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“No,” Billy said, trying to close his bedroom door in Steve’s face.
“Come on, please,” Steve begged, catching the door before Billy could close it and pleading with his roommate.
“Absolutely not, I hate the dickheads you work for,” Billy groaned.
“Yeah, that makes two of us,” Steve grumbled. “But I can’t show up to the party without a date. Not this year. Melanie is all over me and I keep telling her that she’s barking up the wrong tree but she won’t listen and I just thought if I showed up with you then-
“Alright! Jesus, fine. I’ll go to the party and I’ll pretend to be your fucking boyfriend, and then we’ll never talk about it again, capiche?” Billy asked, pointing his finger in Steve’s face.
Steve grinned widely at him, lunging forward and squeezing Billy so tight he thought his insides might get crushed.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m gonna owe you such a big favor after this. Anything you want!” Steve swore, running off down the hall to get ready. “Wear something nice!” Steve called over his shoulder.
Billy rolled his eyes, closing his door and heading over to his closet. The hell was he supposed to wear to a fancy ass Christmas party? He didn’t own a suit. He didn’t even own dress pants! But he did have a pair of dark navy jeans without holes, so he went with those, dragging on a long sleeve maroon button up shirt, which he buttoned all the way up to his neck cause he didn’t think Steve’s coworkers would take too kindly to him showing off his bare chest.
He owned exactly one tie, basic black, that Max had gotten him for Christmas so he threw that on as well and his nicest pair of black boots. Good thing he’d thought to curl his hair last night, despite Steve teasing him for using curlers. But hey, it’s not like his hair looked this good on it’s own. Giving his curls a good couple of sprays with the Farrah Fawcett spray (courtesy of Steve), Billy decided he looked okay and headed out to the living room.
Steve was already waiting, staring at his watch like he was worried they were gonna be late and really if he was worried he should have asked Billy to be his date earlier and not the night of the fucking party. He looked up when he saw Billy, eyes widening and light blush staining his cheeks and yeah, Billy knew he looked good, but Steve looking at him like that still made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Steve was, of course, dressed in a simple black suit, with a navy blue tie. He looked like sex on legs. Not that Billy could tell him that, ever, because Steve was the best roommate he’d ever had and he didn’t want to fuck that up. Plus they were friends now. Good friends. And Billy needed Steve in his life, however he could get him.
“Lead the way, pretty boy,” Billy said.
The party was in full swing when they got there. Well, as in full swing as a work party with a bunch of snobby business men could be.
“That’s, Melanie,” Steve said, pointing to a cute redhead in the corner. Huh, she looked like the kind Steve would go for. Billy wondered why he wasn’t interested in her, but when she started making her way toward them he easily slipped an arm around Steve’s waist, resting his hand on his hip.
Steve froze, eyes flickering up to meet Billy’s. Rolling his eyes, Billy leaned in to whisper in Steve’s ear.
“Relax. No one’s gonna believe we’re a couple if you look spooked having my hands on you,” he said gently.
Steve nodded, taking a slow breath in and out. A minute later, Billy felt Steve lean against him a little, comfortably resting their hips together while he chatted with one of his coworkers about some business shit Billy wasn’t going to try to follow.
“Hey Steve,” Melanie greeted warmly, completely ignoring Billy’s presence as she sidled up to his fake boyfriend.
“Oh, uh, hey Melanie,” Steve said, looking a little nervous.
Melanie’s eye’s drifted over to Billy, her smile looking a little forced as she noted their close proximity.
“Who’s your friend?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s my, uh, w-well-
“Boyfriend,” Billy said, coming to Steve’s rescue, his fingers curling more securely around his hip. “I’m his boyfriend. Billy. It’s nice to meet you,” he said, smiling far more warmly at her than he was currently feeling.
Melanie blinked, glancing back and forth between the two of them, her smile falling.
“Oh. I guess I didn’t realize you were…attached,” she said. “How long have you been together?”
“Six months,” Billy answered, smiling at Steve before pressing a soft kiss to the other boy’s cheek, not missing the way Steve blushed.
“Well, um, congratulations,” she said, smiling a surprisingly polite smile, excusing herself to go talk to a woman standing by the punch. Huh. Guess she really was sweet. Which once again begged the question; why wasn’t Steve interested?
“I’m never leaving the house again. That was exhausting,” Billy said, undoing his tie the second he and Steve walked through the door of their apartment.
“I know. It’s a lot,” Steve said, shaking his head and laughing. “Thanks for coming with me though. Really, I owe you one.”
Billy shrugged, studying Steve for a moment.
“Hey, I gotta ask. How come you’re not into Melanie? She seems like a nice girl. Just your type,” Billy said, a teasing not to his voice.
“Oh, I’m…I like someone else,” Steve said quietly.
Billy frowned.
“It’s not Tom is it?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood. Tom was this slightly sketchy dude who worked in the tech department of Steve’s office.
Steve bit his lip, shaking his head. Billy thought about all the people he’d met tonight, wondering if it was one of them who had caught Steve’s attention.
“Oh shit man, it’s not Nancy is it?”
“God, no. No, I love her, but I’m not in love with her. That ship sailed a long time ago,” Steve said.
“Is it me?” Billy joked.
Steve didn’t say anything, his face going beet red as he stared down at the floor. Billy watching as Steve fidgeted with the cuffs of his jacket, looking like he was two seconds away from bolting. Huh. Interesting.
Billy moved forward into Steve’s space, ducking his head to try to catch his roommate’s eye.
“Steve…is it me?” he asked again, trying not to get his hopes up.
Sighing, Steve nodded, still not looking at him. His posture was rigid, like he was waiting for Billy to reject him. Billy huffed a soft laugh, shaking his head at the thought. Steve’s head shot up and he glared at Billy angrily.
“Don’t laugh at me,” he snapped, in full defensive mode.
Billy rolled his eyes, looping an arm around Steve’s back and yanking him close so they were pressed together chest to chest.
“Does it look like I’m laughing?” he asked.
Before Steve could say anything, Billy cut him off with a kiss, smirking when Steve’s whined against his mouth, hands easily winding around Billy’s neck.
Oh yeah, he could get used to this.