↳INSTAGRAM: @xavimacaroni posted to their story:
@carolanandclover: Thanks for hanging with us today! You’re always welcome, Xavi!
i don't do bad sauce passes
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
No title available
Today's Document
Cosmic Funnies
NASA
Cosimo Galluzzi

oozey mess

ellievsbear
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH

Kaledo Art
sheepfilms
styofa doing anything
taylor price
Aqua Utopia|海の底で記憶を紡ぐ

JBB: An Artblog!
KIROKAZE
art blog(derogatory)
No title available
No title available
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from France
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Ireland

seen from Australia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from United States
seen from United States
@sean19carolan
↳INSTAGRAM: @xavimacaroni posted to their story:
@carolanandclover: Thanks for hanging with us today! You’re always welcome, Xavi!
↳INSTAGRAM: @mightymiller posted to their story:
@carolanandclover: 🫣 Percy!
There was something about Sean that had always been so childlike. Gabe didn’t mean that as an insult, but merely an observation. There was an innocence to the other man that had never quite left him, even in fatherhood. He was an anomaly, in that he’d somehow done the bravest thing in the world by ending a marriage, raising his daughter all alone, and all while travelling across the country and pursuing new career prospects. All of the above would be frightening all on their own, yet Sean had taken on each obstacle with so much strength that he’d made it look easy. Gabe had no doubt it hadn’t been easy for him, but that didn’t stop the other man from wearing a smile on his face. Yet he still remained naive to a degree, his cheery optimism so close to Gabe’s own, only where grief had dimmed the light behind Gabe’s eyes, the hefty weight of Sean’s own responsibilities didn’t seem to bother him at all.
It takes a village to raise a child. That was how the saying went, and Sean Carolan was the finest proof of it. He’d gathered Clover close and protected her from a loveless home and had built a new one for her instead, filled with bedtime stories from Kai and cuddles from Libby, unwanted mushy meals from Izzy and big, oversized puppy licks from Zeke. He had no shortage of helpers where his daughter was concerned, and Gabe thanked his lucky stars every day that the other man hadn’t been made to do it all alone. He liked to think that it was a combination of the love and support he received that helped him maintain the innocence and whimsy he was still holding onto. Gabe hadn’t had the same such luck, so it was good to know that Sean could still be the man he’d always loved and adored.
It was with those thoughts in mind that caused Gabe to rich up with his free hand as he pinched his buddy on the nose, laughing softly at the way his skin had crinkled in disapproval. Sean could lament the lossof Gabe’s place on the team all he liked, but he wouldn’t budge. He owed it to Emily and to himself, but he also owed it to Blair too. She hated him enough as it was now without him leaving her high and dry halfway through the year.
“Hey, cut it out,” Gabe gently scolded him, retrieving his hand as he gave his chest a hearty clap. “You saw the name on this jersey, bud. This didn’t come cheap and you know it. You’re still the top dog as far as those fans are concerned.”
He grinned, knowing Sean was sure to blush under the compliment, but it was true. His name still brought a lot of revenue to the club. He was undoubtedly a fan favourite and his jerseys flew off the shelves like hotcakes. The Han’s and the Starling’s did pretty well for themselves too, the newer blood seeming to draw out a younger crowd, but there was no denying that the guys and gals that came out to watch the Rangers could still appreciate a silver fox. Not that Sean was there yet, his golden locks still holding strong, but he had a lot more fans than he gave himself credit for. And Gabe knew better than anybody just how fond Obie was of him.
“Well, I’d better stop ya right there, Seanie. She’s not my young lady by any means,” Gabe grimaced, before dramatically searching their surroundings, as if he thought Blair might pop up unannounced from behind the bar. “And I don’t doubt for a second that she wouldn’t kick your butt for saying it, either.”
