Sleepover wit da queen!!!!

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond finished his breakfast just as fast as Josh had. It wasn't normal for him not to savor his food, but he was so worried about what was going to happen to Josh he found himself eating at lightning speed to avoid the thought.

"I should probably - "

"I need to do your laundry." Desmond said loudly over Josh, fearing what he was about to say. This was what he had been dreading; Josh leaving. Getting up he gathered their plates and put them in the sink before venturing up stairs to get his laundry basket. Once he was in the safety of his own room he closed the door behind him and rested his forehead on it. Josh couldn't leave, he just couldn't! Desmond felt tears brewing in his eyes so he had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. There had to be something he could do! Something! Then he thought of it. . .

He went over to his night stand, grabbed his cell phone and called his mother. . . .

After much longer than it took to grab a laundry basket Desmond came down the steps more nervous then ever. Would Josh go for the idea? Would he hate Desmond for the lie he had to tell? Would he think it was too shameful? That was all that was going through Desmond's mind as he threw the clothes in the washing machine and began the wash. He walked cautiously back into the kitchen, almost afraid to look at Josh. He felt like his heart was pounding in his throat and his mouth was dry. He took a deep breath, probably the deepest breath he'd ever taken.

"I-I just got off the phone with my mom." he said then took a pause. "I-I told her about, you well, sort of. I told her that I found you in the park and I bought you diner then offered you a place to sleep. She thought that was very commendable of me to help someone like that," he let out an awkward laugh and looked away for a moment before continuing. "Sh-she said you could stay here for a awhile! But, I didn't tell her about us, in fact. . . I-I, didn't even tell her you were gay." He took a deep breath, "I told her you were straight. B-but it was the only way she's let you stay here! I-it's not that my mother doesn't like gay people, I mean, look at me! I just know she wouldn't allow it if she suspected anything about us. Especially with our age difference. B-but I had to make sure you had somewhere safe to stay!" Desmond waited for Josh's response before defending himself anymore.

[doherty]

Josh watched, openmouthed, as Desmond rushed out. He stayed sitting in the same spot, felt like he couldn't move. What the hell was he doing? He just needed to get up, to leave, make it less painful for the both of them, although how that was possible, he had no idea. He didn't have any clothes and he didn't have the strength. So he was shit out of luck. Which was why Josh remained sitting even after Desmond had been gone for a long time. Josh brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, rolling himself into a little defensive ball. This wasn't going like he planned, at all. He had just planned to sleep over and be warm for once, then just leave with no ill feelings. But now... this was turning out to be very, very bad.

But then Desmond returned, and the moment Josh looked at his face he knew it would be so much more difficult to leave. Maybe it was the way his breath left his body so quickly when he looked at Desmond's face... or maybe it was the way his pulse quickened... Whatever it was, it made Josh uncomfortable, and he buried his face in his knees. But when Desmond began speaking, Josh looked up, his eyes wide. He was absolutely still through the whole explination, unnaturally so. And when Desmond was finished, Josh moved his lips to speak, but no sound came out. What was he going to say? Was he going to say, 'Thank you' ? Was he going to say, 'I can't believe you did that' ? No words were coming to him, so he tightened his grip around his knees and turned his face away quickly. Shit, don't you fucking cry... he thought to himself, but that only helped the tears come. Who did this boy think he was? Why was be being so kind and thoughtful and... selfless? Josh had never been selfless, not once in his life, but yet Desmond acted so admirably and all on account of him, Josh, a guy who had only been around for a day. This was ridiculous. This was overwhelming. This was more than Josh could really take in.

"You didn't have to do that," he said, stumbling over the words, choking a bit on them. Josh lowered his head and closed his eyes, letting a few tears make their way out of his eyes. His first cry in so many years. It probably should have felt good, but all he felt was pressure and pain in his chest. Josh didn't know if this was a good idea. If he stayed, that would mean he and Desmond would become closer and their parting would be even more difficult. And now he had to keep their relationship a secret? All he wanted was to be able to hold on to Desmond tightly, all the time, no matter who was around... but he supposed a secret relationship was better than nothing at all. Right?

