#gio para

[captain-magikarp]

Burnt Stuffing || Gabby, Vic, Quinn, Micah, Ryder, Gio, Charlie, & Daniel

It had been a minute since Vic and Gabby hung out. Sure, they texted and talked whenever Gabby came by the place. Heck, Vic even pretended to rent out books for the boys just so he could say hi to his librarian boyfriend… But was he Vic’s boyfriend? They never said anything about that. All they did was kiss on Halloween. That could have just been a one time thing, though. Maybe after that, they’d never kiss again. Maybe Vic was just getting ahead of himself too. They had kissed… They were talking… Taking it slow?  He wasn’t used to the whole love thing so it was hard to control his jitters. How did him and Gabby date in high school without Vic feeling as nervous as he did now? Maybe he took what they had for granted back then.

It was definitely a good sign that Gabby invited Vic and the boys to Thanksgiving at his sister-in-law’s place. It was so nerve-wrecking, but Vic was determined to not mess things up. He usually kept the restaurant open on Thanksgiving. Lonely guests would rely on his place on the day… But he closed it on the holiday for the first time ever. What would happen to old man Harry who loved his conversations with Micah on holidays? Micah and Daniel were always super welcoming to lonely guests that came to the place. The old folks would always gravitate toward Micah or Daniel to talk about their stories, especially because they listened and were super engaged in their conversations. Poor Harry...

Usually Vic would make a big deal about closing the restaurant, mostly because he cared for his guests, but this was one of the first times he actually thought about himself instead. He always worked to help others, but after reuniting with Gabby he began to realize that he never did anything for himself. It was finally time to do something that he wanted to do without having to worry about anyone else. When Gabby asked Vic to join, he instantly dropped everything.

As their rickety car pulled up to the house with Vic and the boys, Vic’s innards instantly collapsed. The house was one of those normal houses, but it was nice. If it was any other house, he wouldn’t give two shits, but because it was connected to Gabby somehow...Gabby’s sister-in-law’s house… an attorney’s house.. he was frightened. Did everyone look presentable? Did anyone have BO? Vic frowned, taking a look at all three boys individually. His eyes darted toward Micah. “You showered, right?” Vic asked like it was an interrogation. 

“Yes, I showered, jeez,” Micah let out, throwing his hands up in frustration. Because Vic was super jittery the entire day, Micah was pretty annoyed. “You really need a chill pill.” 

Micah couldn’t understand why he was being accused of smelling. Micah looked presentable too. Or so he thought. He was forced by Vic to wear a button up shirt lent to him by Gio. In his humble opinion, he looked worse than he would have if he wore a regular shirt. Gio’s shirt was kind of big on Micah. Gio had big arms! Kind of... It was like the shirt was insulting him every second saying that Micah had like zero muscle. Which wasn’t true… but also kind of true. It’s not like he played football like Gio. To make things look better, he rolled up the sleeves like some 1950s greaser… which probably looked a little silly, but whatever. They were just visiting Gabby’s family, right? They wouldn’t care.

Mich sighed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and attempted to get out of the car with a pumpkin pie in hand. As he waited outside of the car he subtly sniffed his armpits to see if he actually smelled. He didn’t… But thanks to Vic, that’s all he was going to think about. 

After everyone was out of the car, Vic walked up to Micah, spritzing him with some cologne before they started walking toward the house.

Micah rolled his eyes. “I find it funny how much you think I smell, when really you’re the big stinker.”

“Aye, watch your mouth..,” Vic said as he tossed the cologne back into the car.

Micah shook his head as they all began to approach the house in business casual fashion.

So many thoughts began to race through Vic’s head as they got closer to the house. Did they all look ridiculous? Were they overdressed? Micah’s shirt looked a little weird on him. Vic felt bad that they all had to share clothes sometimes. It wouldn’t have been that expensive to get all of them decent button ups… He thought Micah had one though? He could have sworn he got him one for his high school graduation.. Did he lose it? Vic was starting to think about everyone else again… It was those kinds of thoughts that made him more nervous. But was he wrong to worry? He didn’t want anyone thinking he was a bad parent. 

The butterflies in his stomach began to go crazy as he rang the doorbell and waited for the door to open up. In his mind, Gabby was going to be the one to open the door. He was prepared for it and even practiced how he would say hi to him in the mirror at home. He was more than prepared for this moment. 

As the door cracked open, Vic’s smile grew. He took a deep breath and was about to let out his greeting, until he was faced with some loud curly haired kid. A look of disappointment swept over Vic’s face as this kid began to talk. He seemed to know the boys though… but he also just really wished the kid would shut up so he could see Gabby. God, how could he be so selfish though? Daniel really lit up when he saw the kid. Was this the guy he was going on about? The one he was always hanging out with? Daniel’s happiness meant a lot to Vic… to the whole family, really. Vic let out a grin as he watched them chat up a storm together. 