He chuckled heartily, trying not to let his skating partner’s obvious disdain for him get to him too much. It was part and parcel of the craft, he supposed. You couldn’t always get along with your colleagues, try as Gabe might, and Blair in particular ran a tight ship. He’d never been late or missed a practice, but she always seemed to be there, already with a sheen of sweat across her brow, as though she’d done several laps of the rink while waiting for him to show his face. Wherever the goalposts were, they seemed to keep on moving and Gabe wasn’t sure he’d be on target ever again.
“Hey, be my guest! I’d love to see a little more of Clover, if she’ll have me,” he agreed enthusiastically, trying with all his might to keep the tightness out of his smile. It wasn’t lost on him that he’d ignored Sean’s question of whether he enjoyed figure skating, unsure how to put it all into perspective for the other man. It seemed like a lot of ground to cover, and far too heavy a topic, for the confines of a bustling sports bar on a random Friday afternoon.
He’d always wanted kids, even since he was a teen. It was exactly the sort of future he’d envisioned for himself, and one that he and Emily had so candidly shared with one another. She’d had a few scares here and there, the nausea and the bloating brought on by her cancer masking itself as something far more hopeful and innocent. It was a dream that had died with Emily, and Gabe was trying his darndest not to let the bitter sting of jealousy take root and destroy his relationship with Sean entirely.
“Anyway, that’s enough about me,” Gabe announced, knowing fine well they hadn’t even touched the surface. Slapping his hand gently against his thigh, he gave his old friend a wide smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “What about you? What’s new in the world of Seanie Carolan, hm?”
Sean giggled, experiencing the glee Clover must feel whenever they indulged in a good old game of ‘got your nose!’. He half expected Gabe to pull his closed fist back, waving it childishly in the air as he taunted Sean. He took a swig from his bottle instead, chuckling halfheartedly around the rim of the bottle, and put that line of conversation to bed. He hadn’t brought Gabe all the way out on a weekday to discuss the merits of his pIace in the Rangers, jersey or no jersey.
“My bad!” he insisted, raising two hands above his head - one still clutching the bottle - to show he meant no harm. He had enough trouble with one young lady wanting to kick his behind, he didn’t need to add a second. He also had no doubt Blair Mcrory was perfectly capable of doing so. He’d seen her on the ice in his downtime, a hard, mean look on her face as she skated with the utmost concentration. He’d also heard the bickering that took place on the ice between her and Gabe. It was hard to imagine her in a sparkly princess get-up.
He didn’t get the vibe they exactly got along. Which was weird, because Gabe was like the funnest, easiest guy to get along with. And handsome too! He’d never met a woman (or a man, come to think of it. Because Gabe liked men too!) that Gabe couldn’t charm. It was just that he’d only ever had eyes for Emily.
Sean’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the man across from him. Who, for all intents and purposes, read as very straight. As much as anyone could read as gay or straight, he didn’t know. How could you know? What did people think when they looked at him? What had he thought the first time he’d met Libby, or Perry? The point was, Gabe was decidedly, loudly not straight. Sean hadn’t forgotten the safe haven the Rangers had been for him when he’d been vocal about his sexuality. But since then, no one else had come out, the team had slowly gone back to conformity, even if they still taped up their hockey sticks with rainbows.
Huh. Sean was sitting on a wealth of knowledge on the subject of gay ice hockey, and he hadn’t even thought to ask!
“Clover would love to see you.” he heard himself say, snapping out of his reverie. He offered Gabe a bright smile, knowing how happy his little girl would be to be reunited with the man he affectionately referred to as Uncle Gabe. She was too little to stand up on the ice by herself, but enjoyed being whizzed around by Sean. He was sure she’d be delighted by the spins Gabe could do - maybe when she was a little older.
“Aw, come on. I’m sure you’ve got more to tell me.” he pressed, tapping the edge of the table. It had been so long since he’d gotten Gabe alone like this, he wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. He softened considerably when Gabe called him Seanie though, not for the first time that night. He sounded so much like Casey when he dd that.
