#lissa-writes

Sam shrugged his backpack off of his shoulders and tossed it in the car, shivering against the breeze that whipped around him. "No. No, not at all. You actually.. I don't know, made it easier I guess. You kept my mind off of the whole 'we could fall out of the sky and plummet to the ground' thing that I was afraid of." When another breeze of arctic air hit like rocks against his face, Sam rushed to the passenger side and jumped in. Rubbing his hands together, he looked for the heater button. Finding it, Sam turned it on high to get it running, cool air blowing at first before turning warm. He rubbed his hands together and then held them up to the vent to warm up. "You'd think I'd be used to cold winters by now," Sam chuckled. "Between Ohio and New York, I'd hoped I'd be used to them by now." Looking over at Sebastian, Sam smiled. He wasn't sure if Sebastian had dressed up especially nice because it was the hospital, or because they would be meeting his family soon, but he knew that look on Sebastian's face. Sam reached over and clapped his hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "It's gonna be good, man. It doesn't matter what shit they say. You have me here, okay?"

Sebastian chuckled as he took his place on the driver's seat. "Yeah... Never a good thing to think while you're in a plane" he said, then turned the motor on and sighed, his hand clutching the steering wheel. He turned his head when he felt the hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I know. Just like ripping off a bandage. The quicker, the lesser pain." He chuckled, then nodded. "Thanks, man. Let's do this, shall we?" He drove away and soon they were on the main road, some familiar spots passing by their windows as they drove.

"My parents had to give me that allergy medicine that makes you pass out when we went on a plane before. I think I was like, thirteen." He smirked, never having shared that little tidbit with anyone. He hadn't wanted people to think he was silly or stupid since flying was such a big mode of transportation. "Exactly. We rip it off, get in there, do the holiday thing.. it'll be great." As the scenery passed, Sam looked out, smiling at the familiar locations they passed along the way, telling stories about times he went there to pass the time, until they were coming upon a very rich neighborhood. "Well, I've never been here," he said with a smirk. When they stopped, he perked his eyebrow, and pointed, "This is yours?"

Sebastian was glad to hear the memories had about certain spots as they drove past Lima, places Sebastian was certain he had never been to before, then when they finally made it into Westerville he chuckled at Sam's reaction. "Don't worry. I'll give you the tour sometime tomorrow, after I wake up from the massive hungover I'll get from how much drinking I'll be doing tonight." He chuckled, then looked up as they drove across the stone pathway that led to the big house at the end of it. "Yeah. That's it" He looked at him and laughed, soon stopping the car on the driveway. "Last chance. Do you really want to do this?"

Sebastian's home was.. massive. It was incredible. The kind of place that his mom used to look at on those television shows and swear that one day she'd buy it.. if they won the lottery. He was still a bit in shock when Sebastian spoke, giving him an out. "Dude, I'm sure. I told you I got your back and I meant it." He smiled before nodding to the house. "We'll get in there, tell them that your boyfriend lost the privilege to call you that, and then I'll take care of you while you get incredibly wasted." Nudging Sebastian with his elbow, Sam smiled. "Come on, let's go."

Sebastian chuckled at the nudge and shook his head. He was about to say 'you're too good to me', but he wouldn't say such words out loud. As far as he concerned, anyone should be graced with his friendship... even if Sam was different. To say the least. They got out of the car and grabbed their lugagge from the trunk before walking to the main entrance. They hadn't even reached the door when it sprung open and a tall, long dark hair woman stood there with a somewhat warm smile on her face. "Sebastian" she said, to which he  nodded. "Mother" he said, then walked up to her and kissed her once on each cheek. "Are we too early?"

Sam was nervous but he wasn't going to admit that. He got along with people but sometimes he worried that they wouldn't like him. He was something different to take what with his comics, extensive knowledge of nerd material, and frequent impressions. But he also wanted Sebastian's family to like him so he messed with his hair, trying to fix it, as he walked up to the house. A smile crossed his face when the woman was at the door. She'd started to say they weren't early and then her attention was on Sam. His eyes widened a little as he held his hand out to her, southern manners kicking in, "Nice to meet you, ma'am," he said. When she assumed he was Sebastian's boyfriend, Sam could almost hear the other internally groan. This was the part he was dreading. Sam looked over at Sebastian. Even though that was the plan, he hated thinking of Sebastian hating his holiday or not having a good time, so before he could tell her that she was wrong, Sam did something he hadn't expected. "That's right," he said. "I'm Sam. Sam Evans. Sebastian's boyfriend."

