“Bruce,” Elyse said as she walked into his room, not even bothering to knock, “tell Matt how handsome he looks.”
“Uh.” Bruce said intelligently as he stopped his typing and looked up from his laptop with a blank look on his face. “Come again?”
Elyse stood at the end of his bed and motioned to the doorway with a wide sweep of her hands. Bruce followed her hands and arched an eyebrow. The doorway was noticeably Matt free. “I said, tell Matt how- goddammit, where did he go?”
“You're absolutely stunning Peake,” Bruce snorted. With a loud sigh, Elyse held up her finger and asked Bruce to wait a minute before she stomped out of the room. She stepped to the side to avoid walking into Joel, who sauntered into the room with a lopsided, knowing smirk. He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned back on his arms, daintily crossing one leg over the other.
Bruce closed his laptop and nudged Joel's arm with his foot. “Why don't you ever wear any of the real clothes I buy you?” he asked, gently toeing the sleeve of the purple bathrobe Joel seemed to practically live in.
“Because real clothes are itchy and restricting,” he said matter of factly as he looked at Bruce over his shoulder. “Besides, I look damn good in this bathrobe, it'd be a crime if I wore anything else.” Humble as always. Before Bruce could comment about how fucking weird he was, Elyse walked back into the room with Matt in tow. The look on his face plus the iron-like grip she had around his wrist made it clear that he was being dragged against his will.
“Okay, Bruce, now you can tell Matt how handsome he is,” she said casually. Matt fidgeted and raised his free hand to lightly tug on the collar of his shirt- a new, crisp looking dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It took Bruce a moment to tear his gaze away from Matt's biceps and process what Elyse had just said. She gave him a look and Joel snorted from the end of the bed.
“You look stunning,” Bruce said, giving Matt a reassuring smile that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. And he meant it too; Matt always looked cute, like a soft, sleepy, cuddly teddy bear man, but when he cleaned up he looked amazing. Matt smiled shyly at Bruce and mumbled a thanks and Bruce swore that he was blushing, just a little and boy, if that didn't make his chest feel tight, the thought that he was the one to cause that-
“He's going on a date tonight,” Joel explained as he slowly ran his eyes over Matt's body, lingering on his thighs and arms. Just like that, the tight feeling in Bruce's chest went from pleasant to uncomfortable. He could feel Elyse looking at him and so he put on his best 'I'm not at all affected by this news' face and nodded at Matt.
Matt, who looked even more uncomfortable now and was now noticeably red in the face. “It's not a date...” he said meekly with a shrug as he looked at the floor.
“It is absolutely a date,” Elyse tutted as she finally released his wrist, now confident that he wouldn't try and run away again. “He asked you out for drinks. On a Friday night, just the two of you. Bruce, that's a date, right?”
“Sounds like a date to me,” Bruce said with an even voice. He was proud of himself for that because the thought of Matt going on a date was an unpleasant one and in that moment, he wished he was literally anywhere else so he wouldn't have to have this conversation.
“We're just friends,” Matt said in defense of himself except he didn't sound very confident. “Adam and I have known each other for years and he just moved back into town. We're just going to have a drink or two and catch up. That's it.”
Joel snorted. “God, I hope not, otherwise your date is going to suck.” Matt opened his mouth but Elyse spoke before he could.
“Hey, you've never been on a date so how would you know? Maybe that's the perfect date for Matt and Adam.”
“That's,” Joel interrupted Matt, who huffed and slid his hands into his pockets, “a fair point you make.” He sat up a little straighter and smoothed the fur on his ears down before grinning at Elyse. “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?”
“Oh my god,” Bruce and Matt groaned at the same time. Elyse looked surprisingly ecstatic.
“Nothing, my schedule is 100% free.”
“Excellent. Wanna get dinner tomorrow night?”
“Joel, I'd be honored.” Elyse said sincerely, resting both of her hands over her heart. Bruce rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief before bringing his focus back on Matt. The other man was looking between Joel and Elyse with a mix of confusion and something akin to satisfaction. Huh.