Josh kept his head turned away, but he pulled one arm from around his knees and held out his hand to Desmond. It was a simple gesture, but it meant so much. Acceptance, thanks, happiness, everything in that one little extention of the hand. And he just wanted Desmond to take it so they could be close and Josh could be happy.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond's heart was pounding painfully fast as he waited for some kind of response from Josh, something to tell him whether he hated him or still cared for him. Then he saw tears. Josh was crying! Josh was actually crying and by looks of things they were tears of joy. Josh didn't hate him! Desmond was so relieved and happy that he started crying himself. He just stood there for a moment looking up at the ceiling and wiping tears from his eyes. When he finally put his sights back on Josh he had his hand out stretched for Desmond. Desmond did more than take his hand. He knelt down on the floor beside Josh and wrapped his arms around his midsection and held him tightly. To Desmond this meant 'yes, I'm staying here.' and this made him happier more than he could ever say. He wouldn't have watch Josh leave after only spending one night with him. He wouldn't have to deal with that pain, Josh was going to stay there. He was actually going to stay in Desmond's house with him!

"I love you." Desmond told Josh, looking up at his tear soaked face.

[doherty]

Oh, God, don't say that... Josh thought to himself, wincing internally. This relationship was progressing at an alarming pace, but it only took Josh a few seconds to realize that he felt the same way. Love? Josh Doherty, experiencing love? What the hell was it about this cute little emo boy that made Josh melt? How was he different from any other guy he had spent the night with? But of course Josh knew what it was. He knew he loved Desmond because Desmond had been content, just laying in his arms. Is that all Josh ever really wanted? A little bit of tenderness? After being alone and vulnerable and scared and helpless for so long, with no one looking twice at him unless they wanted something like sex or redemption... he finally found someone who genuinely wanted to take care of him. And he wanted to be taken care of.

"I love you, too," Josh relpied, his voice small and more vulnerable than he would have liked. Josh put his hand gently on Desmond's face, then leaned down to kill his tear-stained cheek. The positioning was kind of awkward, so he slid off of the chair and knelt in front of Desmond. He kissed him full on the lips, then wrapped his hands around Desmond's shoulders in a hug that felt better than any hug he had ever gotten before. Josh sighed in a relieved way and all of a sudden he was crying again. Because now he actually had a home, had a place to stay and be warm and sleep and eat and... and he could have some kind of normal life again, instead of having to wander around Pittsburgh with a guitar and a couple of songs. He didn't have to wonder what the next day would be like, whether or not he was going to live or die... Now he was sure of where he was going to be, and who he was going to be with. Desmond. Perfect, beautiful, amazing Desmond. Josh leaned fully on the younger boy, unable to support himself because of the sobs that were ripping through him. He had never cried so much in his life, never. And suddenly he hoped that this relationship would last - the first time he had ever wished for such a thing. It was just because Desmond had given him shelter when he needed it, no... it was because he cared about Desmond and loved him more than any other creature in the world. And he had no way of thanking him other than saying, "I love you," again through his tears.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

((AWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!))

Desmond held Josh tightly and cried with him. It felt so good to finally find love. Desmond was so happy to have found Josh and to have found him a safe place to stay where he wouldn't have to worry about him. At the same time Desmond felt this overwhelming sadness for Josh; he must not have been treated very decently in his past. How could someone treat such a beautiful person like Josh so poorly? The very thought pained Desmond and he held Josh even tighter, kissed him on the forehead, and gently stroked his hair. He knew now he had to suck up his tears and be strong for Josh's sake. He took a few slow breaths and wiped at his eyes.

"Shhh," he said soothingly while rocking Josh gently, "It's ok. . . you're with me now." He wanted to make sure Josh got it all out, who now how long it's been since the poor guy had been able to cry, but he needed for him to calm down so Desmond could talk to him. His parents were on their way home from Philadelphia when he had spoked to his mother so they were due home in less than three hours. Desmond needed to warn Josh about his parents kooky ways.