They were already inside the house when Sam introduced himself to his mom, and he kicked himself mentally for not doing that. Manners. He smiled slightly when he noticed he was trying his Southern charm on her, something he had already seen working on the ladies, so that was fun to see. Then it came the bandage part. The part he had dreaded for days now, but might as well rip it early on the day. "Mother, I-" he begun to say, only to be half blocked by Sam's surprising words. He was that much shocked, he didn't even turned to look at him with a 'wtf' look on his face. He simply nodded and smiled at his mom, his hand now resting on Sam's shoulder, which he squeezed hard. "That's right. This is my boyfriend, mother" he finally said, which appeared to please her a lot, and he pulled the blonde man for a hug before taking his hand and pulling him into the living room, where other people already were. Sebastian had the chance to look at Sam as he was whisked away, his eyes wide like plates.

Sam tried not to show there was any reaction when Sebastian gripped his shoulder. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but when Mrs. Smythe took his hand and led him towards a living room that was mostly bigger than a lot of places he'd lived before, he looked back at Sebastian and he flashed him a semi-apologetic look. He mouthed, 'sorry' and then turned back on the charm as he was introduced to a room full of people. Sam was good at charming people so he dialed it up, the bright smile on his face, but every so often he would look over at Sebastian. Halfway through dinner, he'd realized that Sebastian's mother hadn't spent much time at all talking to her son, but she'd asked him a million questions. Maybe it was just the shine of a new toy. The evening carried on and it was late by the time he was shown to Sebastian's room, his mother telling Sam about the location of the shower and where extra towels were. He simply thanked her and as soon as he walked in Sebastian's bedroom, shutting the door, he held up his hands. "I'm sorry, don't be mad." The two hadn't had a chance to talk in private since they arrived. "I just didn't want you to have a crappy holiday because of them and I thought.. well, I don't know what I thought, but it just came out."

Out of every possible scenario Sebastian had pictured in his mind of how that visit to his parents house would go, that had to be the most weird and surreal one. To watch his mom practically cling to his friend and introducing him to everyone in the room as 'my son's boyfriend', and Sam also doing his part at being charming was the strangest thing to watch. His father shook his hand politely and congratualted him, though he didn't say why he was doing that, and he figured that would be the length of their conversation for the evening. Small blessings. 

He got to his room just a bit earlier than Sam did, still acompanied by his mom, then after she left the room and he turned to look at him he raised his hand in a 'dude, wtf' kind of way, but Sam spoke first, and he let him. He shook his head but chuckled anyway.  "That really did save me from a crappy holiday, but you seem to have landed in a world of trouble with your new 'mother in-law', babe..." He stood up and pointed at the lugagge on the floor. "I brought all out stuff up. I... um, I can sleep on the floor if you like. That's actually a really comfortable carpet you see there."

"We spend most of our time together in New York anyway, and I know all this stuff about you and you know stuff about me, and it just seemed like the right thing to do," Sam said, smirking at the mother-in-law comment. "Is she usually that clingy with your friends?" he asked, "I feel like I might have her fingerprints permanently imprinted on my arm." He tugged his sleeve up, checking it jokingly, and then pulled it back down. "Are you serious? Dude, no. I can't let you sleep on the floor." His eyes ventured over to the bed. There really was only one in there, not that he expected Sebastian to have two. "I can take the floor or.. I mean, your bed looks pretty big if.. you want to share.. I mean, or not if that's totally invasive and weird."

