea, but he claimed ignorance for the rest of it.
They'd gotten their new photocopier anyway. So it had been a successful riot, at least.
“There's decaf in the cupboard,” Quinn said.
“I don't even know you anymore, Quinn,” Sebastian said, horror clouding his tone. “ Decaf. A dirty word that should never be uttered in my vicinity.”
“So dramatic in the mornings,” Quinn murmured. He ran a hand through Sebastian's hair and kissed him lightly.
Will sidled up next to him and puckered up. “Me?”
Quinn chuckled and gave him one too. Will fisted his shirt and kept him in place so he could deepen it. Quinn had used the same toothpaste as Peyton. He could feel his groin stirring as he twined his arms around Quinn's shoulders and leaned down further into the kiss.
Quinn gave his dick a light squeeze. “Not now, Will,” he murmured. “We need to eat.”
“Rain check?”
“Of course.”
Sebastian and Peyton had already moved everything to the table while they'd been busy. Persephone was sitting between them, eyeballing the toast with her tail sweeping against the floor.
Will slid into the seat beside Peyton and nabbed the half piece of toast he was about to put in his mouth. He groaned obscenely. “Mmm, this is good.”
“That was mine, thief.”
Will pointed at his mouth, where he was still chewing. “You want it back?” he asked, slightly muffled.
Peyton rolled his eyes and picked up the other half.
“I like what you've done with the place, Quinn,” Sebastian said. He picked up the Promite, and Will had no idea what he was going to do with the two men and their terrible taste in spreads.
He pulled the lemon butter towards himself and winked when Peyton grimaced at him. “I'm gonna eat this,” he said, holding it up, “and then I'm gonna kiss you, and you're gonna love all the lemony goodness.”
“I'll love it because you're kissing me, not because you ate a fruit.”
“Is a lemon a fruit?”
“I have no idea,” Peyton said absently. “You've been here before?” he asked Sebastian.
“Yeah, long time ago. I remember when it looked like the fifties had thrown up in it,” Sebastian said. “Ethel was one hell of a decorator. You really made the place boring, Q.”
“Thanks.”
Sebastian frowned, toast dangling between his fingers. “Wait, is she—?”
“No, she just moved into town. Gave me ownership and told me to 'go wild and really let my freak flag fly,'” Quinn said with a straight face.
Will choked on the corner of the toast he'd been chewing. “She really said that?”
“I bet she did,” Sebastian said, chuckling. “She's a wild gal.”
“I didn't know you have a grandmother,” Peyton said, smiling as he gently patted Will on the back. Will was busy just trying to get air back into his lungs. Persephone licked his foot helpfully.
“Everyone has a grandmother.”
“I thought you were just born fully grown,” Peyton said. “With that serious smile, and those piercing eyes, and that...” He trailed off and looked down suggestively. “Package.”
“I think that birthing me in my current state would have been a difficult feat,” Quinn said dryly. “Though my mother did say she plucked me out of the cabbage patch, so who knows?”
“I always knew you were a Cabbage Patch Kid,” Sebastian said. He picked up his mug, frowned at it, then put it back down. Quinn silently pushed his own over to him.
“What's a Cabbage Patch Kid?” Peyton asked.
“It's when parents find their babies in vegetable gardens. It was more common to have kids that way in the eighties,” Will said, nodding sagely.
Peyton blinked. “Fuck off, what are they really?”
“They're dolls that were really popular in the eighties and nineties. They're kids and babies that were born in the secret cabbage patch, and they lived in BabyLand until someone adopted them.”
They all looked at Quinn in surprise.
“I have three sisters,” he said defensively. “Basically, they were fabric dolls that had names, and you got adoption paperwork for them when you bought them. There are exclusive ones out there that are worth a small fortune. The end. Eat your toast.”
Sebastian pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the keys for a second before showing the screen. A google search of “Cabbage Patch Kids” showed a variety of the dolls.
“Right.” Peyton cleared his throat. “I guess they're cute?”
“They were the highlight of every kid's dream,” Will said.
“I guess I had different dreams.”
“It's okay.” Will put an arm around Peyton's shoulders and pulled him close. “We like sleeping with you anyway.”
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” Peyton asked dryly.
“Best compliment ever, really. They were really good toys.”
“Anyway,” Quinn said, checking his watch. “I need to shower and get to work before Grady sends out the cavalry.”
“I'm working from home today,” Sebastian said. “I need to get some work done, and people keep shooting at me at the office, which is quite inconvenient.”
“That's not funny,” Quinn said.
“At all,” Peyton added darkly. “You're lucky that Will was there.”
Will ran his hands through Peyton's soft hair, enjoying how it felt weaving around his fingers. “Hey, it's all right. We had it handled.”
“I have extensive knowledge of what happens when things are 'handled' and just how quickly they go FUBAR anyway,” Peyton said, a haunted look in his dark-blue eyes.
“That didn't happen this time.”
“I think the 'we' in that statement was an exaggeration,” Sebastian said. “I was of no help.”
“You stayed calm, which is more than most people can say in a situation like that. And you held your own. If I'd had to deal with hysterics as well as the shooters, things might have ended differently,” Will said with a shrug.
Sebastian looked like he didn't know what to say to that. Will understood. He had a high-pressure job and dealt with things most people didn't ever have to even think about, let alone experience. He was sad that Sebastian had been forced to deal with it.
“We're all glad that Will was there,” Quinn said, breaking through the tension. “And I'm glad that all three of you are here right now because it means I get help with the dishes.”
Will groaned dramatically.