Chapter 4: Close Quarters

~ That night Jaden fell into bed with a sigh of pure exhausted bliss. He lay awake for a moment, listening to Andrew clattering about in the bathroom. He didn't know how the hell one man could make so very much noise with one toothbrush, but Andrew always did.

The rooms that they shared were small and far from luxurious, but Jaden was happy with the arrangement. He had a bed. And he had food. Beds and foods were good. Andrew exited the bathroom in pajamas, set the alarm clock, and clambered up into the top bunk.

"Night Jaden."

And he had a friend. Friends were good.

"Night Andy." The last thing Jaden was aware of that night, was a warm and fuzzy feeling. Possibly from the coziness that Andrew's big brotherly attitude inspired in him, possibly because of the flannel sheets that he'd just gotten out of the dryer 15 minutes ago.

The first thing Jaden was aware of in the morning was Andrew kicking him in the face as he disembarked from the bunk.

"Ow! Andrew! Be careful!" Jaden clutched his nose and swung out with one fist in retaliation. He barely clipped the back of Andrew's leg, who didn't even seem to have noticed.

"Sorry about that Jay. Oh well, time to get up anyway." Andrew proceeded on his way to the little kitchenette without another glance at Jaden, who was left to roll about in the covers and feel his face gingerly to see if anything was missing. Nothing was, so he got up.

He staggered into the shower thinking, as always, that if someone really had to feel as grumpy and awful as he did every morning, then they should have at least had a really good time the night before. He glimpsed himself in the mirror and saw a dark shadow quickly forming under his left eye. Wouldn't you know it? He'd been proud of getting through both sims yesterday without actually getting hurt and then someone goes and gives him a black-eye while he's still in bed? You can't make that kind of stuff up.

All wrongs in the world were forgiven however, when he finally got to the kitchen and found that Andrew had made blueberry waffles for breakfast. He even had whipped cream.

"Andy," Jaden said between mouthfuls of sweet, fluffy, savory, toasty, sticky pure awesomeness. "If I were gay, and you were gay, I would marry you." Andrew shrugged and rose to rinse his own plate off.

"Eh, if I had a dime for every time I've heard that."

Jaden, busy as he was floating between levels of heaven, didn't ask Andrew what he would do with all of those dimes. ~