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 Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2024 10:21 am
It was only a matter of time before Ariel and Morgan conspired against Casey. Not for anything bad, of course. December had just been such a hard month for him, they wanted to do something nice. Mostly it was Morgan doing the work for it. Ariel had been swamped with taking on extra shifts. The money was nice but having extra hours forced on him had been a strain he hadn’t anticipated dealing with. Decorating for Christmas was extra work but as soon as Morgan presented the idea, he was all for it.
While Casey was at work, they’d decorated.
It wasn’t exactly what Ariel had expected but it was perfect. Morgan had made, or found, nearly all of the decorations, and it seemed like he’d been working on this project since shortly after Casey had mentioned not having time to decorate.
In their time knowing each other, Morgan had learned that they were both very conscientious of money, so when Ariel had helped him decorate, he’d made sure to insist that he’d spent less than twenty dollars for everything.
The forest was bountiful this time of year. While he’d cleaned the park trails of debris, he’d kept the thicker branches. He’d cut them into thin slices, sanded them down, and painted or burned festive designs into them. Holly, mistletoe, snowflakes, poinsettias. Some of them had fine glitter, some were just simple. He’d drilled holes and strung jute cord through it to make ornaments.
He picked up pinecones and tied the jute to that, too; some had white painted tips and glitter, but some were natural. He’d made a few garlands of them.
Stars, made out of smaller branches, for ornaments and decor.
A tree. A real tree, that he’d chopped down himself, and an iron stand. The most expensive of all his purchases, at a whopping five dollars from a church sale. Where he’d also gotten a bag of vintage ribbons for three dollars, and by the time he and Ariel had decorated the apartment there was still half a bag left.
The apartment already smelled like fresh cookies from when Casey had been baking before he left for work, but now it smelled like fresh tree, too. Harrison had a festive bandana wrapped around her neck, and fastened to it was a little badge that read ‘Bark Ranger’.
Morgan was not as serious as he looked, even though he’d dressed her with a completely straight face.
Ariel had set up his laptop to play festive Christmas music.
Harrison stayed with Ariel while Morgan went to pick up Casey, and though they’d planned for the three of them to have dinner together, Morgan had never once let slip what they’d done to his living room. They stopped to pick up Chinese Food on the way there, and Morgan carried it all himself as he followed Casey up to the apartment.
He knew Ariel was there with Harrison. The door was locked, because Ariel was always safe, and Morgan waited patiently for Casey to finish unlocking it so he could see their work.
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Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2024 6:07 pm
Casey had noticed Morgan and Ariel acting suspicious. At first he didn’t think anything of it. They were cute together and Casey supported whatever it was they wanted to do in their alone time. Even if he felt terrified of being left behind or abandoned. He just had to remind himself that he had Harrison! She would always be there for him, so he didn’t have to worry about Ariel changing his mind about them living together when their lease ran out, or Morgan putting in a good word for him about a job.
But Morgan and Ariel were being secretive in a way that Casey couldn’t quite put his finger on. It didn’t seem malicious! He doubted his friends could actually ever be malicious in the first place. But they were definitely doing something behind his back.
That was okay. He had Harrison.
And he still had them for as long as they could tolerate him. Maybe they decided he did talk too much. Or maybe he smelled. Should he give Harrison baths more? Should he change his shampoo? Maybe they thought it was silly how he wore his hair with hair clips instead of just getting it cut. Should he cut his hair?
Maybe he was thinking too much about it. He was so grateful as always when Morgan picked him up from work and picked up Chinese food on the way home so they could all eat together. That was nice. That was something Casey really wanted.
He tried keeping up casual conversation on the way home, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing something. He was anxious about heading up to his apartment and dropped the keys twice as he fiddled with the lock in his haste to get it open. He laughed it off, of course. Claimed his fingers were just cold -- they were -- but he would deny that he was nervous about anything.
Strangely enough, he noticed something was different even before the door was open. When he picked up the keys, he could see little bits of glitter on the floor. His heart, very stupidly, skipped a beat because maybe he really was just thinking too much. And it was unfair of him to doubt his friends and how wonderful they were.
Sure enough, Casey’s expression had already shifted from anxiety to embarrassed almost tears by the time he had the door open…
And then immediately had to hide his face in his hands to stifle a sob at the briefest sight of the so beautiful and thoughtful decorations. And tree! He saw the tree. He wanted to look at the tree. But he wanted to not look like his emotional rollercoaster was having a breakdown first.
