Just Stay (27 page)

So they simply decide to help, both with finding the place and moving all the stuff.

Seb loves all of that, everything from packing up his dorm room and throwing out what he won't need, to picking up the keys to their new place and even carrying the boxes. But the best part is probably shopping for kitchen supplies; as both he and Evan have lived in dorms with shared kitchens, they have never really needed any supplies of their own. Now, however, they have their very own kitchen, and therefore need their very own plates and pots and pans and utensils, which requires a shopping trip or two.

Now, after finally moving in all of their stuff and shopping for most of what they needed, Seb is sitting on the floor of the living room in their new apartment. It's late at night, it's dark outside, and the reason Seb is sitting on the floor is because the couch they brought from Evan's dorm room, and Seb's armchair, are both currently littered with boxes and stuff wrapped up in newspapers. And they are the only pieces of furniture they have in there, so far, so the seating options are rather limited.

But Seb doesn't mind. There is something oddly peaceful about it, about sitting here, back against the wall, just staring out the window from across the room. It's dark, except for a lamp standing on the floor nearby; the lamp in the ceiling needs a new bulb, and they haven't gotten around to changing it yet.

"Hey." Seb looks up at the sound of Evan's voice, and finds him standing next to him, in the doorway. He's holding two bowls in his hands, and gestures at Seb to move over. Seb obliges, and Evan sits down on the floor next to him. He hands a bowl to Seb.

"Dinner," he says, and Seb takes it. It's warm, and he looks down at it.

"Ramen," he says, raising his eyebrows and looking impressed. "Fancy."

"Yeah, well," Evan says, cocking his head, and handing him a pair of chopsticks. "After that shopping spree, ramen is what we'll be eating for the next few years or so."

Seb takes the chopsticks.

"Be that as it may," he says. "That bed is worth a few years of this. Although, I don't see how that mattress was really necessary."

Evan gives him an outraged look, some noodles hanging from his mouth.

"Dude," he says, his words slightly muffled. "Memory foam."

Seb just raises his eyebrows at the hilarious image of Evan looking offended, while trying to keep his dignity in slurping up those noodles.

"Right," Seb says, smiling. "How could I forget."

They bought a new bed, seeing as how their previous beds belong to the dorm rooms they moved out of, and it's now standing unpacked and all prepped in the bedroom. It's a double bed, big and comfy, and Seb has to admit that that stupid memory foam mattress probably was worth the extra money. Although, seeing as how this is their first night in their new apartment, they haven't had the chance to try it out, just yet.

Seb turns back to his food, and used his chopsticks to twirl around and catch some noodles, before gingerly putting them into his mouth. Every now and then, he hears Evan drinking the soup straight from the bowl, but other than that, neither of them makes a sound during the rest of the meal. When they're done, they simply set down the empty bowls onto the floor, and lean back against the wall.

Seb gazes around the empty room, empty apart from several half-unpacked boxes, Evan's worn leather couch, Seb's armchair, and that random-looking cactus Sophie gave them. It's standing almost in the middle of the room, for some reason.

Despite the emptiness, though, and despite the completely chaotic state their new home is currently in, Seb feels at ease, at peace. He smiles softly and leans his head against Evan's shoulder, and Evan automatically puts his arm around him and kisses the top of his head.

"I think I'm gonna like it here," Seb says. "Once we get all our shit together."

Evan grunts in agreement.

"Should we get curtains, or something?" he says, and Seb chuckles.

"I have a very hard time imagining either of us picking out curtains," he says. "Maybe we could make Sophie do it."

Evan chuckles softly.

"Somehow, I don't think she would mind," he says. "I mean, she got us that badass cactus."

He nods toward the plant that's standing practically in the center of the room, on the floor. It's rather small, with long pale thorns and a little flower at the top.

"Why did we put it there?" Seb says, frowning, and Evan shrugs.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time?"

Seb doesn't answer, only gives a shrug of his own, and Evan doesn't push it.

They sit like that for a little while, just being close to each other, staring at their empty, dimly lit living room. Then Seb takes Evan's hand and laces their fingers together, lifting his hand up to kiss it. He meant for it to be just a small kiss, a sweet one, but he ends up moving his lips across the back of Evan's hand and down to his wrist, letting his kisses linger, slowly and warmly.