“New with me?” he asked, knowing he sounded drunker than he felt. His words tended to slur into each other anyway, when he was talking too fast or nervous or uncertain. For those reasons, he didn’t interview particularly well.
He went through his mental laundry list of things to tell Gabe about. Adelaide Davies’ latest article had been published this weekend, and it had said mostly nice things about him, but he knew Gabe read those anyway. Clover was still sleeping through the night, and well, there was…
Sean felt himself blush considerably.
“Aw, nothing.” he tried to deflect, knowing the redness had travelled all the way up his neck and to the tips of his ears. He couldn’t talk about that, could he?
↳INSTAGRAM: @cockpitcallie posted to their story:
@carolanandclover: Have fun, ladies!
↳INSTAGRAM: @asspeenlol posted to their story:
@carolanandclover: What is a sugar baby? Asking before I make the mistake of googling it.
↳INSTAGRAM: @peanutbutterparker uploaded a photo:
Happy place. :3
@carolanandclover: You look very dashing, Perry!
Gabe was having a blast, and it was entirely at Sean’s expense.
When the other man had reached out to him, he’d been pretty surprised. Gabe loved Sean like a brother, but they’d drifted over the years. With Sean permanently in New York it meant they saw more of each other now than they had in the past few years, but his buddy was a busy man between games and the beautiful, makeshift family he’d curated over the years. When he wasn’t on the ice or rough housing with Cooper, he was attached at the hip with Kai. He’d carved out the perfect life for himself and, much like with all of Gabe’s friends from before Emily’s passing, he didn’t much feel like he fit into Sean’s life anymore.
Sean hadn’t really known Emily, not to the extent Gabe would have liked. They lived very separate lives by then, and Sean had very little time to come to New York. With the hockey season keeping Gabe so busy, and soon thereafter the time and money that was spent focusing on Emily’s healthcare and appointments, their friendship continued to slip through the cracks. He’d had no best man at his wedding, no buddy to hold his hand when he’d sobbed his way through the eulogy. Sean had met Emily on a few, fleeting occasions, but they’d never really connected in any meaningful way. Gabe hadn’t met Apollo until after he’d lost his wife, spending the days that followed her death working himself to the bone in the gym just to take his mind off of the overwhelming agony he felt in his chest. Autumn and Missy were grieving too, so Gabe hadn’t been alone, but he had been lonely.
Hearing from Sean after their awkward encounter – when Gabe had told the man who’d once been his best and closest friend about his arrangement with Missy – was a surprise, but ultimately a pleasant one. He’d spent the months that followed assuming Sean thought less of him and that he might not want Gabe’s poor life choices infecting the life he’d built for himself and Clover. Plus, it hadn’t gone amiss to Gabe just how uncomfortable Sean got whenever Kai left a flirty comment on his social media, teasing him before eventually being reprimanded by their mutual friend. To think he still had a place in Sean’s life was nothing short of a relief.
Now he had the pleasure of sitting across from his old pal in a hockey bar that was stretched thin with Rangers memorabilia, and Gabe himself decked out from head to toe in blue, the number 19 printed across the back of his Carolan jersey. He’d been unable to stifle his giggles as he fondly watched the other man duck his head, a poor man’s Avengers-esque attempt at obscuring his identity in a bar that had his face pinned up on practically every wall. A bar of his own choosing, mind you!
“Me too, buddy. I miss it like crazy,” Gabe admitted, shaking his head as he offered Sean a bittersweet smile.
It was inevitable that the conversation would take this turn, but it was still a tricky topic. Gabe loved what he did now, even if he often dreamed of lacing up his skates ahead of a big game rather than a showcase. Something told him Blair would probably also prefer if he switched professions, but he’d sworn to honour Emily’s legacy and nothing would drive him away. Not the spiky temperament of his current figure skating partner, nor the tempting call of the blue jersey that he’d worn with so much pride.
