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He was never really sure why he stayed at these so long. He didn’t drink, he wasn’t incredibly social, and at parties the two sort of went hand-in-hand. But still, Ray thought it’d be rude to keep rejecting the invitations, so he came every now and then. He’d just have to grin and bear it for an hour or two, then catch a ride home at the first chance he could. Sometimes he couldn’t find someone heading home for a few hours, and he’d be stuck sipping on four dollar cokes all night until he could, awkwardly joining in a couple conversations here and there.
One fun thing though, was to see his coworkers at their dumbest, too sloshed to worry about manners and decorum, giggling and talking loudly like they were still teenagers having their first taste of alcohol. Some of them were funny, some of them were sad. Joel was an odd one, if he caught sight of Ray once he was even a bit buzzed, he made a beeline for him, eager to chat over anything that came to mind. The weirder part though, was when he started flirting, calling him his Puerto Rican Prince and praising him up and down.
Ray would blush and laugh it off, usually escaping to a bathroom or losing Joel in the crowd. It wasn’t that he disliked the flirtations, the opposite in fact. But he’d rather hear the man’s affections when he was sober enough to remember saying them. He would never want to do anything when Joel was drunk, it just sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately, life seemed to be serving him just that recipe, as Joel cornered him, a smile on his lips and beer on his breath. “Hey Ray, lookin ravishing as always." he said with a chuckle, his voice low and husky. Ray swallowed, smiling nervously as he pressed himself against the wall, eyes darting around looking for someone to notice them. “Thanks Joel. I was actually about to be heading home, so if you could just…"
"Aww, Ray, how about you come home with me instead? I promise I’d give you a good time." he leaned in, his words whispered against Ray’s ear, lips brushing as Joel spoke. The younger man shuddered, cheeks flushing lightly as he grabbed onto Joel’s shirt gently. “Joel please…" he mumbled, though he couldn’t even try to get away now, his mind vividly imagining what it’d be like if he did go home with the other.
Joel smiled slyly, leaning in and harshly pressing their lips together, kissing Ray roughly as he pressed him into the wall. His arms were on either side of him, a knee pressing between his legs, nudging his crotch as he slipped even closer. Ray’s fingers clutched at the other’s shirt, eyes screwed shut as they kissed. It was rough and sloppy, and a little bitey. Ray gasped as Joel nipped his lower lip and the older man took the chance and delved into his mouth.
Ray could taste the bitter beer on Joel’s tongue, mixed with a taste that was just Joel itself, no other way to describe it. Their tongues twisted and curled together, Ray weakly going along with the invasion, his brain too muddled with pleasure to think of just how much he hadn’t wanted this before. They continued kissing until Ray couldn’t breathe anymore, clapping his hands on Joel’s chest until the man pulled away, the other gasping to catch his breath once he could.
Just as he settled down again, Joel leaned in to continue, and suddenly Ray realized just what had happened. He broke away, running out of the house, upset and regret swallowing him whole as he caught Miles just as he was leaving, getting a ride with him. It was hard to fall asleep that night, aimlessly touching his lips every now and then when he was in bed, the tingling sensation still running through him.
——
If that night had been called a bad time, the following morning was utter shit. Ray wasn’t even close to his normal self. There were no jokes and laughs from him today, all LP’s postponed until he stopped being in such a shitty mood, as it’d just be no fun otherwise. It certainly didn’t help when Joel popped in around lunch time, all smiles and grins, as though nothing plagued his mind.
"Hey guys, anyone wanna get lunch? Ray?" he asked the younger specifically as they’d always gotten along. They went to lunch every now and then when they could, the only one of the lads who could really deal with Joel’s odd personality. There was no response, so Joel walked over, leaning over to see what Ray was working on. “Ray? You hear me?" he asked quietly, somewhat mumbling the words into the younger’s ear. Ray tensed up immediately, pushing his chair away as he stood up. “Go fuck yourself, Joel." he murmured, quiet enough that only the one mentioned could hear him, before storming out of the room.
"What’s his problem?" Joel asked, looking concerned as he stared at the door, wondering where the other went off to. “He’s been pissed since he came in today. He was fine yesterday though, so I guess something happened last night?" Michael said with a shrug, glancing at Joel before turning back to his work. The older man ‘hmm’ed, heading out of the Achievement Hunter office, now on the search for Ray.
After a bit of searching he finally found the younger man, laying face-first on the couch in the warehouse, all the guys out to lunch, so they were the only ones there. “Ray? Are you mad at me?" Joel asked hesitantly, frowning as he heard a muffled ‘Go away’ in reply. He walked over, sitting on the edge of a cushion and gently touching Ray’s back. “Ray, talk to me. Did I upset you somehow?"
The man sat up, shuffling away from Joel, hugging his knees to his chest. “You don’t remember anything?" he asked quietly, peeking at the other over his knees. “From last night, I’m assuming? I don’t remember anything after my fifth beer, no. Did I offend you in some way? Or something else? Either way, I’m very sorry." Joel was truly worried right now, distraught at the idea of hurting the man he’d been caring for very deeply for some time now. Even though he tried not to admit it to himself, he’d been crushing on the younger man for some time now, though he did his best to hide his feelings.
"You didn’t offend me. I… I really liked what you did last night but I didn’t want it to go down like this."
"Didn’t want what to go down like this?"
"Our first kiss."
Joel froze, eyes wide as he looked for any hint of a joke on Ray’s face. “W-We kissed?" he asked, still in disbelief. Ray nodded, looking away, blushing a bit as his face scrunched, looking a little upset. “You probably never remember, but when you get drunk you start hitting on me. A lot. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike it, but it kind of sucks when someone makes out with you and then forgets all about it the next day."
This was a lot to take in, and it took Joel a few minutes to really process the information and respond with a somewhat level head. “So what if, say, I wanted to make it up to you and redo it? When I’m sober." he asked casually, but his pink cheeks and nervous look gave him away. Ray pulled his head up fully, a small, hopeful smile on his lips. “I might be into that."
"And what if, I wanted to go a step further and invite you out tonight? As a proper apology, and first date?" Joel was looking a bit more confident, and Ray’s smile widened. “I’d probably say yes. Depends on if you kiss as good when you’re sober." Joel chuckled and leaned in, intent on proving just that.