When Seb looks up at Evan, those green eyes are on him, and the expression in them makes him pause. That is, until Evan takes his face in his hands and kisses him on the mouth, with such surprising urgency that it makes Seb forget how to breathe, for a moment. But only for a moment. Then, he kisses him back.

It's one of those kisses
, Seb thinks vaguely, as he leans into Evan, pulling at his t-shirt. The kind that comes out of nowhere, with such heat and such impatience, that it's impossible not to get sucked into it and lose yourself completely.

And lose himself is just what Seb does.

It doesn't take more than a second, before Seb is lying on his back on the hard floor, Evan pressing down against him, grinding their hips together, fingers in his dark hair. Seb groans against Evan's mouth, pulls at his bottom lip gently with his teeth, sliding his hands underneath his t-shirt so he can take it off. Evan lets him, raising his arms so that Seb can pull the shirt over his head, before swooping back down and covering Seb's mouth with his own, claiming, pushing his tongue inside, past his lips.

Seb closes his eyes, as Evan starts moving his mouth down along the skin of his throat, moans as those lips press against his collarbone, his neck, that sensitive spot right below his ear. He doesn't object for a second, as Evan undresses him, throwing his t-shirt away somewhere on the floor, and barely thinks about it as his own fingers fumble to undo Evan's pants.

Within moments, Evan is moaning above him, Seb's hand in his boxers, stroking him, and all the while, Seb keeps his lips pressed against that sweet mouth. In the middle of it all, Evan somehow manages to undo Seb's pants and tug at them, making Seb pause and look up at him.

"Get these off," Evan says, his voice deep and breathy, his face flushed, and Seb pulls his hand out of Evan's underwear to shimmy out of his own jeans and boxers. Evan still has his pants on, and the rough fabric creates an oddly sweet kind of friction against Seb's bare skin.

He has just barely gotten his clothes off, though, before Evan leans to the side, reaching for something.

"What are you doing?" Seb says, and Evan grunts.

"I know I put it in here," he mutters, rummaging through a duffel bag sitting nearby, before finding what he's looking for.

"Move," he says hoarsely, grabbing Seb's hips and rolling them both over, so that Evan ends up on his back, Seb straddling him. Seb doesn't take long to get with the program, but is still a bit surprised when he sees Evan pull his pants down just far enough to put on a condom. Seb leans down to kiss his chest, hands trailing over his bare skin.

"You don't want me to―" he says, glancing down at Evan's very noticeable hard-on, but Evan just shakes his head.

"No," he breathes, sounding completely wrecked. "No time."

Seb smiles amusedly, but doesn't object. Honestly, he agrees; he isn't going to last long enough to draw this out much more. They aren't even going to make it to the bedroom, at this rate.

He moves his lips along Evan's throat, hands smoothing over his chest, his stomach, his hip bones, then back up again, and he closes his eyes as he feels a rumbling moan beneath him. Then he notices Evan's hands busying themselves with a small bottle for a moment, before a finger slowly slides inside him, slick with lube, then another only seconds later.

Seb tenses up, squeezing his eyes shut, as he lets out a groan. He clenches a fist against the hard surface of the floor, as he starts slowly rocking himself against Evan's fingers, trying to be careful about it, as not to come undone too fast.

They only keep at it for barely a minute, though, before Seb gets impatient.

"Now," he breathes against Evan's throat, and Evan swallows hard.

"You sure?" he says, sounding just as wrecked as Seb feels, concern lacing his words. But Seb isn't having it, not this time. He's too impatient, too eager, and he just
needs
this.

"Jesus, Evan," he bites out through gritted teeth. "Just get on me."

Evan doesn't need telling twice. In a matter of seconds, he has pulled his fingers out and grabbed Seb's hips, sitting up and taking Seb with him. He keeps his eyes on his, as he steers himself into place, and Seb slowly sinks down onto him, gripping Evan's shoulders tightly, as he does. He does it carefully, very slowly, a little bit at a time, pulling up and then sliding down again, until Evan is completely inside him, and Seb squeezes his eyes shut. It burns a little bit, considering the lack of preparation this time, but it passes quickly, and he doesn't care. Even the burn feels good.