“Hey, c’mon. You’ve got a good thing going, bud.” Gabe reminded him, giving his friend a clap on the shoulder.
He glanced upwards, offering a polite smile to the ladies just behind Sean, who were currently checking out the single dad. Gabe wasn’t sure if they had recognised him already – he knew there were fans out there that could recognise their trusty Number 19 just from the cute perk of his butt, just the same as they’d once known Gabe by the back of his head – or if they just wanted to shoot their shot. Either way, he’d leave it up to Sean to chase that dream if it came to it. Sex and romance was seemingly a touchy subject for the two old friends.
“There’s a better squad out there than when I was on the ice,” he laughed fondly. “Between Miller, Han and Starling you’re keeping it pretty tight. What d’you need an old fella like me for, huh?”
Something about being around Gabe always made Sean feel better. He had this way of putting the world to right when he plastered on a smile, clapped the palm of his hand against your back and called you ‘buddy’. Even though Sean sometimes suspected that it was all for his benefit, rather than a reflection of Gabe’s own sunny disposition and incredibly rock solid mental health. Selfishly, Sean felt some of the tension leave his body. Gabe was letting him off the hook. He hadn’t done a terrible thing by bringing up the one sport both men loved more than anything, right?
He let his body lean forward a little, elbows resting on the sticky edge of the table and nearly upsetting his beer. He resisted the urge to beg Gabe to come back. It wouldn’t be fair to him. And anyway, that wasn’t how things worked. He was doing a great thing, and whilst Sean wasn’t entirely sure he believed in Heaven or anything, he knew Emily would sure be proud of Gabe if she could see what he was doing for her. He wished he’d asked more about his skating. It was one thing to train your body to take sharp turns and withstand blunt force, it was a whole other thing to turn it into an art. He calmed himself with the knowledge there was still time to ask Gabe all the questions he wanted to ask.
“I guess.” he murmured, lurching forward a little as Gabe slapped his back.
He bit down on the inside of his cheek, trying to make sense of the jumbled thoughts in his beer-addled brain. He wanted to say the right thing. Gabe always supported his choices, his work. The sight of him sitting there, bold as brass in his Carolan jersey, was proof of that. And Sean hadn’t been the best friend lately, he’d been kind of… well, bitchy.
He was sure neither man had forgotten the way he’d reacted when Gabe had confided in him about Missy. He’d questioned his reaction to the news for a long while in the time he’d been accidentally-slash-subconsciously ignoring Gabe. Growing up, he’d been teased about what his Mom had called his ‘delicate sensibilities’. She’d told him he just had a strong sense of right and wrong, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The important thing was to try and understand other people’s perspectives on things. It was a lesson he hoped to teach his own daughter one day, even if he struggled sometimes with understanding why people did things that they knew felt wrong to them. After all, Sean had never really done a bad thing in his life.
Up until… well.
Either way, Sean was convinced he’d driven a wedge through their already fractured friendship, and he was determined to do something to make sure he didn’t lose his oldest friend.
“That’s not true.” he started, scrunching up his brow childishly, the instinct in him to defend his friend rising up. “The team would be so much better with you.”
He tugged his lip between his bottom teeth. So much for being supportive.
“Besides, this old fella needs you.” he tried for levity, a faint smile playing on his lips. Now well into his thirties, there was definitely younger blood on the team, but it would be a long time before Sean willingly gave up his place.
He let out a laugh, playing with the brim of his cap slightly. It was hot in here, but he fought the urge to pull it off and abandon it on the cracked upholstery of the booth. The two of them were hardly discrete, but he needed to keep up some pretence that he was in disguise.
“You like figure skating though?” he asked, remembering his desire to know more about Gabe’s life. He wanted to know everything. “I should bring Clover out to watch you sometime. Sure she’d find it a helluva lot more interesting than hockey. Wasn’t your young lady a Disney Princess?”