[doherty]

Josh pulled away and wiped his face with his hands, inhaling deeply and trying to get himself to stop, to calm down. Crying was really painful sometimes, physically. His chest felt like it was burning and the difficult breathing contributed to his discomfort. "I'm... sorry," he said weakly between sharp breaths. "It's just..." He trailed off and shook his head, unable to finish the sentence. He didn't want to start up with the sobbing again, so it was best for him just to stay silent. God, he felt like a fucking child, collapsed on the floor and crying like a baby... It was pathetic. But for some reason Desmond had put up with it, even made an attempt to comfort him. Josh was endlessly grateful for that gesture.

Josh sighed deeply, finally getting some control over his breathing and bodily functions. "Now that I'm finished being a two-year-old..." Josh mused after a moment's silence. He laughed insincerely and peered at the floor, somewhat ashamed. Actually, no... all the way ashamed. There was no 'somewhat.' Josh grabbed the arm of the chair behind him and slowly pulled himself off of the floor, then offered his hand to Desmond, to help him up. Jesus Christ, he's beautiful.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"Don't be sorry." said Desmond gently, allowing Josh to help him up. "Do you want me to rub some honey on your thighs? Sorry, Dane Cook, ah, never mind. Anyway! I mean, I cried during the fourth Harry Potter movie when Cedric died!" he was determined to lighten the mood to make Josh feel better. If there was one thing Desmond was good at it was making people feel better. Well, I cried more because the guy who played Cedric was hot, not really because I liked the character. Audrey hasn't stopped making fun of me since, though. Oh! I can't for you to meet Audrey! You'll probably hate her at first, but she'll grow on you." Desmond was just standing in front of Josh who still looked ashamed as ever. "Seriously," he said putting a hand on Josh's face bending over so that their noses were almost touching, "You don't have to be embarrassed. The fact that you're so open about your feelings is one of the reasons I love you so much."

[doherty]

"Thanks," Josh replied, smiling more sincerely now. "That makes me feel better." He paused, then decided to take a stab at a joke. "Although I'm not so sure about the Cedric thing. Just how cute was he?" Josh raised an eyebrow. "Nothing I have to worry about I hope." Josh raised a hand and placed it on Desmond's, which still remained on Josh's face. He loved just touching Desmond - it didn't have to be anything sexual, just the simplest of touches and it felt amazing.

Oh! I can't for you to meet Audrey! You'll probably hate her at first, but she'll grow on you!

Josh wouldn't say it aloud, but he was suddenly nervous. Especially about Desmond's friends. It wasn't like Josh was socially awkward, but he didn't want them to dislike them. Because if they disliked him, then maybe Desmond would start to. And Josh couldn't live with that. Oh, well... he'd jump that hurdle when he got to it. "Uhm..." Josh said, changing the subject. "Do you need me to help clean up or anything?" He looked down at his bare chest. "Or maybe put a shirt on?" [Fuckin' lame, sorry.]

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"Pssssh, put a shirt on!" said Desmond with a grin as he stood up straight. Yeah, put a shirt, HAHAHAHAHHAHA. "Maybe in about two hours when my parents will be home, but right now I'm enjoying it. Besides, your shirt is in the wash, which reminds me, I should probably go handle that. The only thing I want you to do is sit here and look pretty while I go handle the wash." He skipped out of the kitchen then turned around and popped his head in for a quick second. "By the way; he was thuper hot! But pales in comparison to you!" He popped back into the hallway and went into the laundry room to put the wash in the dryer leaving Josh all alone in the kitchen.

[doherty]

Josh crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to have some sort of modesty. He laughed aloud at Desmond's last little statement about Cedric, shook his head. "Thanks," he said softly, to no one really, because Desmond had already disappeared. Josh sighed and looked around, wondering what to do with himself. Deciding to be somewhat useful, he started to gather the dishes from the amazing breakfast they had shared and put them in the sink. When that was finished in about half the minute, he simply leaned against the counter and let the past minutes run through his mind. So much happened in such a small amount of time. Josh grinned to himself and felt like maybe his heart would explode... and then he remembered that Desmond's parents were going to be coming home and he'd have to meet them and he'd have to keep his hands off of Desmond while they were around and... well, he was nervous. And probably for good reason. But he figured that as long as he had Desmond, he'd be strong.

