Arriving home from work the next night, Maurice’s phone buzzed the exact m

     Arriving home from work the next night, Maurice’s phone buzzed the exact moment he stepped inside. Though he didn’t need to read to know who it was, he smiled at the name on the screen regardless.     “Hey.”     “Hey. Get home okay?”     “Literally just walked in the door. Parents get back okay?”     “Yeah. Called about an hour ago to say they’d arrived.”     “Cool, cool. All good?”     “Mm.” Rupert sighed, and Maurice could hear the weight behind it even over the phone. “Told them I’m still not going home for the holidays. They took it well. It’s…” A pause. “I can’t go back, not yet. Talking helped, but… I think they know we’re not… not quite there yet.”     “Fair,” Maurice agreed, secretly glad. Because the holidays were a busy time for the bar, of course. No other reason.      “How was work?”     Boring without you. “Oh, you know, same old, same old. You’re back tomorrow, right?”     “You’re the boss; you should know,” Rupert responded with a laugh.     “Somebody dropped this on me without much warning, so forgive me if I have to double-check,” Maurice returned with snark as he switched his phone to speaker, tossing it onto the bed to pull his shirt off.     “Okay, fair, fair.” Rupert chuckled. “Yeah, I’m back in tomorrow.”     “Good.” Maurice smiled as he retrieved his phone. There was the muffled sound of movement on the other side and what Maurice suspected was a stifled yawn. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”     “Mm.” The sleepiness in Rupert’s voice was unmistakable, and Maurice chuckled softly.     “Night, Rue.”     “Mm, nigh’…” || -- source link

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