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With Game Over World flourishing with its sudden success, Garrett and Steve had naturally become accustomed to each other’s presence. Since all of Steve’s belongings were in storage or secretly auctioned, he took what was most important to him (mostly old board games and comics from his childhood) and moved in with Garrett. If they were to be partners and friends in business, they might as well live together too.
Steve moving in was mostly Garrett’s idea. He posed it as something done purely for convenience; it would be easier to manage everything. Plus, it wasn’t like Steve had much in the way of money or housing anyway. It was logical. Practical. That's at least what Garrett told himself so he wouldn't get caught up in his feelings for Steve.
On the other hand, having someone to rely on when coming back to Earth was something that Steve didn’t know he needed. Years spent in the other realm naturally whittled down his attachment to the Earth. Getting back on his feet when he came back was a challenge, but Garrett was there to help. And he also had a place to stay, which was helpful too. The end of that adventure was a new beginning for both of them.
It was a comfortable living for the pair. As the orange light of dusk cascaded through the windows of the closed shop, Steve and Garrett did their usual cleaning and tidying of the shop. They both had a lot of time to just speak openly about anything and everything during this time, with the rush of having customers to please leaving their systems as the night crept through the city.
“Steve?” Garrett began.
”Garrett,” Steve responded in a sing-song tone. He kept his focus on the old gaming magazines and comics that he was dusting off.
“That stuff in the other world, you know, with the building and stuff? Makin’ things and cooking chickens with lava?”
”I know of it.”
“You know, you were super cool. Not nearly as cool as me in the normal world and stuff, but in that world…”
Steve raised an eyebrow. “What are you getting at, Gar-Gar?”
”Don’t you miss it? Being able to create whatever you want? Having those wing thingies that you can fly with?”
“‘Elytra’, Garrett,” Steve took a step back, dramatically resting his hand on his hips. He puffed out an exaggerated sigh. “I’ll be honest; yeah, I do. When I was there, it was like a weight was lifted or something. I didn’t like my dead-end doorknob job, I couldn’t achieve my passions.
“But the real world is great in its own ways. You gotta find the good in everything, Gar. We create a bunch of stuff! That becomes valuable after being able to do whatever you want for years. I wouldn’t even imagine creating a video game cabinet in that world. The real world is nice too. The only downside is taxes, am I right?”
Garrett nodded along, the strangely philosophical answer that Steve gave surprising him slightly. He definitely knew that Steve wasn’t an idiot, he regrets writing him off as such when they first met. Steve is competent, albeit silly and boisterous. Garrett admired Steve for that. Steve was everything that Garrett so badly wanted for himself. Garret saw himself as an idiot, more than any other person he’d ever met. Those feelings faded after spending more time with Steve. Garrett felt wanted. He didn't feel judged. He didn't feel like he had to flaunt his past achievements to be admired.
“Garrett?”
”Hm?” Garrett noticed that he kept nodding even after Steve was long done with speaking. “Oh, yeah, totally, yeah.”
“I mean, would you want to live there?” Steve continued on as if the awkward silence didn’t occur.
”Nah, I like having stuff like this,” Garrett motioned towards the Game Over World interior, taking in his colorful collection of game cartridges, arcade cabinets, posters, and video game memorabilia. It was something he was proud of, something tangible that told him that he could achieve something. That he had achieved something. Something more than winning a championship some 30 years ago. He moved on, no longer washed up, reborn with a new vigor and love for life.
“Me too,” Steve laughed loudly. “As weird as it sounds, I’m happy that you guys found me and bought me back.”
“Even though I was a total butthole when we first met?”
”You weren’t that bad.”
”I literally used the Earth Crystal to force you into giving me diamonds. I didn’t even use them.”
”Meh, you were down on your luck. It wasn’t like the world was at stake or anything,” Steve chuckled at his own joke. “For what it’s worth, I thought you were pretty cool from the get go. You fight really well. Hell, if it weren’t for that Earth crystal, I wouldn’t have met you in the first place.”
Garrett paused at that. He wasn’t a very sentimental guy, not towards other people at least. After being alone for so long, the mere company of another person was enough to make him feel content. Actually hearing that he was wanted was another story. His mind raced, each thought attempting to dominate the others. His head became a tangled mess of unsaid words. He had to clear his mind, to expel these thoughts all at once. It was too overwhelming having Steve there and thinking about him at the same time.
“Are you alright today, Gar? A lotta awkward silences from you today.”
“Yeah uh…One second, my Mom’s calling me,” Garrett pulled his phone out of his pocket, pretending to be receiving a phone call. He made sure to keep the screen out of Steve’s view as he bought the soundless speaker up to his ear. “Hey, mom, how’s it hanging? Finally decide to miss me?”
Before Steve could object, Garrett was already briskly making his way to the backroom behind the counter, holding his phone as if he were about to answer a call.
”Your mom doesn’t call you anymore!” Steve called back to Garrett as he disappeared behind the counter. “She cut you off…you stole like $300 from her,” he mumbled to himself. “And your phone didn't ring!”
Garrett shut the door behind him, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He immediately pushed his back against the cold brick wall and slank down to the floor. He felt like a goddamn teenager again. It was embarrassing.
All he could think of for the last few months was Steve and how exhilarating it was to meet him. It wasn’t just the rush of almost dying, it was the rush of experiencing that with someone else, someone so capable and innovative and creative. He thought back to how his dreams changed after he met Steve. He wouldn’t just dream of that other world, he would dream of experiencing it with Steve.