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Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 4:54 pm
“Welcome home!” Ariel said excitedly, but paused as soon as he realized Casey’s response. “Oh! Casey, come inside, are you okay?”
He was visibly torn between hurrying over to hug him and wanting to make sure he had space if he needed it. He knelt to hold Harrison back just to make sure she didn’t decide to bolt out the door or something awful.
Morgan had found innocent ways to make sure he stayed behind Casey as they ascended to his apartment. He didn’t want to go first, he wanted him to have a totally unobstructed view of his apartment. Casey must have known something was going on but he seemed so nervous. Had Ariel slipped the secret? Was Casey panicking about how to act’ surprised’ in front of Morgan?
…No.
Morgan paused behind him when Casey did finally get the door open because his response was so genuine.
He placed a hand on Casey’s shoulder and guided him inside so he could close the door behind them, and when he did so, Ariel released Harrison so she could run over to Casey.
Ariel was already worrying and looked around at their decorations. “I’m sorry, is it too much?”
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2024 10:16 am
“No!” Casey immediately gasped when Ariel asked if it was too much. He had somehow managed to make it into his apartment -- oh right, because Morgan was behind him being kind and gentle as alway -- and had to lower his hands from his face to keep Harrison from barreling into him and then had to try and get her to calm down from wiggling against his legs.
“No, it’s not too much. It’s beautiful-- I’m sorry I didn’t expect-- when did you have time? How did you--?”
He couldn’t string together all the words he wanted to. He’d never had a chance to decorate for holidays. He was either too busy working or it didn’t make sense to spend money on decorations when he needed to pay rent and feed Harrison.
“I don’t know what to say,” he fought back a sob, his eyes mostly dry at least. “I could kiss you both. This is so nice. I don’t think I ever want to take it down.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2024 7:50 pm
Ariel breathed a sigh of relief and stress seemed to visibly melt off his shoulders.
Morgan gently brushed his thumb over Casey’s shoulder. “Well, you don’t have to.”
“The longer you keep it up, the better. I don’t have anything to pack this up in!” Ariel looked around again as if he were still taking it all in.
Morgan was currently faced with the difficult decision not to crouch down and pet Harrison–at least, not while his other hand was still holding the bag of food he’d brought up. “You can keep the box I brought it in. But don’t keep the tree up forever. Fire hazard.”
“Morgan brought everything,” Ariel explained. “He’s been working on it for a while.”
“I had free time at work, don’t worry that you kept me from anything. Harrison helped me pick out most of this. She’s very good at finding sticks. That was her favorite tree, too. She tried to dig it up for me when we picked it out.”
“She’s been laying under it, I took a lot of pictures. I’ll show you when we sit down to eat. She’s been so cute.” Like she wasn’t always. Ariel flashed another quick smile and hurried over to take the bag from Morgan, for which he was immediately thanked.
Morgan then wasted no time in reaching down to scratch behind Harrison’s ear but his hand didn’t stray from Casey. He rubbed his back now, slow and soothing. “You mentioned you’d like to decorate but didn’t have time. I had time. Ariel made time. You’ve been working so hard. We wanted to do something nice for you.”
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Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2024 8:38 pm
Casey let out a quiet laugh when Morgan reminded them of the hazards of keeping a dry tree up for too long. He could feel Morgan at his back, his hand on him soothing. And Morgan had leaned down to give Harrison attention after Ariel took the bag of food from him.
Which meant it was the perfect opportunity for Casey to turn and wrap his arms around Morgan and hug him tight.
“Thank you,” he said softly as he pressed his face against Morgan’s neck. He felt flustered and grateful and happy and-- oh, he wanted to hug Ariel too.
Absently, he pressed a kiss against Morgan’s jaw before he made himself pull away.
And did his best not to trip over Harrison, or knock the bag out of Ariel’s arms as he threw his arms around him too. He kissed his cheek and squeezed him tight. He already warned them that he could kiss them!
“I would love to see pictures. I’m glad Harrison was helping. Thank you. Really, I can’t thank you both enough. Oh wow, is it hot in here? I feel really overheated now,” he laughed because he was so excited about all of this.
And best of all, both Ariel and Morgan were there and they did it for him! He was really trying not to cry but it was so hard.
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 9:08 am
The gesture was surprising but Morgan took it in stride. His arm wrapped around Casey immediately, like his first instinct was to reassure him. He wasn’t unused to a gratitude inspired hug, or kiss, but there was no fire–no life threatening relief here.
