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Rob knocks smartly on the trailer door before letting himself in, balancing a lunch tray on one arm and holding Chris’s phone in the other hand. Chris is sitting on the ugly but stupidly comfortable burgundy couch, feet propped up on the low wooden coffee table. He looks up from his laptop screen when Rob clears his throat pointedly.
“Hey,” Chris says. “You brought me food?” His face visibly brightens when he notices the two cans of Diet Coke on the tray and he sets the laptop aside.
“Indeed I did, Christopher. I figured you might be hungry. Oh, and you left your phone on set.” Rob tosses it to him before moving to join Chris on the couch. He sets the tray on the table.
“Thank you.”
“Just the pleasure of your company is thanks enough,” Rob says with a smile. Chris rolls his eyes but gives a small smile back. “So why are you skipping out on lunch with everyone else? Rebel wanted to check out that diner a couple blocks away…” He trails off when Chris’s face falls, the smile slipping away.
“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
He looks so dejected and Rob feels like the worst friend in the world. “No, Chris, I didn’t mean-”
“It’s okay,” Chris interrupts, shaking his head. “I know I’ve been keeping to myself lately. I just-” he sighs, running a hand over one side of his face, “I haven’t been feeling so great.”
Rob watches him fiddle with his phone and bites his lip, considering. “Physically or emotionally?”
Chris ducks his head. His cheeks look a little pinker. “Emotionally, I guess.”
“Is this about a guy?” he asks bluntly. The blush deepens and Rob chuckles. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”
“Yes,” Chris sighs. He drops his phone beside him and reaches for one of the cans of Diet Cokes. “It’s about a guy. We’re friends, good friends, and something happened this summer but I don’t know what.” He takes a couple swigs of Coke and Rob waits patiently, setting a reassuring hand on Chris’s shoulder. “We hooked up a couple times but I don’t know if that’s all it was, if it’s going to happen again, if it means anything.”
“Do you want it to mean something?”
Chris chews at his lower lip. “I…I don’t know. Maybe.” He shrugs. “Even if I did, that doesn’t mean he does.”
Rob sighs, wraps his arm more securely around Chris’s shoulders, and pulls him closer. Chris huffs out a laugh but goes along with it, resting his head on Rob’s shoulder. “Listen,” Rob says. “You guys are friends, right?”
“Best friends,” Chris mumbles.
“Right. So why not just talk to him about this? Figure out where you stand. If you’re both on the same page, great. If not, well, he’s an idiot who passed up the chance to be with the most incredible man I know.”
Chris snorts. “I’m sure.”
“No, it’s true. The most incredible, talented, good-looking, hilarious-” Chris smacks him in the chest and they both laugh. “Seriously, though. Worst case scenario is you have the same friendship you’ve always had, with the added bonus of knowing what the other looks like naked.”
Chris nods slowly. “You’re right. It’s just-” He turns his face so it’s pressed into Rob’s shoulder and says something quietly.
“Pardon? Sorry, didn’t catch that,” Rob teases.
Chris looks up at him and mock-glares. “I said ‘but he looks so good naked’!”
They both dissolve into another fit of laughter. Then Rob pats Chris’s back and reaches across him to grab the paper plate with the slice of pepperoni pizza from the tray, handing it to Chris. “Here, you should eat. And while you’re at it, tell me all about this guy.”
Chris takes a bite, swallows, and grins. “Well, his name is Darren…”