Sebastian looked up and chuckled. "Maybe you will regret your choices in the upcoming days, but for now it appears to have gone well. Oh, haha... yeah, she is. Sorry about that. The thrill of the news will die out soon, I promise. Soon you should be just another guest." He looked at his bed, big and comfortable and smiled to himself, his mind going through some fond memories of his much younger days. "I wouldn't mind sharing my bed with you. I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. But if you're cool with it-" He shrugged, then pointed to the side closer to the window. "That's my side though."

"It's only a vacation during the holiday. I don't think I could actually regret getting to spend time with you." A small smile crossed his lips because Sam actually did like getting to spend time with Sebastian. The other male was so much different than he was but he was confident and knew what he wanted and that was impossible to ignore. "Well, I will have you know that she knew plenty of designers if we want to get suits made for whenever we decide to get married." Even if Sam had been Sebastian's boyfriend, this was the first time he was meeting the family. That seemed pretty quick to him. "I don't mind," but then Sam held his hand up. "Wait a minute now, boyfriend, you're taking the window side? But what if I wanted the window side?" He asked with a laugh, reaching down to unbuckle his jeans. Sam stopped a second later, "Oh um.. should I.. keep.. or, is it okay if..." He made a face, "I have boxers on.."

Sebastian chuckled and took his own shirt off. "She's probably scared that you realize the mistake you're making and wants to tie you down quickly, before you change your mind" he said, then shrugged. "I called it first. Tough luck, boyfriend" he said, also using a teasing tone, then he raised a brow at him. "Sam, come on... It's not like I haven't seen you in your underwear before." He pushed his own pants down. "Nor is it the first time you've seen me in mine either. You wanna use the shower?"

"Dude, no one would think they made a mistake by--" But as soon as he started talking, Sam realized what dumb thing he was about to say. Especially considering what happened to Sebastian's real-now-ex-boyfriend. Sending an apologetic look Sebastian's way, Sam moved on. He decided that Sebastian was, at the very least, right about that. They lived together so why would Sam have to be weird about it. "You're right. Though I vaguely remember you making fun of my Chewbacca boxers. You'll be happy to know i'm not wearing those tonight. Instead..." Undressing from his jeans, Sam showed off his newest pair. "--Christmas Yoda!" Grinning, he folded his jeans and put them over a chair before tugging off his shirt. "I'm a morning shower kind of guy," he said. "Unless you are and you'd rather take the morning shower?"

Sebastian caught Sam's little slip but didn't make much of it. He knew his friend didn't mean it the wrong way. He too placed his folded clothes on a nearby chair, then turned around just in time to see his new boxers. "Oh my god. You're a bigger geek than I give you credit for. But those are cute." He chuckled, then shook his head. "Not right now. I kind of want to rest right now, especially after that trip." He laid down on the bed and sighed deeply. "Oh yeah... I always loved this bed."

"I'll take that as a compliment, thankyouverymuch," Sam said with a grin, looking down at the white, black, and green boxers that he actually prided himself on. "I'm telling you, Seb. I'll rub off on you one of these days. One day, you'll find yourself wearing a pair just like mine." He brushed his fingers through his hair, walking towards the bed but stopping to watch as Sebastian climbed in. He blinked a few times and turned away before the other could notice him looking. Pulling the blanket back, Sam laid back and practically sunk into the pillows. "Oh my God," he said, stretching into the most comfortable bed he's ever been in. "How did you ever get anything done? I don't think I'd ever leave this bed if it had been mine."

Sebastian laughed. "It'll a cold day in Hell before you see me wearing such a thing, babe" he said, his eyes lingering half a second longer than intended at Sam's half naked chiselled body. "I won't lie to you. It was  difficult at first, but then you just get use to it." He pulled the blanket on top of him and looked at him with a wicked grin on his face. "Good night then..., boyfriend"

"Good thing Winter Is Coming." Sam smirked as he rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. He looked over at Sebastian, a playful grin on his face. "Well there may be some issues in the morning because you're going to have to peel me out of this bed." When Sebastian started to get comfortable, Sam rolled onto his back and hooked his arm under his head. He didn't say it but he liked not being in a bed by himself. "Good night," he smiled. "Boyfriend."

