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Grady sighed and hauled himself off the couch. “If you want murder and mayhem, they have the Alien movies on Disney+, I think?”

“Do you have that?” Lake asked eagerly. “Because I had a crush on Sigourney Weaver when I was a kid, and I’m gonna be honest, it hasn’t ever gone away.”

“No,” Grady said. He pressed a few buttons, and the Disney icon came on the screen. “But it won’t take long to get.”

“Is this our first joint account together?” Lake asked, fluttering his eyelashes dramatically at Grady. “Should we mark the occasion?”

Grady snorted. “How?”

“A good blowjob never goes astray,” Lake said slyly.

“Do you want your dick sucked?” Grady asked as he input his information to sign up to the streaming service. “All you have to do is ask.”

Lake contemplated it for a moment because he loved having Grady’s wet mouth around him. The guy knew how to suck dick. But he equally liked the idea of snuggling. “Rain check?”

Grady smiled indulgently as he logged in. “I’ll pencil you in.”

“I appreciate that.”

Grady settled back on the couch, and Lake twisted and curled his knees up as he snuggled into Grady’s side. Grady lifted an arm so Lake could settle against his chest properly.

“This feels familiar,” Lake murmured. “Will you keep me safe if I get scared?”

Grady kissed the top of his head. “I’ll even hold your hand.”

Lake placed his hand on Grady’s chest, next to his own head. Grady placed his own over Lake’s and laced their fingers together, squeezing gently.

“Do friends do this?” Lake asked quietly.

Grady was silent for so long that Lake wasn’t sure he was going to answer. Which was fine. Lake didn’t really need one. He was more than content wrapped in Grady’s arms, watching one of his favourite movies and eating the best-tasting popcorn he’d ever had. And having Grady’s fingers around his own, like he really cared about Lake the way that Lake cared about him.

“We do this,” Grady said eventually.

Lake smiled and shifted, snuggling in deeper. He could work with that.

Gradydecidedthatthiswas a first for him. Neither Kyle nor Mal had been interested in cooking with him and definitely not inlearninghow to cook with him. Having Lake’s brother in the kitchen helping while they cooked was also strange. Grady wasn’t used tofamily.It had been so long since he’d had one. Quinn was his closest friend, and he’d thought that Mal had been family, but he’d been more wrong about that than he could have ever imagined. He’d lost his father so long ago that it was harder to remember a time when he was there than when he wasn’t. He tried to keep the memories alive, but time did to them what it did with everything: made them fade.

Family was an elusive concept for him now. Something other people had, but not him.

“Your chopped peppers look mangled,” Avery said, leaning over his side of the counter to squint at what Lake was doing.

“Um, fuck off? I did a great job,” Lake said. “Let’s see yours.”

Avery made a flourishing motion with his hand to show his chopped onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Avery fluffed around less than his brother and had accomplished more in the last twenty minutes than Lake had all night.

Lake scowled. “You had them pre-prepared.”

Avery snorted. “You’re the one that bought them, idiot. What’s next?”

“The pan should be hot enough,” Grady said. “Drop them in and sauté them.”

“Sauté,” Lake whispered with a mocking smile.

Grady tweaked his nose and then kissed the tip of it. “Shred the chicken for me?”

Lake popped a piece in his mouth first and then went to work. Grady just shook his head. He’d cooked with Lake enough to know by now that he always needed to prepare more than he needed for the meal because Lake constantly grazed.

“Guys, stop being cute and focus,” Avery said.