“Date or not,” he said and Matt's eyes flickered to Bruce and no, Bruce's heart did not do a funny leapy thing in his chest, thank you very much. “I hope you have fun tonight.” And he meant that too because Bruce was a Good Friend and he'd support Matt no matter what. Even if he was going on a date with some stranger.
“Oh my god, you have to get going!” Elyse all but chirped as she glanced at Bruce's alarm clock. Matt barely had time to react before Elyse was grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room to fix his hair or something before he left- truthfully, she was talking so fast that Bruce couldn't make out what she was saying. Bruce opened his laptop again and was about to continue working when Joel obnoxiously cleared his throat.
“Please don't cough up a hairball on my bed,” Bruce said without looking up from the screen.
“Oh, you're hilarious,” Joel said dryly before shifting on the bed. He rolled onto his stomach, tail swishing happily behind him, and reached out to nudge the laptop closed. “You gonna be okay big boy?”
Bruce turned his attention from his laptop to Joel and he was surprised to see genuine concern on his face. He scoffed a beat later, nearly wincing at how obviously fake it was. “Yeah, why wouldn't I be?”
Joel simply hummed and placed his hand reassuringly on Bruce's leg, right above his knee. “You're a terrible liar,” he shook his head in mock disappoint, “and you forget that I know you so well.” Using his hand on Bruce's leg as leverage, Joel pushed himself up and crawled further up the bed to pet Bruce's cheek, his fingertips gently brushing his hairline. “It's okay though, I still love you.”
He pressed a quick and chaste kiss to Bruce's forehead before scampering off the bed to... to do whatever it was that Joel did when he wasn't annoying him or climbing all over Matt and Elyse. Bruce sat there in silence and stared at the door. If he listened closely, he could hear Elyse chattering away in the bathroom and the occasional hum of agreement from Matt.
“I'm fine,” he said softly to himself before pushing his laptop open to continue his work.
“That's it,” Elyse said as she paused the movie and pushed herself off the couch. Joel meowed and blinked at her from where he was curled up int Bruce's lap. “I'm calling it: it's Wine Night.”
With an excited meow, Joel leaped off of Bruce- “Hey, watch the claws!”- and darted into the bathroom. In the same moment, Elyse turned and headed towards the kitchen. Bruce didn't move off the couch and just listened as she went through the cabinets. From the bathroom, there was a sharp cracking noise and a moment later, Joel was walking out with a spring in his step as he finished tying off the sash on his bathrobe.
“About time,” he sighed contentedly as he threw himself onto the couch and wiggled against the cushions to get comfortable. “It's been too long since we've had Wine Night.”
“Joel, we had one last week after you got chased by that dog, remember?”
“Time works differently for us cats so really it was like a month ago.”
Before Bruce could explain that no, that's now how it worked at all, Elyse walked in with three wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other., corkscrew hanging from her mouth. She set everything down on the table and situated herself between Joel and Bruce before grabbing the bottle and removing the corkscrew from her mouth. The cork popped out easily enough and she filled all three glasses nearly to the brim before setting the bottle back on the table. Joel didn't hesitate in grabbing one and handing it to Bruce before getting one from himself.
“Correct me if I'm wrong,” Bruce said as he blinked at his glass before looking at Elyse, “but Wine Nights are usually reserved for shitty days, right? And I'm pretty sure-”
“Oh, this isn't for me,” Elyse gestured to the wine bottle resting on the coffee table before taking a sip of her glass. She licked her lips and leaned back against the couch, holding her glass close to her chest. “This is for you.”
Bruce frowned. “I don't-”
“Matt's on a date tonight,” Elyse said with a shrug as she swirled her wine and Bruce wondered if he'd be able to say anything tonight without getting interrupted. “Which is good for him, of course it is, but I saw the look on your face when you found out. You were upset and you've been moping all night ever since he left.” Bruce frowned and just stared at her. Elyse smiled sheepishly as she added, “and okay, alright, I wasn't too happy about it either, so I guess this is for me too. But mostly you.”
“You seemed jazzed about it earlier,” Bruce shifted in his seat and sipped at his wine. Joel hummed in agreement as he finished his off in three gulps before reaching for the bottle to pour himself another glass.