Sebastian looked up and spotted Sam on the couch, which he couldn't see before because he was laying all  the way down. He raised a brow and chuckled as he took his jacket off and placed it on the hanger by the door. "How about no, hmm? He threw the keys into the bowl that was on the table, also by the door, then walked into the kitchen. "Having a rough day?" he asked, hoping he could dodge the question that followed suit about the obvious frown on his face. But after living with Sam for a while, he knew  a simple 'nothing' wouldn't make him stop asking. 

He pulled his bottle of water from the fridge and took a good sip before putting it back and closing the door. "I wish I could say I was, but there are certain things that make me lose my perfectly kept together poise." He walked into the living room and sat on the seat next to the couch where Sam was. "My mom sent me six texts today. She wants me to come home, for the family Christmas party. She says she wants to meet my boyfriend. You can imagine that'll be as fun as putting nails inside your socks." He sighed and leaned all the way back. 

"Aw, come on. What's wrong with a little Spongebob to brighten your day?" Reaching over for the remote, Sam clicked off the television and then set his guitar down, leaning in against the couch. "Me? Nah. Just feels a little weird to not have any job today. I can't remember the last time I had a full day off so I figured I'd be a general lazy bum." Pointing at his cereal bowl, he asked, "You want some? I bought some Count Chocula this morning." Technically, half of it was already gone but he didn't really care much. Sometimes Sam got in a mood with his food and he fixated on one thing. Today was cereal. 

His eyes followed his roommate as the man wandered across the kitchen and retrieved a water bottle, then took a seat on the couch beside him. Sam brushed his hair out of his face, blonde strands that were getting a little too long to just look charmingly unkempt. His brows shot up. "Well, I know you and your mom don't exactly get along but introducing her to your boyfriend can't be that bad. I mean. Did you talk to him yet? Is he willing to go back to Westerville with you?" 

Sebastian shook his head and placed his hand on his stomach. "No thanks, I'm good" he said, not really wanting something that extremely sweet to hurt his already burning stomach. He looked up at him, a half annoyed expression in his face. "What if I have no boyfriend to show off? What then?" He sighed and leaned back on his seat. "Mark and I broke up yesterday" he said, then shook his head. "I knew this whole relationship thing would be a bust." 

Something was definitely wrong with Sebastian. The man was usually good at keeping things secret but it was definitely written all over his face. Sam narrowed his eyes at the comment, about to ask what he meant by not having a boyfriend to take home, when it was explained to him. "Oh.. wow, dude. I had no idea.." Sebastian and Mark had been together long enough that Sam thought they were solid. "I'm sorry, Seb. What happened? I mean, do you want to talk about it?" 

Sebastian shrugged, then undid a couple of the top buttons on his shirt almost as if it was needed to breathe. "Nothing major. I mean... I know I'm not cut for this relationship business, and I thought, well he thought since he asked me to be his boyfriend, that I could actually pull that one off. I can't. We called the whole thing off, so now I have to take the 'obviously' faces on my family when I show up there alone." He huffed. 

Without realizing it, Sam followed Sebastian's fingers as he unbuttoned his shirt and then returned to his face, shaking his head. "Hey, just because you haven't had a relationship last doesn't mean you aren't cut out for it. I mean, you can't tell me that every single person right now isn't cut out for relationships. You just haven't met the right dude yet but that doesn't mean you won't." Sam frowned. He knew all about disappointing parents. "Why don't I go back with you? I mean, at least you won't have to tell them alone, and if they're jerks about it, I can distract them with my awesome guitar playing. Or stripping.." he said, hoping to make Sebastian laugh. 

Sebastian rolled his eyes slightly. "Trust me, Sam. I'm the one not cut for it. But I thought with Mark- that it would be different. I felt he was the- Nevermind." He looked at him and raised a brow. "You... would do that for me?" he asked, genuine surprise in his voice, then he chuckled and shook his head. "Now now. All stripping dibs are to be left to your awesome roommate and no one else, Sam." He smirked, thean leaned forward. "You're serious about coming with me? It'd mean a lot, plus you could join me in trash talking them." 

