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At first, Izzy only wanted to run into the kitchen and grab some snacks that were in the spare section. Ugly pastries, a slightly smooshed sandwich. All of those would be perfect to nibble on while they waited for dinner, but it was simply not meant to be. Mom saw him, and immediately set him to work for a few minutes, clearing tables now that the post-school rush was filtering in. No matter how he tried to explain the fact that Toby was struggling out back, she wouldn’t hear it!

Not until the like, 10th time he said something, letting it slip that his ‘boyfriend’ was sitting at the bottom of the pool, did she finally let him go, scolding him for not saying something sooner.

What was going to be like, a minute and a half turned into fifteen, and even though he came back with his arms full of snacks, he felt guilty for leaving Toby alone for so long. So guilty, that he dumped everything down on a table near the bowl, and got nearly got on his stomach to peek inside when a hand came out of nowhere.

“Hey! You got it! I’m proud of you! Though, why didn’t you take your shoes off to get out?”

“Yeah, but I was hoping for the whole me rescuing you out of the pit thing.” It was clear he was only a little disappointed for not being able to rescue Toby, but snacks were more important. Along with whatever Toby decided to pull from his arms, he also slipped a nice cold ice tea his way, before scooting just a little closer.

“You’re gonna need a shower after all that! You’re sweaty as heck, and sweaty boys are not allowed in my bed!”

“Nah, it’s fun to watch you struggle and achieve your goals, so I think that’s fine for you to do. I’ll just be sure not to get caught by mom and forced to help even thought it’s my day off.” His arm went about Izzy’s shoulders, even though he had already complained about the sweat. He was sweaty too in his own right, and smelled like someone spilled coffee on him. Both of them would need to clean up before bed, but bed was hours away.

“You can use the shower upstairs. I don’t have my own ‘private’ one, but as long as you shower before 7, it should be good to use. It’s a fight to wash the kids and they take a shower at 8, so you need to be sure to be done all you gotta do before then.” A thought crossed his mind, what exactly Toby would wear... He still had that Kirby shirt from before, but that seemed kinda rude to put him in. That was a gift after all!

“I doubt you can handle getting back into the bowl right now, huh? So what do you wanna do instead?”

Izzy ate his own snacks, pondering the idea of doing more, skating more, just being with Toby more.

... Boyfriend. What a strange thing to think about, given how badly he had been crushing on Nix not even a few days ago.

Maybe it was just meant to be.

But damn was he blind, not seeing any of that sweetness there, or just ignoring it because of believing there was an ulterior motive, just using him as practice.

But nope, it was nothing of the sort. Just Genuine liking another person.

The more he thought about it, the redder he got, to the point where he half choked on his snack, shaking the embarrassing thoughts away.

“Hey Toby... How long have you liked me?”

“Oh my god, it was the maid outfit that did it, wasn’t it?” That had him grinning, reaching over a sugary finger to poke and prod at Toby’s cheek.

“I’m really glad you like me though. I admit, every time you talked about your crush, I’d get a little jealous. How could someone catch your eye? You’re too nice to be pinned to anyone.. But this crush had your heart and you wouldn’t tell me their name...” He leaned over, giving the slightest of nuzzles to his friend’s shoulder, sighing. “I shoulda just said I liked you, but I don’t think I knew I liked you.”

It was amazing how a few words could change the meaning behind whatever action happened next. A hug no longer felt like a hug, it felt like an embrace. Something far more cozy, and made his own heart skip a beat.

And it was weird, so very weird.

“Nah... It’s all new territory. I’ve never really liked someone and had them like me back, so we’ll see how this goes. I don’t think anything needs to change, right? We already hold hands and sleep together, so... Dang, I bet that was stressful, wasn’t it? Thinking back on it, it all seems like I put you through one hell of a struggle, huh...?”

“... Oh my god, Toby you perve!” Izzy was a bright red now, hopping to his feet and quickly turning his back to Toby. Just how deep did this hole of feelings go?!

Pining, imagining things, ideas, all of of it was too new, too sudden for the boy who just admitted his feelings less than twenty minutes ago.

“... Maybe tonight, we can talk more about it..”

“I dunno... I kinda like bold, brave Toby, but I also like skating, and am more used to skating, and know what to say about skating sooooooo, yeah! Let’s skate!” He shoved the rest of his snack into his mouth, and beelined for the bowl.

“Come on and hurry up! We got plenty of time before dinner! I’ll show you all sorts of tricks.”