His grip was loose enough that he didn’t hinder him from sharing the gesture with Ariel, but he watched, amused, as he began to remove his boots by the door.
Ariel held the bag up to make sure it wasn’t jostled or dropped, but with his free hand he quickly returned the embrace. He’d seen the wetness in Casey’s eyes, so maybe it was a rapid desire to give him some comfort, or some measure to compose himself. If he wanted! Ariel had never judged him, how could he? He was with friends. People who cared about him. People who wanted him to be happy.
“It is toasty,” Ariel lied. The room felt comfortable to him. If it was warm, it was only because he was nervous that Casey might not like the decorations. “I didn’t want to turn the air down without your permission, though.”
“A cold drink will help,” Morgan suggested. “I need to wash my hands, I can get you both something?”
“Oh! Yes, please. If you don’t mind,” Ariel answered. He kept his arm wrapped around Casey like he didn’t want to let him go. “I have some ice water on the counter already.”
“Sounds good. If you want anything else, just let me know and I’ll bring it out.” As he passed by, Morgan let his hand rest on Casey’s back for just a second.
It wasn’t like they needed the privacy; Ariel was comfortable around Morgan, and Casey was to. So much so that Ariel was still afraid that any day now one of them would break the news that they’d started dating. Which was fine, of course. Ariel just didn’t want to lose either of them, and he was never much a fan of change.
Now wasn’t a time for worries, though. He tucked his head on Casey’s shoulder in a silent invitation for him to do the same. “If you need a minute to get settled, I won’t hold you hostage. But it’s really nice to hold you, I feel like we’ve hardly gotten to see each other lately. I can’t wait for this busy season to be over, I miss you.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:26 am
Casey wasn’t used to any kinds of physical gestures of affection, but he was quickly becoming greedy for it. Even if it was just the little touches Morgan offered, or the warm hugs from Ariel, Casey wanted it all.
He felt guilty, because how was he supposed to show affection to two people that he cared deeply about without them being offended or think he was just leading them on? He didn’t want them to be upset with him! He liked them both a lot. And he knew Morgan and Ariel had a lot of time alone with each other so… maybe he was just getting his hopes up, because surely Ariel and Morgan would want to be exclusive at some point, right?
But for now, he was just so grateful to have them both. And Harrison, of course. Who decided she wanted to be part of the hugging by squeezing between their legs and hitting them with her tail.
“Water, please,” Casey smiled at Morgan for his offer, his heart and stomach feeling like they were both fluttering. That was normal, wasn’t it? To feel that way towards someone who is kind?
“I miss you, too,” he sighed with contentment as he buried his face against Ariel’s shoulder once Morgan turned the corner to the kitchen. Not that he minded Morgan being there! As long as he didn’t think Casey was trying to, well… steal Ariel from him or something like that.
“You should just stay with me,” he laughed, although there was clearly something hopeful in his voice. “I still think Morgan can fit on the bed with us. It’ll be a nice sleepover.”
Oh, was that too much? Maybe Ariel was waiting to invite Morgan to stay with him. Casey had Harrison and a whole Christmas tree after all. What more could he want? Other than, well… the kindness and affection and attention he’d been getting from both of them.
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:39 am
“You know, I was hoping you’d ask,” Ariel confessed. “I thought we could watch Christmas movies, too. I thought they seemed like they’d be nice to fall asleep to. And it’s going to get so cold tonight. You’ve got Harrison to keep you warm, but I’ve just got some blankets I could bring over for us to share.”
Maybe it was wishful thinking on his own part that made Casey’s words sound like he wasn’t just teasing about him staying over.
It wasn’t difficult to keep his balance while Harrison wiggled around them; she’d been helping in the same manner all day so he’d quickly gotten accustomed to her enthusiasm.
In the kitchen, Morgan clearly knew his way around. Still, he seemed like he was taking his time. There was no reason to rush, but he might have been dragging his feet a bit deliberately. He’d gotten to spend time with Ariel and Casey alone today, he thought it was only fair to give them at least a moment or two to catch up.
Ariel leaned a bit closer so he could speak directly into Casey’s ear. “The heat’s out in his apartment right now, he doesn’t know if it’ll be fixed by tonight. He said he prepped for it and will be fine, but I don’t think it would take a lot of convincing to get him to stay over. Just saying.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 10:44 am
Ariel had been hoping he’d ask? And Morgan’s heat wasn’t working?? Casey pulled back from the embrace to look at Ariel with concern in his eyes.