[audrey]

Audrey had her own key to her best friends house so she, of course let herself in like she had always done. Today her and Desmond were supposed to go to the mall together to go shopped like they did every other Saturday for the last five years. "Yo fagot!" she called when she was inside Desmond's house, "Where are you?". Then she smelled bacon. Fucking bacon. Did Desmond just want her to be fat or something? Now she had to go to the kitchen to get some of that bacon. It was probably going to be maple bacon, which was fucking amazing. When Audrey entered Desmond kitchen she expected to find Bacon, but instead found some shirtless guy leaning against the kitchen counter. At first she thought Desmond took advantage of the night with out his parents in the house and went to Babylon and picked up a guy. The poor kid hasn't been laid in a while and was in due need for some sex. But as much as Audrey hoped that was the case that didn't seem like something her best friend would do. Plus this guy didn't look like Babylon material; he looked tired and worn out and he also looked like he had been crying. Audrey had no idea what the fuck was going on.

"Ummm, Hi?" she said slowly.

[doherty]

Josh nearly had a heart attack when some loud voice rang through the house with a, "Yo, faggot!". He had been perfectly content, just wading in his own thoughts, when that interrupted him. He decided to stay where he was and just hope the voice went away, but unfortunately it found him and apparently came from a girl with ridiculous hair, amongst other things. "H-Hi..." he replied slowly, crossing his arms even more tightly over his chest than before. He cleared his throat, then it dawned on him. "Are you... Audrey?" he asked, raising a questioning eyebrow. That would probably explain the barging in and the yelling.

My, this was awkward.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"Yo faggot!"

SHIT

As soon as Desmond heard Audrey's voice she began stuffing the clothes in the dryer as quickly as he possibly could. When he was finished he ran back into the kitchen to warn Josh, but too late; Audrey had already found him. Desmond positively cringed at the awkward moment forming in front of his eyes. It was Saturday! DUH! Him and Audrey were supposed to go shopping! How could he possibly forget! They'd only been doing it for the last five years! He could have slapped himself in the face, but he reframed.

"Oh, hey Audrey." he said a little nervously, "I see you met Josh! Um, Josh, this is Audrey! Audrey this is Josh! Um, Josh is going to be living here now. . . ." He didn't know what else to say. 'Yeah this is my new boyfriend, we're going to pretend he's straight so he can live here' somehow didn't seem very appropriate.

[doherty]

"Nice to meet you, Audrey," Josh said automatically, although he wasn't so sure about the 'nice' part. This was very, very awkward. And he really wished he had a shirt. Really. Like, had he been approached with a magical genie, he would have wished for something to cover his exposed skin. Or maybe he'd ask to disappear. Or maybe he'd ask to make Audrey disappear. He really couldn't decide. "Uhm... maybe I should go... ahh..." He was searching desperately for something to do, some kind of excuse that would let him scurry away as quickly as possible. He glanced quickly at Desmond, one eyebrow raised. Other than the fear Josh was experiencing, he now felt something else... disappointment. Why hadn't Desmond just said that the two of them were together? Wasn't Audrey his best friend? If so... why wouldn't Desmond tell her about them?

[audrey]

Audrey looked back and forth between Desmond and Josh with her eyebrows raised like she was at a tennis match. So this guy was living there now and Desmond didn't even bother to call her! What the fuck!? Audrey told Desmond all her sex storied! Even the girl on girl action she got that always gave Desmond nightmares and furthered his queerness! There was defiantly something going on between these two, Audrey just knew it. Maybe Desmond had finally found a boy friend! Audrey gave Josh a good look down; he looked way to old for Desmond. The fucking guy had to be in his twenties for Christ sake! Audrey was slowly not liking where this was going; she was very VERY protective of her best friend.