↳INSTAGRAM: @daisydukesprior uploaded a photo:
Proving to my big brother I’m better than him! (If you ignore the ball whizzing past me!)
@carolanandclover: Is this the next thing you're gonna teach Clover on the telly?
camera roll: 15th-22nd (ish) of may.
The last time Sean had been in a sports bar, he figured he must’ve been eighteen, maybe nineteen years old. He definitely hadn’t been old enough to drink, but that hadn’t stopped him in the past. (He’d spent what felt like most of his adolescence standing on street corners with Brooke, her shoving him forward when the college-age kids came spilling from the local liquor store so he could try his luck). Sandwiched between his older brothers, nobody looked twice at the kid with the Canucks hat pulled down low. His fake ID had been shitty but the bartender had hardly raised a brow, too busy clapping Casey Carolan on the shoulder and teasing him something rotten about the girl who would go on to become his wife.
It had been the best feeling in the world, squashed into a booth, shoulder to shoulder with his brothers, roaring in triumph at every goal scored on the flat-screen tv above the bar. He’d wanted to go back next weekend, and the weekend after that, and each repeated visit never really took the shine off the experience.
Being in a sports bar in New York was a far cry from a little hole in the wall in his hometown. For a start, despite it being a weekday, there was never not a queue for the bar. He was no longer gangly limbed and awkward with cystic acne, no longer hiding behind Casey. He still sat with his cap - now sporting the Rangers logo - pulled low over his head, a disguise so poor he thought Gabe was gonna burst into a fit of laughter when he saw him.
He’d changed a lot, and as he glanced across the booth at his old friend, he couldn’t help but note all the ways Gabe had too. They’d both filled out - they had years of skating to thank for that - lost their baby faces and gained some life experiences, though not always for the better. They’d been on the same path for most of their lives - hockey, marriage, and Sean had been so excited about it. Until the universe had dealt Gabe the worst hand. Sometimes Sean didn’t know how to talk about it all - his team, the one that had once been Gabe’s too, and his kid - without feeling like some kind of huge jerk.
But he’d had one beer, maybe even two. Which, after becoming a Dad-slash-athlete with literally no time for recreational drinking, hit like five beers. He leaned his elbows on the table as he smiled lopsidedly at Gabe, resting his head in the palm of his hand.
“I wish you could still play with us, man.” He found himself saying, reaching across the table to circle a hand around Gabe’s wrist, giving it a quick squeeze. God. He really did love Gabe like a brother - and that wasn’t just the alcohol making him sentimental, honest!
“I like everyone, but I always liked looking out across the ice and seeing you had my back.”
Sean shrugged his shoulders a little, pulling back to return his hands to his side of the table, folding them neatly into his lap as he watched Gabe. He knew the team was maybe a sore spot, so he offered Gabe a tight smile. Maybe bringing up hockey hadn’t been the best idea. In the hockey bar they were sat in. With his ex-hockey player best friend.
Kai let his head flop back dramatically, barely avoiding clattering his skull off the wall behind him. He let out a long, drawn-out groan as if suggesting that, once again, Sean’s concerns were boring him.
“How many times? They’re out at a concert,” he told the other man.
It stood to reason that he could be a bit more reassuring, but Sean’s concern about Livvy and Fred coming home to find him in their apartment was starting to border on offensive. Deep down, he knew that it was because he had a healthy fear of Kai’s two best friends, and the girls hadn’t really done much to suggest that they were huge fans of Sean, both on and off the ice, but would it really be so bad if they did come back early and Sean brazenly stood his ground and said, yeah, I’m here and making out your big gay roommate.
It was already a poorly-hidden secret that they’d kissed, Livvy and Fred already in the know. Sean hadn’t been particularly talkative about it from his side of things, and Kai was sure Libby had no clue what they got up to when she wasn’t home but here, in Kai’s own territory, did it really matter?