“You’re always welcome here. There is absolutely nothing I can think of that I would rather do than spend time with you and Morgan. Well… and Harrison, but that’s a given. And if you’d like for just us to do something, we can do that too,” he insisted. Although he hoped Morgan wouldn’t be too upset about not being included.
“If it would be easier for you, I could renew my lease and you can just move in with me. That way we don’t have to worry about taking down the decorations. Except the tree. I don’t want Morgan to worry. But then you’d never have to feel like you’re intruding or can’t come over whenever you want. Oh… I mean, if you want time for yourself, uh… You can have the bedroom. I don’t mind spending time in the living room if you need space.”
He placed his hands gently on Ariel’s face and leaned close to kiss his forehead. It was so tempting to just kiss him, but he was trying not to cross too many boundaries too quickly.
As for Morgan…
“You didn’t say your heat was out,” Casey frowned with distress when he caught sight of the other man once he’d returned with their water. He had released Ariel’s face at that point, but settled his arms over his shoulders so he could pull him into another hug. And squish him a bit with affection.
“How long has it been out? You can’t just suffer through the cold, Morgan. We’ve got perfectly heated apartments here.”
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:48 pm
Ariel’s heart skipped a beat. Another. A third. And then, rapidly, it tried to make up for it by pounding in his chest with such intensity that he felt dizzy. The idea of coming home to someone else–to coming home to such a warm, welcoming apartment was a dream his heart craved but his brain rejected. Yes, he wanted that. No, he didn’t want to put Casey in danger. It was complicated. He’d have to think about it. They could talk it out. Not now when it would have been too easy to sour the mood.
He hadn’t wanted Casey to release his face when he was still fixated on how soft his lips were and how tender his touch was, but of course it made sense not to do anything that might give Morgan the wrong idea when he and Casey seemed to make eyes at each other so often.
“I didn’t?” Morgan asked, setting the glasses down in their usual spots. “It went out last night. They said they’ve got someone coming to fix it. Today, maybe tomorrow. I guess it depends on what they have to replace. I have a room heater that almost does the job, and a lot of blankets.”
“Almost does the job?” Ariel asked. He hadn’t moved away from Casey but tilted his head to see Morgan better, and he was glad he did because he very nearly missed the slight curve of his lip when asked. “Morgan, you were the one who told me to make sure I was ready for the cold. You said ‘take your shower early so your hair isn’t wet’, ‘put your clothes under this heated blanket and turn it on when you wake up so it’s warm when you put it on, and–”
Morgan’s laugh interrupted him but he wasn’t upset. “All right,” Morgan relented. He didn’t put up much of a fight. “I did say those things.”
“And you won’t be a hypocrite,” Ariel insisted.
“No. I suppose it’s not fair for me to worry so much about you two and give you a hard time when you worry about me, too. If my heat isn’t back on before it starts to get late, I might ask to borrow a shower.”
“And spend the night? You can’t go home with wet hair. And I’m staying over with Casey tonight, too.”
“Oh, is that the plan?”
“And we’ll watch Christmas movies. I’ve brought my laptop over. We can all fit in the bed. And Harrison, too. I think.” Ariel glanced at Casey as if looking for a sign that this was all according to plan.
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 1:47 pm
It was very charming and sweet how easy it was for Morgan and Ariel to have a conversation. They seemed so intune with each other that they could easily bounce off each other’s thoughts.
Casey’s chest tightened a little. Not from jealousy! He couldn’t possibly be jealous when his two favorite people were so perfect for each other. He just was afraid of, well… being abandoned. Which he knew was silly! Of course they wouldn’t abandon him. But he knew being the third wheel was awkward for everyone involved.
Although, he was already hanging on Ariel a bit desperately. Even though Ariel didn’t say anything about being welcome there whenever he wanted. That was okay! Morgan was there and he was probably just distracted or he wanted to let Casey down easy. It was sweet that he would agree that they could all stay at Casey’s place, though.
“Oh yes, we can definitely all fit in the bed,” Casey quickly agreed, whether that really was the case or not. He didn’t have a huge bed. It certainly wasn’t king sized, but it wasn’t a twin, either. And he and Ariel cuddled up nicely when they shared.
“Especially if I’ve got someone in my lap,” he added with a quiet laugh. “Oh, I mean. I guess Harrison, but I know you’d fit well in mine or Morgan’s arms, Ariel.”
Oh, that was probably too much, but he couldn’t help it!