Sam wanted to fight Sebastian on it. He didn't think that the other wasn't right for relationships but he doubted right now, on the tail end of a break up, was the time to help him believe that. He even chuckled at the stripping comment. "I guess. As long as my awesome roommate tips well for all this," he said, lifting his shirt enough to show off abs that she playfully smacked twice. Dropping his shirt, Sam nodded, "Dude, yeah. I'll come. My parents have to work Christmas anyway so we weren't going to do anything so I could spend it with you, and definitely trash talk them as much as you want. As long as you don't mind spending the holidays with me." 

Before he could even help it, or even stop himself from doing it, Sebastian's tongue licked over his lower lip when Sam flashed him with his greek god-like abs; he snapped out of it quick enough not to make his friend feel awkward, then smirked. "Sam, Sammy... If you were to strip for me, I have a roll of hundreds, all with your name on it. I'm sure it'd be quite the show, so you can expect a very good tip." He chuckled, then leaned back on his seat, visibly more relaxed than before. "Of course I wouldn't mind. In fact, I think it'll be a fun way to spend the holidays, since we get along so well. Maybe we could even have a walk down memory lane, I mean where your school is and all that." He nodded. "We leave in about a week. I hope that's okay with you." 

"Don't tell me that. I'm desperate for money," Sam teased. Kind of teased. He had a couple different jobs and all of those together made him enough money to pay for rent, his part of the utilities, and groceries, and anything else that he needed. For the most part. But he would be lying if he said he hadn't thought about how much more money he could make stripping. Of course all that even came up when a friend of his was getting married and the stripper never showed up at the bachelorette party. He'd gone in his police uniform from Halloween to make her night a little better. "Yeah, I'd love to show you my school, all my old hangouts. And I'd like to see yours too. I never really ventured to the rich neighborhood," he said with a grin, knocking his shoulder against Sebastian's. "I'm sorry about Mark but screw him. You're better off without him, and this holiday is going to be fun no matter what. Promise." 

Sebastian chuckled and nodded. "Are you going to regail me with all the infamous spots where Sam Evans had his charming ways with the ladies back then? That should be interesting." He would had never been caught dead going to a place like McKinley when he was in high school, but he was a very different man now. At least, on that aspect. "You know what else we could do? In case my family gets to be too much of a dick while we're there? We can go to the B&B down by the lake, if it's still there. Maybe for a day or two? Do some trail in thing or something." 

"Ha, yeah, you really didn't know me in high school. I'll tell you a secret," Sam leaned in. "It turns out that girls really aren't impressed that you can perfectly replicate the voice of Darth Vader." He shrugged, "I had one girlfriend but I wasn't really a super big hit with the ladies. But I can definitely show you some old haunts." Sam was interested to see Sebastian's place too. They'd grown up so close but in such different worlds. "That sounds good too. I'm down with all of this. I love the city and all but it'll be nice to get out for a while." And, he thought, he was excited that he wasn't spending the holiday alone. 

Sebastian frowned. "Were all the girls at your school blind or something?" he said with a chuckle, then he leaned in when Sam did and grinned. "Then I say that was their bloody loss then. I for one enjoy your impressions very much. The Sean Connery one? A total killer." He placed his hand on Sam's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "You're a good friend, Sam. And I promise to make your stay there as bareable as possible. I'm going to take a shower now. What'd you think if we order some food in? I don't feel like cooking today." 

“This is why you were the best choice for a roommate. I could have kept looking but how can I turn down a guy that likes my best Sean Connery?” Sam chuckled and let the smile cross his face. He liked knowing someone appreciate something he did well. That list wasn’t necessarily a very long one. “Yeah, I’m down. You paid last time so I got it. I’ve been craving some of that pasta from Cucina Mia’s.  I’m sure it’ll be here by the time you’re done showering.” 

Sebastian chuckled as he made his way into the bathroom. "We're a dying breed, babe" he shouted from inside the bathroom, and started the water before he took his clothes off. "Deal. Eggplant parmigian for me, and Caesar salad, please." He stepped into the shower and moaned softly as the warm water washed over him. 

The whole thing might not be a bad idea after all.