Admittedly, maybe Kai was taking out misplaced frustration on Sean. He’d been in a rotten mood all day, his phone buzzing incessantly with texts from Tanvi who was gloating about her date with fucking Langdon, of all people.
There was a cruel and vindictive part of Kai that wanted to tell Tanvi she was probably barking up the wrong tree if Langdon’s extracurricular activities with the university chancellor were anything to go by. But if he let slip about that, then he’d no longer be holding up his end of their little blackmail deal and Langdon would be free to run his mouth about Kai’s doctored qualifications. The reminder only served to sour his mood even further, so he’d been glad when Sean showed up out of the blue, Clover in tow.
“Trying to use your skull as a bowlin’ ball is how they show love,” Kai insisted, patience fraying a little before Sean finally moved.
Suddenly, Kai felt calmer when the other man settled on top of him, albeit a little ungracefully. An ‘oof!’ was pulled out of Kai, his body now shaking in silent laughter.
“Hey back,” he told Sean, smiling up at his best friend and eagerly tipping his head up to meet him in a proper kiss this time, slipping his tongue into the other man’s mouth.
“Technique’s gettin’ better,” he teased, fingers going to Sean’s belt loops to tug him closer.
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket again and sighed in frustration, head thunking back against his pillow and he wriggled underneath Sean. Kai tugged his phone out, glancing at the text from Tanvi that lit up his screen. Something about Avery pulling a chair out for her. Immediately, Kai tossed his phone to the side, letting it slide across his cluttered bedside table.
“Fuckin’ Tanvi,” he muttered, before turning his attention back to Sean.
Kai was irritable tonight. That was the only word for it. If the eye rolls and sharp, snappy tone was anything to go by, his patience was kind of wearing thin with Sean. He pressed his nose against the other man’s, wishing Kai would lighten up a little. This was Sean’s first gay… anything, if he could even call it that. He had every right to be a little (or a lot) freaked out, especially given how deeply uncool Livvy and Fred were about their little arrangement.
“Sorry.” he mumbled, words muffled against the other man’s mouth. It was a multipurpose apology, half for completely crushing Kai underneath him and the other half for being so antsy tonight. He didn’t want Kai to be sulky with him. Not when they’d been having such a nice time.
There was also the distinct possibility that Sean was too in his head. And in fact, none of this was about him. After all, Kai had been checking his phone a lot during dinner, every little buzz of his phone pulling down the corners of his mouth. When he thought about it that way, it was hard to believe Kai could be annoyed with him at all. Not when he was pressing his tongue into his mouth, Sean’s legs bracing either side of his hips as he fought to get closer.
Besides, he thought he had a pretty good idea how to coax Kai out of his bad mood.
He was still clumsy, overeager when the other man touched him. He thought he had enough authority on the subject to say that Kai was a pretty good kisser, whereas Sean was kinda… well… average at best. Flushing bright red, he nipped at Kai’s jaw in reproach.
“You’re not very encouraging.” he mumbled.
Sean felt rather than heard the vibration this time. He lifted his hips, allowing Kai the space to shuck his phone free, and collapsed atop him once again. He didn’t know what exactly on the other end of his phone had so much of his attention, but he was starting to feel a little sore about it.
Pushing his face into the junction of Kai’s neck, Sean pressed his mouth against the pale expanse of skin there. His palms felt sweaty and uncertain even as he did it, parting his lips only slightly to place a soft, wet kiss there. He doubted himself immediately, unsure he was doing it right. He thought Kai would probably have notes.
“Tanvi?” he echoed, hearing rather than seeing Kai’s phone go flying. Good. He wasn’t sure if the act of kissing him had been inherently selfish or not. Yes, he wanted to take his mind off whatever was bothering him. Yes, he also wanted his attention.
Lifting his head, he asked, “She’s on her date, right? With that guy you work with?”
He raised an eyebrow, placing a hand over Kai’s heart to push himself upright.