“You’ll be much warmer here, Morgan. Going back to a cold apartment is absolutely out of the question,” Casey insisted, already contemplating using sad eyes at Morgan to convince him.
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 4:41 pm
Could Morgan have resisted those sad eyes? He wondered who taught who how to wield them–Casey, or Harrison. They both had mastered the technique.
“Out of the question,” Morgan agreed. “How silly of me to have even considered it.”
Ariel brightened, as much for Casey’s sake as his own. Ariel liked having Morgan around. He was calm, and practical, and level-headed. He was strong, and brave, and resourceful. If someone broke in, Ariel could easily imagine Morgan taking care of them. Effortlessly.
He’d thought about it before, though he didn’t want to admit it. It was probably a bit selfish, too. Morgan shouldn’t have to be willing to put himself in danger for him, it wasn’t his job. Ariel’s smile didn’t falter but there was still guilt in his eyes.
He had a hard time getting close to people. No matter how desperate he was for friends, for companionship, it wasn’t fair to lay his burden on someone else. Once he got out of town though, things would be different. Probably. Hopefully.
At the very least, he knew he’d sleep better with Morgan around. There was just something gentle about him, something easy to trust. And Casey was here! What could go wrong?
“I don’t know if I trust your estimates, I’ve seen your bed,” Morgan mused. “I suppose we’ll have to find out how well we fit together tonight.” With the drinks on the table, he knelt to scratch Harrison’s face and behind her ears briefly before he once again took the food from Ariel–who now thanked him–and began to unpack it for them. He seemed amused but unsurprised, and in an unshakably good mood. Though he’d helped decorate, and made most of the decorations himself, Ariel had still been the one to put his heart into getting it all set up. They’d put a lot of effort into all of this, he was going to take the time to admire it, too.
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Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2024 7:04 pm
Harrison, of course, loved all the attention she got. Casey gave Ariel one more squeeze and then let him go so they could gather around the coffee table where the food had been brought out.
“I bet we can make it work out,” he insisted. “If not, I want to pull the couch into the bedroom so we can shut the door and keep the heat in one room. It would be a tight fit probably, but it would be better than having just one of us out in the living room. Morgan, you and Ariel can take the bed if we end up not fitting. I promise I’ll be okay on the couch, and I’ll be right beside the bed, anyway!”
He was going to make it work. He didn’t want Ariel or Morgan to come up with an excuse to leave so easily. He knew Ariel could be skittish and Morgan was so nobel. Casey already missed the gentle touches that he wasn’t even sure Morgan knew he was doing.
For the moment though, Casey turned so he could look at everything. At the tree, the lights, the pinecone decorations. How everything shimmered and sparkled and was so magical. He sat on the floor to help slowly pull things out of the bag, but paused once more to admire everything.
Harrison came over to lick his face, of course. He laughed and shoved her down so he could flop onto her, where she delightedly wiggled under him as he looked up at the tree from that new vantagepoint.
“It smells like the forest. I love it,” he sighed, and then laughed. “Well… and Chinese food.”
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Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2024 3:46 pm
“A good combination,” Morgan decided, watching Harrison and Casey fondly. “Don’t worry too much about sleeping arrangements, we’ll figure it out as we go. If it gets cold, the size of the bed won’t matter. We’ll just stack up.”
Ariel laughed at the idea, but there was a faint color to his cheeks. He briefly turned away and looked around proudly before he took a seat near Casey. “You say that now, Morgan, but only because you don’t know that I’m all elbows.”
“Then I’ll wrap you in a blanket,” Morgan shrugged, unfazed. “Both of you, if I must. If I’m sleeping over, the least I can do is make sure you stay warm.”
Ariel laughed softly but shook his head; the color didn’t leave his cheeks and even if Morgan was only teasing, he couldn’t help himself. He had the distinct impression that 'keeping warm' wasn't going to be an issue; his face already felt so warm.
All of today had gone by so quickly, and though he’d put a lot of effort into rushing to get things ready, he didn’t feel tired. Sitting with Casey made him feel rejuvenated–like all of the weight of the last few weeks, months–years–could just melt away if he spent enough time with him.
He sighed contentedly and melted into the couch.
“Moving into this complex was such a lucky break, I really needed this. It’s so perfect here, I love your apartment. I wish I lived here.” Well, it wasn’t just the space or the decorations or the fact that there just seemed to be a natural warmth about the place. He knew that was because of Casey.
So he clarified, before his mind could catch up to his tongue, “I only ever feel like I’m at home when I’m here with you.”
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