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“I know,” Jamie interrupted, raising a hand a little to stop him from continuing.

“There are many people out there who think we shouldn’t be allowed to be together.

We still need to keep it a secret. We can’t tell anyone.

But…” Jamie took in a deep breath, and then continued, determinedly.

“It’s not like with kissing where we need to be careful where we’re doing it.

People wouldn’t even know if we sl eep in one bed or not.

Not as long as we don’t tell them, right? ”

…He had a point there. A very good one in fact.

But Jesse honestly didn’t know how to respond to the request, still—and despite his genuine efforts to be more honest about his feelings, he just… froze. He didn’t know what to say, and the silence that fell over the kitchen just made the air between them grow tense and uncomfortable.

Coming one step closer, Jamie looked at Jesse with his big brown, pleading eyes.

Uh-oh…

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” Jamie whispered. “Really. It’s just… it’s not fair if one of us has to sleep on that stupid cot when we could both sleep so much better in a bigger bed.”

Well, Jesse’s back agreed with that. It actually agreed a lot louder than it should, considering Jesse was only twenty-one.

But now that he’d spent a few nights on said cot himself, he had to admit it was indeed uncomfortable; so much so that he’d even considered sleeping on the couch instead.

Letting Jamie sleep on the cot again so Jesse could have his nice and cozy bed back didn’t feel fair, either.

“And then I found this,” Jamie continued, his lips forming into one of those incredibly pure smiles that honestly felt as if they were meant to melt Jesse’s heart.

Jamie reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

Carefully, he opened it, smiling down at it triumphantly before handing it to Jesse.

It was a classified ad for a queen-sized bed. Jesse ran his hand over his face as his nerves climbed steadily higher and his heart skipped a beat.

“We don’t need to tell anyone,” Jamie repeated quietly.

No, they didn’t. It could be their secret; no one would know about it but them. And god, Jesse wanted to say yes, with all his heart…

But still. He had to get out of this somehow. Jesse’s gaze fell on the price listed by the ad; one hundred dollars for the frame and mattress on sale. Alright, he could work with that. “I um… that’s a pretty go od deal, Jamie,” he said. “But unfortunately, I don’t have a hundred dollars right now.”

Jamie just grinned, a mischievous glint lighting in his eyes as he reached into his pocket again. “But I do.” He pulled his hand back out, and Jesse felt his jaw drop at the sight of several bills; mostly crumped Ones and a few Fives, but also several nice, crisp Twenties.

“H-how much is that!?” Jesse blurted in shock.

“One hundred and thirty-eight,” Jamie replied. “Because you said we’d need new bedsheets as well.”

Jesse’s jaw dropped even wider. How the hell had Jamie managed to even get so much money!?

“Y-you didn’t… just take it from someone, did you?” Jesse had to ask.

“No, of course I didn’t!” Jamie said, looking surprised that Jesse would even think that. “I saw the ad on the bulletin board in the dance studio, and when I told Hazel that I wanted to buy this bed, she said she could pay me in advance and I could work it off later!”

“Hazel, huh?” Jesse huffed, feeling his face turn red again.

“Yeah! She gave me the first hundred as the advance, and then she said I could also promote her school and keep any tips I made!”

“Promote… her school?” Jesse repeated numbly. “Wait. As in… street performing?”

“Yes! Jesse, it was so cool! I just went there and danced, and it was so much fun!” Jamie was beaming again as he talked, his words coming out faster and faster the more excited he got.

“Everybody liked it so much that they asked for another dance over and over again, and they cheered for me, and then even more people stopped by; and they gave me so much money!”

Jesse couldn’t help but chuckle—Jamie was honestly just too cute —even though a flood of ambivalent feelings was washing through him.

Jamie had been dancing in front of strangers to earn money.

And he’d done great, but… was it even safe for him to do so?

Yeah, Carson City wasn’t nearly as big as places like Reno, but they had their fa ir share of dangerous sorts to deal with, same as any other city; and as good as it was that Jamie was starting to be more independent, he was still pretty inexperienced with the ways of the world.

What if some stranger took advantage of his trusting nature, and convinced him to go somewhere by promising him cash?

Jesse was suddenly realizing he had a lot more to explain, and he made a mental note to talk to Jamie about safety in the city later that night, after he had time to prepare what to say.

Well, and as selfish as it might sound, Jesse had to admit that he also felt a tiny bit jealous that he hadn’t seen Jamie’s dance himself. But stronger than all his other emotions, he felt utter disbelief, paired with a heartfelt fondness.

Jamie had achieved a lot today; not only had he done the work of raising up the money for himself, he had also known exactly what Jesse was going to say, and he’d come home very well prepared.

Jesse realized his mouth was still agape, so he forced it closed, gulping as he realized he’d run out of arguments.

He looked at the ad in his hand again.

“Jesse…” Jamie said once more, his voice so warm and gentle that Jesse probably would’ve said yes even if Jamie had asked him to adopt a full grown dragon. “This is the first money I’ve made my own, and I want to spend it on you. On us. It’s… just a bed after all, isn’t it?”

Just a bed…

If only Jamie knew. Jesse still couldn’t say how he really felt about this, and yet he felt his defense soften to a degree he hadn’t thought was even possible.

But, it really was just a bed, wasn’t it?

Just a piece of furniture to solve the issue at hand.

The cot had been a solution when Jamie had suddenly stumbled into Jesse’s life, but it was certainly not an option in the long run.

If Jesse’s back had been able to nod, it would’ve done so now.

“Damn it. Well, seems like there’s a phone call we need to make,” Jesse finally gave in—and was rewarded with an overjoyed hug from Jamie, accompanied by something that sounded like a squeal.

It made him laugh as he hugged Jamie back, still surprised by how much happiness surged through him every time he got the chance to hold Jamie close.

He couldn’t believe they were actually going to do this.

And he still couldn’t believe it when they went to dismantle his old bed a little later on, stacking the pieces and the cot in the living room for the time being, until they could sell them to somebody else.

And he definitely still couldn’t believe it late that evening, when they went out to pick up the bed, and set it up in his— their —room.

It felt way too unreal. But it really was just a bed after all. A bed that was big enough for both of them to sleep comfortably.

Nothing more.

Just a bed.