“Is this because you don’t like him?”
He searched Kai’s face, trying to read his mind in the slight downturn of his lips, the furrow of his brow. He was used to being so in tune with five other guys at any given time on the ice, but he didn’t know how to read Kai.
“Want me to take your mind off it?” he asked, trying not to visibly wince as he heard himself. He was so out of practice when it came to flirting.
“Are you sure no one’s coming home?”
Sean lifted an eyebrow at Kai from the foot of his bed. He knelt there, heels tucked under his bum, ready to spring at the first sound of life in Kai’s apartment. He wasn’t sure what made him feel more uneasy, the idea that Livvy and Fred could burst through the door at any second, or being around so much of Kai’s stuff. The sheets on the other man’s bed weren’t soft and familiar like his own - his first truly extravagant purchase after being drafted to the Rangers - and the bedroom was cluttered with Kai-things. Theology textbooks and clothes he didn’t recognise and records by bands he’d never heard of. It was weird. Sometimes he felt like Kai was the person who knew him best in the world, but he knew so little about Kai.
He chewed the inside of his cheek, wondering if showing up at Kai’s place unannounced had been one of his smarter ideas. But he hadn’t been answering his texts, and Sean had started to feel fidgety and sad. He’d picked up his keys and strapped Clover into her car seat and braved the New York traffic all because a guy hadn’t been answering his texts. He was officially desperate.
The thing was, he and Kai had been spending a lot of time together. Hockey season was winding down, and every second he wasn’t on the ice he was with Kai. And it was different than before, when every second he wasn’t on the ice he and Kai were just… doing Sean and Kai things. Now, when Sean got Kai alone, it wasn’t long before they were fused together at the lips, hands wandering. He’d tried to put small barriers between them, kitchen counters and board games and once, humiliatingly, an actual physical pillow barrier. He was usually the one who broke first.
Now, greasy take-out bag tucked in the trash and Clover put down in her travel cot in Fred’s room, Sean was considering if it would be awkward to gracefully bow out. Kai had said something about Livvy and Fred going somewhere and doing something. A concert, or a dinner, or something. He’d been chewing on the end of his pen when he explained and Clover had been tugging at Sean’s hair and he hadn’t fully taken all of it in.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited at the prospect of your roommates coming home and forcibly removing my head from my body. But…” he huffed out a laugh, trying for something akin to humour, but the fear in his voice gave him away.
He made his way clumsily across the bedspread, flopping approximately 201 lbs of hockey-player bulk on top of the other man. He rested his forearm on the pillow next to Kai’s head, smiling lopsidedly, so close their noses almost touched.
“Hi.” he smirked, pressing a shy kiss to the corner of Kai’s mouth. The other man seemed to feel better about letting Sean dictate the terms - like he was anxious Sean was going to change his mind. Which was sort of good for him. He felt better about it, home field advantage and all that.
↳INSTAGRAM: @peanutbutterparker posted a photo to his story:
@carolanandclover: Why are there two Perrys in this photo?
↳INSTAGRAM: @gordygoodrow posted a photo to his story:
@carolanandclover: Very handsome!
Sean might as well have reached into Kai’s chest, wrapped his hand around his heart and squeezed, instead of innocently letting his head come down on his shoulder, his face pressed into Kai’s neck. What was Kai meant to do with that? He’d been expecting a quick denial, a plea to right the wrong of the kiss and pretend nothing had happened.
Instead, Sean was instigating more touching points with Kai, and who was he to say no to that?
He felt Sean’s arms lock around his waist, the heels of his hands digging into Kai’s tailbone from how tightly he was holding him. Slowly, limbs moving through invisible molasses, Kai lifted his arms to return the hug, not sure if he was allowed to hold on just as tight. There was no rulebook for whatever the fuck was going on here right now.
