Chapter Text
Though it's a pretty big step in any relationship, Paul had barely noticed when he had moved in with Ted. It had become normal for them to go to Ted's after a date or after work, even just to watch a movie rather than go to Paul's apartment, given that it was in the bad part of town. Eventually, Ted had cleared some space in his closet and cabinet for Paul's clothes, they started grocery shopping together, and Paul just ended up migrating into the house, becoming a foundation of it. Ted had officially asked him to move in ten months into their relationship, when they had been watching movies with Charlie and Ethan.
The teenagers had fallen asleep after the third Harry Potter movie, curled up together on the plush chair that was far too small for two nearly grown men, but they hadn't complained. Sometime during the fourth movie, Ted and Paul had shifted to be laying down, bodies intertwined, interlocked like they were made for each other.
"Viktor Krum can get it."
"Ted, he's a teenager."
"Paul, look me in the fucking eye and tell me you believe that's a teenager."
"That's fair." Paul smiled as Ted nuzzled into him, pulling him tighter. He never wanted to intrude on Ted's family time, but the other man was always inviting him over, and he couldn't say no to a face like that. Ted smelled like cigarettes, and as much as Paul wanted to make him go brush his teeth or change his shirt, he refused to break the comfort of the situation.
"Hey." Ted's voice had a soft gruffness to it.
"Hey."
"You should stay here."
"I should, it's late."
"Fuck, no, Paul, I mean... stay here. Live here instead of hopping between that broom closet you call an apartment and here."
"Really?" Paul sat up, and Ted pulled away from him, sitting on the other end of the couch.
"Yes, really. What, did you not think I was gonna ask you eventually? If you didn't think this was gonna happen, what did you think we were doing here?" He stood up, and Paul was sure he would have been a lot louder had his seventeen year old not be sleeping five feet away.
"I, uh... you two are a family. And I get that, and I love you, both of you. But I, um..." Paul rubbed at his face, "I don't want to mess this up. If I move in, I become a permanent fixture in that kid's life. And I'm okay with that. But I want you to be sure that you're okay with that. And that he's okay with that. Okay?" Ted nodded towards the door.
"Talk outside? I need a dart." Paul sighed but followed, closing the door quietly behind him. Ted leaned over the porch barrier, elbows up, already billowing smoke like a chimney. Paul stopped a few feet away from him, and admired his face in the light. They needed to replace the overhead light, so he could just catch the shadows of Ted's face from the streetlights, and the floodlights of the next door neighbors. His soft jawline worked as he gnawed on the end of his dart.
"Ted, look, I-" Ted put his hand up, turning towards Paul. He could just melt into those chocolate eyes.
"No, Paul, I need you to listen. You're really fucking important to me. I don't-I guess-listen I just..." he sighed deeply before taking another drag, "you shouldn't feel like the odd man out, or the intruder, or whatever shitty thing you're thinking right now. Charlie fucking loves you, y'know that? When you took him to his Dungeons and Dragons thing because I had to go with Mr. Davidson to Kentucky, he didn't shut the fuck up about it for a week. How cool you were, how you let him play his music and you made shitty little jokes." He flicked his cigarette, gesturing with his hands. "And when it was Ethan's birthday so you drove three hours to get a cook book from your mom's house so me and Charlie could make that cake for him? You're already a part of this family." He leaned with his back on the barrier so he could face Paul fully.
"And I want you to be." Paul smiled and walked up to him. He leaned their foreheads together.
"Okay." They stayed like that a long while, breathing each other in, enveloped in a cloud of smoke. They shared their warmth, the bitter September wind cutting through their thin pyjamas. They broke apart when the door slowly opened, Ethan emerging. He held a vape in one hand, and jumped when he noticed the two of them outside. Paul's sign had been improving but he still wasn't an expert, and the darkness made it difficult for him to discern.
Why you awake? It is cold, Paul does not have socks on. Ethan signed while palming the device, and Paul realized for the first time how frigid the concrete beneath his feet was. Ted sighed, walking up to Ethan. He held his hand out, raising an eyebrow, and Ethan gave him a high five. Paul heard Ted mutter 'Jesus Christ' under his breath.
The v-a-p-e. You are off smoking.
It is not smoking. It tastes like oranges. Paul stepped forward and slid the device out of the teen's hand with ease. He passed it to Ted, who pocketed it. He held up his hands, and began to slowly sign.
Kitchen has oranges. Go to bed. Ted nodded, and Ethan huffed before heading back inside the house. Paul trailed behind Ted, closing the door behind the three of them. Ethan curled back into Charlie on the chair, who was muttering in his sleep as Ethan shifted. Ted stopped to look at them for a moment, a proud look on his face. Paul gently tugged the back of his shirt.
"C'mon, Teddy Bear."
Falling asleep holding Ted felt different that night. The bed seemed to hug them as Paul slowly drifted, listening to his partner's breathing. For the first time since he was nineteen years old, Paul fell asleep truly feeling like he was falling asleep at home.