“Okay, guys. This intro’s too long… I’m gonna go inside now,” Micah let out as he gently slid his way past Charlie and Daniel. Gio then followed behind. 

When Vic was about to move past them, Daniel threw his hand onto Vic’s shoulder to introduce him to the loud kid.

“This is my dad, Vic,” Daniel revealed with a big smile on his face.

As much as Vic wanted to get past them, he couldn’t help but take in the moment in front of him. He couldn’t remember a time where any of the boys introduced him as their dad to their friends. It was always awkward when they had to introduce him cause they never knew what to call him. Was he an uncle? A guardian person? A dad? Vic’s smile grew ten times bigger after being introduced as a dad. “Hey,” Vic said as he nodded toward the curly haired kid. 

Micah and Gio walked into the home together, only to run into Ryder who had just turned the corner and almost ran into them. Wasn’t this the guy that Gio had a thing for? A very rare occasion. What was he doing here though? What was Charlie doing here? Wasn’t this Gabby’s sister-in-law’s place? Embarrassing enough… everyone was dressed casually compared to them. Micah knew that they should have dressed in normal clothes. 

“Uh…” Micah let out, patting Gio on the back for support as he tightly held onto the pumpkin pie.

Gio’s stomach dropped to the floor as his crush stood right in front of him. Last thing Gio knew was that he kind of messed things up. What was he gonna say? Sorry? That would feel weird because it wasn’t something to really say sorry for, but at the same time it was. 

“Hi,” Gio swallowed his greeting as his eyes shifted to the floor.

Silence.

“I’m Micah,” Micah let out, trying to ease the awkwardness lingering in the situation.

Gio cleared his throat, walking away from the two. Gio wasn’t always the best at social interactions, especially with his crush… Especially when he kind of messed things up. 

Micah, not knowing what to do, started to panic and began talking about random stuff. He even started sharing random facts that Daniel told him, which he was sure was probably making things a lot worse. “... And well, legend has it, the pretzel was invented by some monk in Italy a billion years ago… At least, that’s what my brother says… NOT Gio. Gio’s the best socializer out of all of us…” LIES.

“My brother, Daniel.. He likes to share those kinds of things.” As Micah spoke, he rubbed the back of his neck and blinked excessively, making it obvious how nervous he was talking to his brother’s crush. Swimming in a sea of awkwardness, Micah strengthened his grip on the pumpkin pie. “Uh… do you know where I put this?”

As Micah and Ryder spoke, Gio introduced himself to new people. After, he went to sit alone on a couch, just watching whatever was already playing on the tv. Trying his best to distract himself with the show he was watching, he didn’t realize his brunette crush approaching. The moment Ryder was close enough to him, Gio jumped, not expecting anyone--especially Ryder--to be there.

“You scared me,” Gio smiled, but forcefully made his grin disappear. “Hi…”

[captain-magikarp]

Swimming Deep || Ryder, Gio, Charlie, & Daniel

Outside, there was only one other person, which was a surprise to Gio, to his knowledge, parties centered around pools. Maybe because it was a bit cold out, the pool area became the quiet zone for introverts. Gio had no idea why he agreed to go to these college parties, especially because he didn’t even go to college, nor did he like crowds. But, sometimes he just needed to do something that wasn’t at home. He could have done a lot of things, like going to the movies with Micah and Steven, and whichever friends they invited, but he figured he’d mess up their plans if he came along. In a small town, there really wasn’t that much to do; all of his friends were either his brothers, his brothers’ friends, or his table-top game friends online. So, why not go to the party?

After sitting at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water, for about 10 minutes, Gio couldn’t help but notice who the other person was, sitting at one of the tables. Awkwardly making eye contact with the brunette, Gio quickly looked away, trying to act like he wasn’t checking him out, even though he evidently was. Even though he also had been checking him out at past parties they both attended, or even at the local grocery store where they sometimes saw each other from a distance. Catching feelings like he was for this person was something really new to Gio; having a crush on anyone was something that just didn’t happen with him most of the time. He had flings in the past, but it was always something that didn’t last or he was pressured into it by acquaintances, or even his mom.

Gio’s mom always wanted the best for him, which is why she often played match-maker, but he never had the heart to tell her that being with someone just wasn’t his thing--at least at the time. If she knew he had feelings for a guy, she’d go crazy, insisting on giving him all the advice she had to offer. Vic’s only advice about love interests at home was, “Keep it PG 13, I don’t wanna see no R-rated shit.”