“Drawn to me, huh?” he drawled. He tried to sound smug. There was a part of him that felt smug, but mostly he was locked in on his own caution. In any case, he knew he could keep both their heads above water if he made sure things stayed light-hearted. A bold feat for a man who couldn’t actually swim.
When Sean pulled back, a pout tugging at his mouth, Kai smiled. It was fond, more than anything and, despite the erratic rhythm of his heartbeat, he remembered that, first and foremost, Sean was his friend. His best friend. Whatever crisis he was going through right now trumped Kai’s delicate gay sensibilities.
“Oh, a theory,” he emphasised, nodding his head. He gave the other man’s arms a squeeze. Fuck, they were big. Okay, Kai, focus.
“And what was the result?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
His eyes flitted back and forth between Sean’s and the focus and the selflessness and the light-heartedness were quickly thrown out the window in favour of Kai being greedy and the reason a pile of Bibles probably burst into flame somewhere nearby.
“I mean, several tests are the mark of a good experiment,” he pointed out, before leaning in, an active participant this time.
He opened Sean’s mouth with his tongue, his hand sliding to the nape of Sean’s neck as he kissed him. Really kissed him this time.
He felt a warmth spread throughout his whole body when he felt the soft, yet insistent press of Kai’s body against his, hugging him back. This was something he knew well. After all, squashed on the sofa between Kai and Clover, they’d shared plenty of cuddles. He felt his pulse slow to something like normalcy. He’d shared so many little intimacies with Kai, what was another?
“Please don’t.” he grumbled, voice reverberating against the pulse point of Kai’s neck. He didn’t need to lift his head to know Kai was teasing him. He had that cocksure twang to his voice, all mixed up in that Southern drawl of his that got stronger when he was sleepy, or happy, or just downright smug. Sean had never realised how much he liked the sound of it, heat pooling uncertainly in his stomach with every vowel Kai twisted this way and that.
“You’re making fun of me.” Sean pointed out, too endeared to be all that hurt. Or maybe it was just because he knew the other man too well, knew there was a small smile at the knife edge of every jibe. Kai never took things too far because they were friends. Best friends. And Sean was made of softer, more sensitive stuff than Kai. He could only take so much teasing.
He batted Kai’s hands away, pout still firmly on his face, absently tangling their fingers together in the process. He brushed the pads of his fingers against Kai’s own, ink stained from taking notes and marking papers and generally being one of the coolest, smartest people Sean knew. If this had been the start of everything, Sean would have wondered how an academic guy like Kai could ever like a dumb jock like him. Like this was high school, or something. But he didn’t need to worry, because Kai already knew him. Already liked him. Right?
“I think I… it was good. You were good.” he murmured, bashfully.
He wondered what would happen if Libby were to come home right now. She’d caught he and Kai in positions before that were worth an eyebrow raise, and that had warranted a playful caution afterwards. His heart picked up as Kai inched closer, worry flaring in his chest. God knows what she’d think if she saw them now.
And then all of a sudden he stopped worrying. Because Kai was kissing him again, greedily, hungrily, desire punching right through the centre of him as he tugged him closer. And it felt good to be wanted, lusted after. His hand fit at the sharp line of Kai’s jaw, gasping raggedly for air as his bottom lip captured Kai’s top, messy and uncoordinated. He wanted more. Didn’t he?
“Kai.” he panted, lips trailing absently to the other man’s chin. “Fuck.”
He definitely wanted more.
“Several, several tests, alright?” he laughed against his skin, halfway tempted to make him swear on it.
↳INSTAGRAM: @kaitucker posted to their story.
@carolanandclover: Sending you pictures of Clover stat! That counts as help, right?
↳INSTAGRAM: @jamesyhan11 uploaded a photo:
What’s more relaxing than yoga? Undoing all our hard work and hurting our necks by staring at our phones, apparently. Thanks for exposing us, @carolanandclover! Lol!
@carolanandclover: You guys looked so cute, I couldn’t resist haha