It's Time for the Syndrome

“Please come with me?” Huber pleads, and Brandon closes his laptop,

“I thought you were going out with Brad?” He asks, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“He bailed!” Huber exclaims. “I know you’re busy and you have like a thousand things to do, but please?” He pleads.

Brandon scrubs his face with his hands, taking his glasses off completely. “Mike-” he sighs. “Last time I went to a baseball game with you you forgot to put on sunblock and we couldn’t have sex for a week because every inch of your body looked like a tomato.”

Huber pauses, remembering. “I’ll put on sunblock!” He exclaims. “Jones /please/?” He frowns. “If you love me you’ll come to this game.”

Brandon stares at him for a second before realizing yes, he is serious. “Fuck it, fine. Fine!” Stands up from his desk. “But if you get burned I’m not rubbing aloe on you.”

Huber absolutely get burned and Jones absolutely does put aloe on him.

It’s been happening for weeks now, now that he looks back on it. They’re with friends and Ben goes quiet. They’re on a date and Ben lets go of his hand. They’re streaming and Ben moves his chair a little farther away from him.

And Brad’s tired of it.

He goes over unannounced; knows if he gave Ben a heads up to his arrival he’d make up an excuse. So when Ben opens the door and sees him standing there, he freezes.

“Please talk to me.” Brad pleads. “Come on dude, it’s been days and you don’t answer my calls.”

Ben looks down at his shoes, quietly ashamed, and opens the door to let Brad in.

“I know what you’re doing,” Brad says the second the door shuts. “and if you want to break up, tell me man. You don’t have to just avoid me. We’re not just dating were /friends/ and-”

“You think I want to break up with you?” Ben asks, confused.

Brad throws his arms in the air. “It’s a logical conclusion! You won’t touch me and you definitely won’t talk to me!” He exclaims. “Just rip the band aid, man.” He says, softer.

Ben nervously pulls his hoodie down over his hands. “I don’t- I like you a lot.” He assures Brad and Brad wants to pull his hair out.

“Then what’s the problem?” He asks. “Because I’m not crazy here, somethings definitely up with us. And I can only think that you just don’t want to be with me anymore-”

“You’re too good for me.” Ben blurts out, cutting him off.

Brad’s eyebrows knit together. “Too good for you?” He repeats. “What the fuck does that even mean?” He asks.

Ben sighs. “Let’s be honest, you’re talented, you’re attractive, and you deserve someone who isn’t me.”

The way he says it Brad can tell he’s been thinking about it a lot, but he’s not having it.

“Nope.” He shakes his head. “I,” he points at himself. “Am a fucking idiot. A fucking idiot who likes YOU. Not someone else.” His hands fall to his sides. “So stop it, because I’m not letting you just back out of this relationship.”

“But-”

“You like me, right?” Brad asks, and Ben nods. “you want to be with me, right?” Ben nods again. “Then don’t fucking worry about it!” He exclaims.

Ben nods, suddenly very, very ashamed of his actions of the last month. “Sorry.” He apologizes.

Brad smiles. “It’s okay.” He walks forward and gives Ben a kiss. “Just don’t shut me out again, alright?” He smiles at him, and for the first time in a while, Ben smiles too.

“You look really tired.”

Huber blinks up from his laptop and as his eyes adjust he sees Kyle standing in the doorway. “Nah,” he brushes him off. “I just need to make this sentence work and then I’ll come to bed.”

Kyle frowns. “It’s two am, dude.” And Hubers eyebrows knit together. “Oh.” He says softly, surprised.

Kyle walks across the room and looks over Huber’s shoulder. There’s paragraphs of text on the screen. “It’s not going to go anywhere if you wait til the morning.” He says gently, and Huber looks up at him.

“I know.” His voice is quiet like Kyle’s, but it’s a little less believing than he wish it was.

His hand pushes Huber’s aside and saves the document before shutting the laptop. Once the fluorescent light is gone Huber realizes yeah, the sun did go down.

“Come to bed,” Kyle says softly, tugging his sleeve gently to lead him along. Huber leaves his desk and follows him. Quiet padding of feet on hard wood the only sounds in the small apartment.

The second they’re under the covers, Huber curls up around Kyle and falls right asleep. Kyle smiles at him before his own eyes close.