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When Bobby moved in with Ray and Rose not long after the end of July, it took him a while to get used to how physically affectionate they really were.
It wasn't that he was unused to it, it was that he was too used to it.
The boys had always been touchy with him and each other, and he just couldn't handle anything physical from the people he loved for a while, no matter how much he craved it. There were too many memories and too much pain.
Rose and Ray were always accepting of it, of course. They were pretty much accepting of everything as long as it wasn't hurting him. They were good like that.
So for a while they just didn't touch him, and when he was ready he showed them through small things like bumping his shoulder against one of theirs or grabbing one of their hands.
It escalated from there to things such as cuddles on the couch and long hugs. All platonic, of course. He didn't dare let himself hope for anything more.
Bobby watched as Ray and Rose exchanged small kisses before turning to him and grabbing his hands or throwing arms over his shoulders, and something in him settled and something else ached for it.
He wasn't really ready to address what "it" was quite yet.
So he just took what he could get and basked in all the love they were, for some reason, willing to give him.
When Rose left for work one morning, she moved to press a quick goodbye kiss against Ray's lips, and Bobby's stomach flipped both from watching it happen and in anticipation for the hug he knew he was about to get, even though both of those things happen almost every single day when one or both of them leave the house for any occasion.
What he didn't expect was for her to completely ignore his own arms held out towards her and instead go for pressing an equally as chaste kiss to his lips, seemingly not seeing the way his mouth hung open in surprise after she pulled away and gave them both bright smiles.
"I'll see you guys when I get back. Should only be around 9-ish," She said, waving to them with her back turned.
The door slammed behind her when she was completely out of the apartment, and it snapped him out of his surprise. He immediately turned to Ray when he gained some sense of thought back, his mouth clicking shut, but all he got was a grin even wider than Rose's and a shrug.
Instead of stepping away and leaving the room, though, Ray took a step closer to him and leant down just a little to press a soft kiss to his forehead, ruffling his hair up when he moved away and walking out without another word.
Bobby stood there- mouth back to hanging open- for what felt like an entire hour, brain completely blank with no coherent thoughts crossing his mind. It took the sound of Ray moving around in the apartment's small kitchen to snap him out of it, and he shook his head as if shaking all of his emotions out of it, steeling himself and walking inside to watch his friend make breakfast.
They were probably just getting a little more affectionate. And that was fine. He could handle it. He would handle it.
His pounding heart and sweaty hands would not be a problem. Not at all.