“I was! I mean, I still am, it's cool for him to go out and date and stuff.” Elyse wasn't exactly the most confident person on the planet, Bruce knew this, but she looked shyer than he had ever seen her before. “It's just... he's Matt. Our Matt and I'm... not jealous, no, but envious, maybe. Like, he's allowed to have other friends and hang out with other people, but I dunno,” she paused to take a long drink, “It just feels wrong, somehow.”
Well. Wasn't that interesting. Bruce took a lengthy sip of wine and set his glass on the table. “You like Matt.” A statement, not a question. Bruce watched Elyse as she shrugged one shoulder and nodded a moment later.
“Yeah. I do. I mean, what's not to like? He's super sweet and nice and just- he's the kind of guy who'd give you the shirt off his own back if you needed it. He's just so caring and nice and funny and...” Elyse trailed off with a shake of her head. Joel refilled his glass again when neither of them were looking, clearly a man on a mission, and a quiet moment passed before Elyse added on as an after thought, just a whisper. “Yeah, I like him a lot.”
Elyse liked Matt. Oddly enough, Bruce was relieved by this news. He felt like he should have have been upset except... except he wasn't. It might have had something to do with the fact that Bruce was also really into Elyse, but that was a conversation for another time. Tonight, it was about Matt and how they were upset that he was on a date with someone who wasn't one of them. Them. An odd thought, but it made Bruce feel all pleasant and warm.
“I get it,” he said with a soft smile. Elyse stared at Bruce with wide eyes, mouth slightly agape, but then his words must have sunk in because she was smiling back and him and ah, yes, there was that tight feeling in his chest again. Bruce tried to drown it by taking another sip of his wine but it didn't help at all. “Trust me, I really do.”
“I'm glad we're all on the same page,” Joel said as he scooted closer and practically crawled into Elyse's lap. They hadn't been drinking for very long but already Joel's face was flushed. He giggled and rested his cheek against Elyse's shoulder, his ears twitching and gently brushing against her jaw and only then did Bruce realize how much wine he chugged. “We- We should toast.”
“Yeah,” Joel lifted his wine glass and was oblivious to the wine that spilled over the edge and onto his hand, dripping onto Elyse's thigh. “To Matt- our hot piece of ass werewolf.”
“To Matt,” the other two said in unison as they lifted their drinks, glasses clinking.
Of course, Joel waited until Bruce was taking a sip to include, “And to the dream that one day, one or all of us will get the chance to suck his-”
Bruce spit his wine out and Elyse squeaked. Bruce coughed and slammed his fist against his chest, wheezing out a laugh the moment he could breathe again. Elyse's face was beet red as she giggled, lifting a hand to cover her mouth when she let out a snort. Looking just like the metaphorical cat who caught the canary, Joel looked between them before pressing a quick, wet kiss to Elyse's cheek.
“That's it, you're cut off,” Bruce laughed as he reached over to grab Joel's glass. With an offended noise, Joel leaned back and held his glass out of reach, stretching his arm over his head as far as he could.
“Noooo,” Joel whined with a dramatic pout as Bruce climbed over Elyse and continued to try to grab the glass. More wine spilled over his hand and splattered on the floor but no one seemed to notice or care. “You are being so unfair right now.”
Elyse squealed and moved her own glass back and out of the way as the two of them struggled and fought across her lap. Bruce grunted as Joel pressed his hand against his face, trying to push him away, but ultimately, Bruce was the bigger and stronger man. He pinned Joel's free hand down with his knee but just when he was about to grab the glass, Joel did the unthinkable. Panicking, he dropped the glass. It hit the floor and shattered, wine starting to already soak into the carpet as small bits of glass glittered in the faint light from the television, movie still paused.
Everything was still and then suddenly, Joel was crawling his way out from underneath Bruce and was darting away with a cry that was simultaneously scared and excited. Bruce didn't waste any time and chased after him, banging his knee against the coffee table and swearing under his breath as he almost spilled the wine bottle over.
Elyse sat on the couch and remained still for just a moment before dismissively shaking her head. “Why are my boys such idiots?” she asked herself as she took a drink and reached for the remote to continue watching the movie without them.