When Gio turned his head, once again, his eyes met the brunette’s, this time, offering a quick smile before he glanced back at his faint reflection in the pool. Gio never had the guts to talk to someone he liked, unless he was forced into it. This time, Gio genuinely couldn’t get the brunette, with the square jaw, out of his head. It was like the universe was telling him to talk to him, especially since they kept seeing each other almost everywhere they went, even outside of the parties. He knew it was a small town, but he never saw the same person almost everywhere--it wasn’t that small.

This had been going on for a few weeks, and throughout that time, Gio wondered how he’d approach the guy, or if he’d even approach him at all. He couldn’t believe he thought about these things--it all seemed so foreign. Finally gathering up the courage to talk to the brunette, he carefully tried to stand up, knowing very well that he could slip in because of his wet feet; however, the cautious steps Gio took were not effective. Once the dirty blonde stood, straightening out his body, he took one slippery step toward the brunette, leading him to fall flat on his face. Trying to get up wasn’t very easy, however, he managed to do so. Not thinking clearly, he stood up closer to the edge of the pool and lost control of his balance. Inevitably, he fell into the pool. 

Near the bottom floor of the deep end, Gio began to panic, especially because he never learned how to swim, not even how to float. People always said “When in doubt, just float. Release your body. No tension.” That shit never worked with Gio. After almost a minute, a rush of water began to fill his lungs as he continuously opened his mouth, not registering that that probably wasn’t the best thing to do underwater. 

Gio had no idea how much time had passed, but when he came to, he caught the brunette hovering over him as he laid on the pavement. He coughed up some more water as he tried to piece together what happened after he fell into the pool. Did the brunette save him? Did he perform CPR or some shit? Their lips touched? The thought of their lips touching allowed Gio’s cold body to grow warm, as he blinked away his half-dazed condition. 

“Did you kiss me?” Gio chuckled as his cheeks grew pink. 

Daniel, wanting to include himself in some of the fun, attempted to enter the living room, where everyone seemed to be congregating, however, he felt so out of place. He’d been to a few of these parties before, but mostly because Micah or Gio wanted to go. All Daniel knew was that people wanted to act crazy at parties. He didn’t really mind that though. He figured, maybe if he tried to involve himself in the party for once, he’d understand the appeal? 

Regardless of his countless attempts to assimilate, Daniel couldn’t seem to do it, especially because most people weren’t looking to have conversations. The party-goers were interested in playing games and roughhousing, which again, Daniel didn’t mind, but he just wasn’t the type of person people wanted to play games with, even if he tried. Feeling like he couldn’t fit in, Daniel walked over toward the stairs to take a seat, only to find Charlie sitting there.

“Charlie!” Daniel smiled, trying to speak over the music. “You okay? You need to go somewhere where it’s not so nuts?” Daniel again, probably shouted louder than he should have, not really aware of the volume of his voice because his hearing aids were turned off. “I just-- I guess I feel out of place and I just wanna talk or something. Sorry if I’m being all awkward!”

Hoping he wasn’t scaring Charlie away, he avoided eye contact as he waited for a response. He was worried he was coming off too strong, or being too friendly. What if Charlie didn’t remember him? Or what if what he remembered reminded him that he didn’t like Daniel?

“Your dad’s muffins were really good!”

Thankfully Charlie didn’t seem to have too much booze in his system, because as much as Daniel didn’t mind helping Charlie, it would have been a little hard to walk to the local McDonald’s with someone hanging onto him. 

Daniel munched down on his mcnuggets, getting a 20 piece so him and Charlie could share. He giggled as the two attempted to dip their mcnugget in the bbq container at the same time. 

“Hey, I was first,” he joked, nudging Charlie’s hand away. 

For a moment, taking in the mutual silence between them, Daniel gazed out the window at people driving into the parking lot of the restaurant. Unbeknownst to Daniel, his new hearing aids were visible to Charlie.

The first time he met Charlie, he hadn’t had his hearing aids turned on, due to headaches he was receiving and the discomfort of still getting used to them, so it was even harder to tell what he was saying, or even what Charlie’s dad was saying. It was always hard to tell what anyone was saying for that matter without them. Hearing aids were so expensive, but Vic managed to figure out a way where Daniel could have them--Vic was such a good parent. Unfortunately, sometimes they came with side effects that Daniel wasn’t willing to bare in certain situations, especially at parties where everything seemed too loud, especially when he was still getting used to them--he’d only had them for a few weeks. 

When Daniel got out of the party setting, it was in his best interest to turn them on so he could hear Charlie better, especially because he just really wanted to get to know him. Daniel needed a friend outside of his brothers. His best friend Justine was always there for him, but Daniel was desperate to meet new people, especially because of his naturally extroverted personality, but due to the way people treated him because of his impairment, it was really hard to make friends. Daniel didn’t know why he wanted to be friends with Charlie so bad. Maybe it was because he was really nice to him and didn’t care about their imperfect communication?