"Soooo." she said slowly, "Did you guys fuck or what?"

[doherty]

Josh couldn't help it, but his jaw dropped. Was this girl serious? Did she just actually ask that? Josh quickly looked at Desmond with some desperation. Josh already knew he wasn't a fan of Audrey... mostly because he was a laid back, subtle kind of guy while she was... well, she had fuckin' pink hair and bad language and was blunt, and she wasn't the kind of person Josh would like to spend time with. "No," Josh answered stiffly after a short pause. "We didn't." He looked at Desmond once more. This shit was already screwing things up. This wasn't going to work out.

[Desmond Giuseppe]

"WE JUST CUDDLED!" burst out Desmond, "We didn't fuck! Josh is my boyfriend now! I met him in the park and he was playing guitar and he just looked so beautiful and lonely that I offered him dinner so we went to dinner at the diner then I thought, 'hey, this poor guy probably has no where to go' so I offered him a place to stay so he did they we were in my room and we were just watching project runway and before I knew it we were making out! Then we slept in my bed together, with NO FUCKING! And when I woke up this morning I made him breakfast then we ate breakfast then Josh almost left but I could let him leave! Where would he go! So I called my mom and she said he could stay here, but I told her that he was straight so now we're going to have to pretend he's straight! But I don't care what you think because I love Josh and he's staying her now Audrey so you're just going to have to live with it!" He belted this out all very quickly and took very few breaths. He just had to get it all out right away so Audrey would know.

[audrey]

Audrey raised her eyebrows at Desmond.

"Woah, settle down there." she said flatly walking over to the kitchen table and getting a left over piece of bacon and stuffing it in her mouth, "I just wanted to know if you guys fucked. I didn't ask for a play by play of your night. Jesus Christ." So, Josh was Desmond's boyfriend now was he? A fucking homeless guy was her best friends new boy friend? What if this fucker was just playing with Desmond so he had a place to stay? Audrey didn't want to be so pessimistic, but at the same time she felt the need to protect her best friend. Well, at least they hadn't fucked, that put her at ease a little bit. But they were going to pretend to Josh was straight? How the fuck did they plan on pulling that off? Desmond was far to opened with his feelings not to let something slip in front of his rents.

"Ok," said Audrey finally, "First of all, how old are you?" she pointed at Josh, "And second of all how the fuck do you expect to pull this off? Desmond, you know your mother has better gaydar than both my dads put together."

[doherty]

Josh had the urge to run over to Desmond and maybe hide behind him, maybe kiss him because of the speech he had just said, maybe grab him and run away quickly. Instead, he stayed where he was and peered at Audrey. "It's sweet that you're being so protective of Desmond," he said coolly, "but I think he can make his own decisions in this regard." Great. Now he was becoming defensive. "If you must know, I'm 27, although how it's your business I have no idea." Josh stood straight, stopped leaning against the counter. "I know where this is coming from. You think that because I don't have a home of my own I'm some sleazy guy who takes advantage of others. But that's not it. I was going to leave, until..." Josh paused and glanced as Desmond. He decided not to go on with that comment. "But Desmond offered me a place to stay. Because he's kind and caring and we actually have feelings for one another. Okay?" Josh paused, then added helplessly at the end; "And plus, I'm not even fully gay. I'm bisexual. So that has to help the situation a little."

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond smiled widely when Josh stood up to Audrey. He would have loved to run over and make out with him, but didn't want to go that far in front of Audrey, well, at least not yet. Most guys he'd dated cringed with fear and ran away when Audrey spoke to them like that, but not Josh. Josh stood his ground and Desmond couldn't be happier for it. Of course he wasn't about to tell his best friend to go fuck herself; he knew where Audrey was coming from. She had always been overly protective of Desmond and he was grateful for it, but at the same time extremely annoyed.

27? Desmond knew Josh was older then him, but not by nine years! Sure there was a sudden shock of finding out Josh's age, but it didn't' matter; they were in love and a nine year age difference wasn't going to change that.

