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Matt shrugged, swatting Nick’s butt. “Get up. I’ll get your zombie brain some coffee started.”

Nick grunted. “Matt, seriously.”

“We can talk about what you told me last night and the fact that you kissed me after you’ve had some caffeine,” Matt said, twisting off the bed.

“Oh sure, just throw it out there,” Nick hissed.

“If I don’t, you’ll keep finding all sorts of roundabout ways of saying it or ways to avoid saying it. You’ve had feelings for me for years, and you got bold enough to act on it last night by kissing me. There, it’s been said. Now get your awkwardness out of your system, and come have some coffee,” Matt said, padding toward the door. “That way, we can just talk about it instead of dancing around it.”

Nick could only gape at his friend as Matt left the bedroom. He was distracted only by the slope of the man’s back and the way his muscles rolled as he tried to shift the tightness of his limbs away.

He continued staring at the empty doorway, even as faint shuffling sounds echoed from the kitchen. The sounds of his best friend going about his normal routine were oddly comforting. It had always been like that for them, an ease and comfort shared that came without trying.

Nick snorted softly as he pushed himself to sit on the bed. Just like it had always been Matt who looked at things simply. Matt worried and fretted over what he presented to others, but he was a simple man. It was why so many social situations were awkward and nerve-wracking for him. Things were what they were, but people weren’t always like that, and it caused Matt to trip and stumble when dealing with other people.

So, of course, Matt would look at the night before as something easily dealt with. Maybe partially because he hadn’tbeen living with the emotions and worries for the better part of a decade. But also because that’s just how Matt was. Just as it had been easy for him to crawl into bed with Nick as he was used to, as though nothing was wrong, so too would Matt see the awkwardness as something they could hurdle together.

Had it been anyone else, Nick would have wondered what was wrong with him. But with Matt, he knew full well Matt didn’t question it because he didn’t feel the need to. For him, they could weather anything and come out the other side as close and tight as ever.

Whether that would happen remained to be seen, but at least one of them had confidence.

“You gonna sit up there all day?” Matt called. “It’s Christmas Eve, for God’s sake. Come down and get your coffee.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Nick called back.

“No, she’s probably herding wet cats in the main house right now,” Matt shot back.

Nick chuckled, knowing that was probably the most accurate way of summing up his family. With a grunt, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched. Knowing Matt was right and he couldn’t spend all day hiding in the bedroom, he made for the stairs.

He stopped in the hallway, eyeing a large box in the living room entrance. “Matt? Why is there a box in here?”

A snort echoed out of the kitchen. “The same reason there’s breakfast leftovers in the fridge. I guess Emily and Nicole went one step further than I asked.”

Nick came around the corner, frowning. “And what did you ask?”

Thankfully for Nick’s sanity, Matt wore a shirt, though he’d changed into a comfortable pair of loose lounge pants. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping from a steaming mug.

“I asked them to drop off something for me, and they left breakfast too,” Matt said.

Nick glanced at the box. “And what’s in it?”

Matt beamed. “Christmas decorations.”

“Seriously?”

“Hey, it’s Christmas Eve and it doesn’t look like it in here. If I’m going to be celebrating Christmas out here, it’s going to look like it, damn it.”

“The main house is covered in decorations and will probably be three times that tomorrow.”

“Yeah, but this is the place where we’re staying.”

And just like that, Nick lost any ability to argue. Once more, it was a simple matter to Matt. They weren’t back home, so Matt was going to make their temporary, shared home look like Christmas. It was one of the many ways Matt showed his vested interest in keeping his and Nick’s lives mutual. It warmed Nick as always, and just like every time before, he felt a tug in his chest at the thought.

“And your whole family thinks you’re nursing a hangover, so they’re going to be shooed off,” Matt added.

Nick froze, reaching for the huge cup of coffee waiting for him. “I...what?”

“I ran into Nicole and Emily last night while I was out walking. Talked to them for a bit, and they promised to keep the family off our backs and apparently go the extra mile to do the same with your mom. And don’t ask me, I don’t know what that last one involves, they didn’t say,” Matt warned.