The emotions he developed since then had begun to bleed into his interactions with Steve. He would seek approval, go out of his way to make sure Steve was comfortable and happy, he would get nervous when they eventually came to see each other without clothes on (being that they lived together, it was bound to happen from time to time.) He thought about Steve’s body in more perverse ways than he would like to admit. Even in a life threatening situation, having Steve’s body flush against his own was something he thought about when he was in a certain mood. He felt even worse about it when he would finish and realize that he got off to the thought of his roommate and friend.
Living this way was a bit unhealthy. He loved the life he gained through Steve, but constantly yearning for something more was weighing on him. He could barely concentrate on anything anymore. People would have to snap him out of his daydreaming to the point where even Natalie and Henry noticed when they visited. Natalie had that ‘young woman instinct’ (as Garrett liked to call it). She knew something was up with Garrett when it came to Steve specifically, but she was never one to pry. Garrett mostly feared that she would tell Steve for some reason.
“Damn…moron,” Garrett berated himself, thudding his palm against his forehead.
He rested his arms against his knees, taking in the buzz of the luminescent lights in the backroom. He could no longer hear Steve rustling around in the store. Steve was a lot of things, but he was not at all quiet. Garrett’s first guess was that Steve was worried or upset. That thought pushed him back on his feet. He took a few deep breaths, preparing himself to at least try to act normal.
As soon as Garrett swung open the door he collided with Steve’s chest. Steve stood in the doorway, his arms crossed.
“Garrett, I know what’s going on,” Steve spoke with an unwavering tone. It scared Garrett, who yelped helplessly at the sudden confrontation.
“Y-you do?” Garrett felt his face pale. He lost feeling in his arms and legs.
Steve stared up at Garrett, an uncharacteristically stern and cold expression painted on his face. Garrett’s mind ping-ponged between telling Steve or just keeping his mouth shut.
”No, actually. I don’t. I thought that would trick you into telling me,” Steve shrugged after a few moments. He dropped his serious demeanor, his regular personality coming back. Garrett let out a long sigh of disbelief. “But I can tell that something’s bothering you.”
Garrett opened his mouth to speak, but Steve beat him to it.
”You don’t have to tell me, Gar. But I’m here for you,” Steve gave Garrett’s shoulder a firm, reassuring pat.
“Yeah, well, actually…” Garrett started. He walked around the counter and rested his weight on top of it. “Something has kind of been on my mind.”
Might as well get it done with, right?
“What’s up, Gar-Gar?” Steve stood across from Garrett, placing his palms on one of the display tables in the middle of the shop.
Garrett was no poet. He wasn’t that great with words, despite being ‘bilingual’. He didn’t know how to put how he felt into words without sounding like he was trying too hard.
“Steve, I like you,” his mouth ripped off the mental band aid before he could take time to think over how to present himself. “Like, more than a bro. I thought you should know. Or I should at least get it off my chest.”
Steve nodded, giving Garrett a “go on” motion with a tilt of his head.
”…that’s about it. I just think you’re awesome and I like having you around.”
Garrett couldn’t exactly read Steve’s expression, which scared him. Steve seemed to be his usual self, but that seemed inappropriate given what Garrett had just said. There was no sign of confusion or repulsion or apprehension.
“That’s it?”
Garrett exhaled, “yep.”
Garrett felt like he would be sick whether Steve accepted or rejected him. His chest and stomach felt heavy, as if he had swallowed a ton of ingots and they were all weighing him down.
”Garrett, I honestly couldn’t be happier,” Steve’s face broke into a full on smile, straight teeth and gums on full display.
“Yeah?” Garrett groaned in disbelief.
“I was trying to make it obvious that I liked you, probably should have just told ya now that I think about it. I don’t think walking around our place naked is a good look.” It was definitely a good look, not that Garrett really minded either way.
“You’re serious?”
”Why would I joke about that?” Steve waved Garrett off.
The threat of rejection was lifted, but that raised more questions for Garrett. How long had he felt this way? Why didn’t Steve tell him first? Did he really walk around in only underwear for that reason? Why did he think that was a good idea?
”Alright, Gar-Gar,” Steve moved closer to Garrett. The nickname held a new meaning now that Garrett knew that Steve also felt the same way. “You’re getting in your own head again. Relax, dude.”
“Relax? The guy I like just told me he likes me back and you want me to relax?”
“You know what I mean. You’re doing that thing where you internally ask yourself a bunch of questions.”
Garrett found it both strange and endearing that Steve had picked up on that aspect of his life.
“So…like are we…are we like a thing now?”
”What thing?”
”Saying ‘boyfriend’ makes me sound like a high schooler,” Garrett chuckled, the rest of his anxiety dissipating with the laugh.
Steve took another step closer, his face inches away from Garrett’s, “We don’t have to worry about that right now.”
Garrett placed his hands on Steve’s shoulders, pressing a loving kiss on the shorter male’s forehead. It was one of the many things that he had been thinking of doing for a while. Steve had to stand on his toes to properly kiss Garrett on the lips. It was quick and innocent, full of comfort and love, but Garrett’s chest still fluttered.
“¿Cuánto cuesta esto?” Garrett whispered in a playfully seductive voice. “That means ‘I love you’ in Spanish.”
“I don’t think so.”
”Who made you the expert?” he cocked an eyebrow.
“Just a hunch.”
With a new weight lifted off of his chest, with a new passion for living accompanied by the man he loves, Garrett smiled genuinely, more genuine than he had felt in years.