Evan groans deeply, placing his forehead against Seb's collarbone, his fingers digging into the bare skin of Seb's lower back. And Seb keeps his eyes closed as he slowly starts moving, up and down, breathing heavily. With every move, Evan lets out a deep moan, moving his lips to Seb's chest and throat, placing lingering, searing kisses against his skin.

It doesn't take long before Seb starts moving faster, digging his fingers into Evan's hair and bracing himself against his shoulders, riding him like his life depends on it, his breath coming out in quick, heavy bursts. And Evan's hands grip him tighter, cling to him desperately, Evan very nearly whimpering underneath him; it's a sound Seb has barely ever heard him make before.

"Oh god," Evan breathes, sounding strained, as though speaking is the most difficult thing in the world, right now. "God, Seb, you feel so good."

His hands hold onto Seb's hips so hard that Seb is sure it will leave bruises, but he doesn't care. It's so typically Evan, and he loves it, loves making him come undone like this.

Seb groans as he feels Evan's lips move across his chest, that tongue smoothing over his skin, over his nipples, up along his throat. He's so close. He isn't going to last much longer. But neither is Evan.

And sure enough, it doesn't take long before he feels Evan's entire body tense up, Evan groaning against his neck, pushing Seb's hips down hard against him, keeping him locked in place and unable to move. Seb kisses Evan's temple slowly, soothing him through his orgasm, until Evan finally relaxes and loosens his grip on Seb's hips.

Seb has stopped moving entirely, but they aren't finished just yet. Evan pulls back so that he can lock his green eyes on Seb's blue ones, as he takes him in his hand and starts stroking, slowly at first, but then at a faster and rougher pace. It doesn't take more than a few seconds before Seb comes over his fingers―he was agonizingly close, already, as soon as Evan touched him.

They remain still for several seconds then, as they come down from the high, both of them breathing heavily, skin hot and slick with sweat. Seb leans his forehead against Evan's, and kisses him softly on the mouth. Then, he actually laughs, a breathless, exhausted chuckle, which Evan returns. He's not sure why. Laughing just feels like the best reaction to this feeling, in some weird, ridiculous way.

Then again, Seb feels so completely and incandescently happy at the moment, so maybe laughing isn't such a weird reaction, after all.

"I love you," Seb breathes against Evan's lips, closing his eyes as Evan moves his hand up to pull his fingers through his dark hair.

"I love
you
," Evan says, kissing him on the mouth, slowly and warmly, making Seb feel so completely and utterly safe.

He could get used to this whole living-together-thing. This is their first night here, after all, and it's already off to a very good start.

♦

About a month after moving in together, it isn't so much that Seb will never get used to waking up with Evan every morning; it's rather that he feels like he will never stop enjoying it.

"Morning," Evan murmurs in his ear, as he moves up behind him and slips his arms around his waist. Seb is standing by the stove in their kitchen, in the process of making breakfast.

"Good morning," he says, smiling as Evan's hands lock together over his stomach. "About time."

Evan grunts, planting a kiss against Seb's neck.

"It's practically still nighttime," he says, his voice gravelly with sleep. Seb raises his eyebrows and glances at the clock they moved from his old dorm room to the wall above their kitchen door.

"It's eight a.m.," he says, and he feels Evan shrug.

"Exactly."

Seb scoffs and shakes his head, smiling.

"Yeah, well," he says. "Some of us have places to be, so if you want some bacon, sit down."

Evan tightens his arms around Seb's waist and groans against his neck, kissing the bare skin there, slowly. Seb closes his eyes for a moment, before deciding not to be so easily distracted.

"Evan, sit your ass down," he says, certain that Evan can hear the smile in his voice. And Evan chuckles lightly, planting one last, quick kiss on his neck.

"You're the best," he says.

"I know."

Evan turns on the coffee maker before sitting down at the kitchen table, and Seb glances over at him. Evan has barely gotten dressed, just put on a pair of sweatpants, and he slowly places his head against his folded arms that rest on the table. Seb smiles.

No, he won't be getting tired of this anytime soon.