"See? He's bi! So it'll be easy for him to pretend to be straight!" said Desmond in Josh's defense, "Stop being such a fucking bitch about it Audrey! I could really use your help with this!" He gave Audrey his desperate face, a face she had never been able to resist and Desmond knew this. It was his best defense against his pink haired friend.

[audrey]

"So you're half queer! Wopdee fucking doo! So am I!" said Audrey with mock enthusiasm. This guy was nine years older than Desmond! Nine fucking years! If Desmond hadn't just turned eighteen their relationship would be illegal! "That's not the point Des, he's nine years older then you!" Then Desmond did his desperate face. Fuck. Audrey could deny help when Desmond made that face and the fucker knew it. She groaned and sat down on a chair at the table. "Ok, fine I'll go along with this." said Audrey, "As long as you behave, Josh!" She took a moment for this to sink in. "Well, I guess I can always tell your mother that I slept with Josh and he made me orgasm five times. My record is sever, but I'm not giving you that much fictional credit." She would seriously tell Desmond mother that and she's believe her. Her and Mrs. Giuseppe were tight yo.

[doherty]

Josh looked at Audrey with raised eyebrows. "Five?" he asked, then shrugged. "Why the hell not." Josh paused and grimaced. "And of course I'll behave. I may not have a house, but I have an education. I'm not an idiot." Josh was glad that Audrey finally gave in to the situation. Desmond's desperate face WAS really irresistable, so Josh moved slowly so they were standing closer. Their arms touched and even that little bit was comforting. "I hope this works," Josh muttered, turning his head to peer at Desmond. He really, REALLY wanted this to work. If Desmond's parents found out... if Josh was forced away... well, he didn't think he'd be able to deal with it. [Short, sorry.]

[Desmond Giuseppe]

Desmond rolled his eyes at Audrey; she was so ridiculous some times! But she was accepting Josh and Desmond appreciated that more than he could possibly say. When Josh came over to him he squeezed his hand tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then the dryer beeped meaning the wash was now dry. Desmond didn't want to leave Josh alone with Audrey, but he had no choice! Josh's clothes were in the wash and he needed to get dress before his parents got home! "I'll be right back!" he told Josh before giving his hand another squeeze and going to take care of the dry clothes. "Behave!" he told Audrey sternly before leaving the kitchen.

[audrey]

Audrey waited for Desmond to leave the kitchen before slowly getting up and walking over to Josh, her bright purple stiletto hells clicking ominously on the tile floor. She stop about a foot in front of Josh, crossed her arms below her chest and shifted her weight to her left side.

"Ok, I can deal with you living here with Desmond," she began quietly so Desmond couldn't hear her in the laundry room, "but let's get one thing straight; Desmond is my best friend and I love him dearly, so if you break his heart I will break your fucking dick off. Do you understand me?" Audrey didn't care if she came off as a complete and totally bitch, she wanted Josh to know that she was going to let him fuck with Desmond. It was best for her to lay down the law now rather than later.

[doherty]

Alright, this was uncomfortable. Why the hell did she have to stand so close? Why did she have to be so imposing, ominous, threatening... scary? Josh wasn't a spineless kind of guy, but for some reason he felt like he was when Audrey was there. But he didn't let it show on the outside.

What the fuck had Desmond been thinking, leaving them alone? Audrey was going to eat him! And then they all wouldn't have to worry about having to trick Desmond's parents. Because Audrey would be digesting Josh.

"I understand you," Josh said in reply. He narrowed his eyes at Audrey. "I don't know why you already have a problem with me, but I can assure you that the last thing I want is to hurt Desmond. You might not want to believe it or accept it, but I care about him to the point that it even scares me. So I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt him. And I don't want you sticking to me, monitoring my ever move, because that would put a strain on mine and Desmond's relationship. And if you put a strain on our relationship, then we're going to have to have words." Josh paused, looked Audrey straight in the eye. He wasn't going to let this little pink-haired hormonal girl undermine him. He was a 27 year old, an adult, senior to her. And he knew how to treat someone right. She needed to get that. "Do you understand me?"