Homeless (mxm)

When One Door Opens

-Orion

Squeezing Zachary's hand gently, Orion gave his boy a smile before they both slipped out of their respective doors and into the crisp, morning air. After grabbing the suitcase, he followed Zach inside. Xena was already helping David with prep when they walked into the kitchen. Orion had originally intended to complain about losing part of his only vacation in over a year, but when Zachary ran over and hugged Xena, thanking her for the promotion, he couldn't help but bite back his upset and smile when his boss glanced over at him with a smirk.

"Couldn't help myself." He said with a shrug. When Zachary ran back over to him, Orion happily scooped him up in a tight hug. "You deserve it, Sweetheart."

"Yeah, he does. Now he needs to get his cute butt to work. Come with me, I'll go over the basics before your shift starts tonight."

Seeing Zach pale with the knowledge that he would be training for manager immediately, Orion gently rubbed his back for a moment and kissed his forehead. "It's okay. You'll do great. Get goin'." He said cheerfully, giving his boyfriend a tap on the butt as he hurried to follow after Xena.

"Someone's smitten as a kitten." David purred, drawing Orion's attention and earning a glare. The guy looked much better after everything he had gone through, and he was smiling like he was the one that was smitten.

"Says the kitten to the tiger." Orion returned as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

"Meow," David said. Orion thought it was a response to him and turned to retort, but then he noticed George standing awkwardly in the doorway. His large size took up almost both doors and... "What are you wearing?"

It looked like one of his own leather 'shirts', and by shirt, he meant leather wraps. The poor guy had visible red marks from previous ones David had obviously made him squeeze into, but they just didn't seem to suit him in Orion's opinion. Not that he'd let that dissuade him from poking fun at the giant guy.

Sauntering over, he slid his finger between one of the bands of leather and tugged. "I must say, you look quite... interesting, in leather."

Noticing that he was pushing George a bit too far already, Orion quickly backed up, letting David slip in between them. The guy diffused the situation with a chaste kiss, immediately quieting George's growing grumbles. When it began to look like he was doing a bit more than just trying to tamp down George's anger, Orion hastily ducked around them and slipped out of the kitchen. He didn't have anything planned in between right then and his shift. Xena had taken his Zachary away, leaving him oddly out of place. Eventually he decided to go work on some of their homework. Since Zach would be much busier, he figured he'd appreciate having the work done so he didn't have to stay up late just to get it turned in on time.

Of course, he won't copy it until he makes sure that he understands the material. Which was one of the reasons why Orion gladly got to work on it back in their room. He worked for hours, especially focused on the math equations. He was so focused that he actually didn't hear the door open or realize Zachary was there until he literally climbed into his lap, shoving the laptop aside with a mischievous grin. 

"Mm, hello there, Sweetheart." Orion purred as he accepted the kiss Zach offered and hugged him to his chest. "It's almost time for work," Zach said, making Orion glance over at the small clock he kept on his night stand.

"Oh. I must have lost track of time." He mumbled, returning his gaze to Zachary as he grinned, proud. "But I got our homework done."

Relief flickered in Zachary's eyes even though he was scowling a little. "Oh don't tell me I shouldn't have done it all. You have responsibilities and today, at least until right now, I had none." He paused for a moment, then amended his statement as his grin grew wider. "Well, besides you."