#scene 16

KENT "Thanks, man, but I'm gonna stick to water for now. I drank that weird-colored shit earlier and I don't think I can handle much more." Especially not if he was going to make out with the frankly gorgeous man in front of him. He definitely wanted to be mostly sober for that. Kent laughed when Holster burst in and patted his shoulder. "Absolutely fucking LIT, man!"

MARCH March couldn’t help herself and giggled into her fist, watching Ransom freak out over Kent was probably one of the best things to happen that night. "Tub juice," March said with a nod. "It'll fuck you up, be careful." She added before Holster came in.  "Did you get bombarded by any fans?"

RANSOM Ransom took a pensive bite of his quesadilla, abruptly trying not to choke on it when Holster burst into the room. He wanted to say something or tackle Holster or find some way to act normal, but he couldn’t. He just stayed where he was perched on the island, sneaker thumping into the cabinet behind him. "Haha, yeah, that shit hits you hard. Bitty made a ton of food so feel free to eat whatever. Helps with the burn a little."

HOLSTER Holster beamed, pleased that they'd delivered a quality Kegster experience to Kent. He turned his attention to the hockey player, trying not to focus too much on how closely March and Ransom were standing. They were friends, was all, or that was the mantra he repeated to himself even as he reached around Kent to grab himself a bottle of water. "Yeah, food is key. Tub juice's primary function is to fuck you up."

KENT "I've signed sixteen Solo cups, eight random pieces of paper, two hats, and one arm." Kent rolled his eyes. "The dude wanted to get my signature tattooed." He grabbed a skewer filled with tater tots and popped a couple into his mouth. "I also took twenty-seven selfies," he said, doing his best to avoid spewing food while he talked. He swallowed quickly and nodded at the tub juice observations, laughing. "Yeah, I really don't want to get fucked up tonight."

MARCH "I've already had too much. That being, two cups of Tub Juice." March giggled as she leaned on Ransom for support. "I'm so glad you came, and that you're like having a great time. Even if all those people asked you for stuff." After March peeled a piece of Ransom's quesadilla and popped it into her mouth, she remembered. "Remember that time Kent wanted to make out with Ransom." She mentioned casually.

RANSOM If Ransom had been taking a sip of his LaCroix (which he maybe put a little gin in? Details were getting fuzzy), he would have choked on it. He pinched March's butt in what he hoped was a somewhat subtle move, outwardly flashing her and then Kent his best Someday I'm Going to Be a Rich Doctor Smile. "That was like, three thousand years ago, Starfish. Don't hold him to it. Especially if he's had Tub Juice and the alcoholic cupcakes."

HOLSTER Holster knew he was generally a loud person, but his laughter echoed around the kitchen and drew the attention of a few other partygoers. "If by three thousand years you mean two weeks, then yeah, sure." He loosened his grip on Kent, placing his hand on the counter beside Ransom's hip to crowd close to him. "C'mon, bro, I know you know what to do. Practice makes perfect."

KENT Kent's eyes go wide and he shot a glare at March, whispering a furious, "Fuck you oh my god." He laughed nervously and took a sip of his water. The thing was, he definitely did want to make out with Ransom. The guy was fuckin' ripped and his face was so pretty and he really wanted to find out what his lips felt like. But also he wanted to kick March in the shin for not being cool. And then Holster got all up in Ransom's space and...okay, that wasn't the worst sight in the world.

RANSOM So that was two times Ransom would have choked in the last five minutes. Were they all trying to kill him? He could feel Holster's breath on his neck and it was kind of turning him on, but he refused to look. He knew he'd just want to kiss him, and that was not the arrangement. Instead, Ransom took a very generous sip (chugged, he fucking chugged it) of his mostly-gin-a-little-Lacroix, and said, "Anyways, if one of you doesn't kiss me in the next couple minutes I'm literally going to riot."

MARCH March snorted and pushed herself up onto the counter. All of these guys were taller than her and whatever happened next she didn't want to have to strain her neck that much. "I'm a very sharing girlfriend," She smiled as she leaned back on her hands. "He's a great kisser by the way." March said, her words directed at Kent, though her eyes fell on Holster instead.

HOLSTER The words hit him like a physical blow; a brutal cross check that any fair referee would call a penalty. This wasn’t a game, though, but Holster responds like he always did. He squared his shoulders and pushed back, a bright, believable smile plastered on his face so he didn’t have the chance to express anything other than joy. His teeth were grinding together painfully and a painful knot had tangled itself in his throat, but he wouldn’t break. He never did and never would. "Of course he is." Holster said, slipping his hand around the back of Ransom's neck. "Rans is great at everything." He turned towards Kent, snagging the front of his shirt in one big hand. "Get over here, bro. I can't kiss him for you." Once he deemed Kent and Ransom close enough he took a step back, thrusting his hands in his pockets to hide the trembling.

KENT Kent's eyes went wide at the sudden manhandling. What? This was...this was weird, right? The whole point was to make out with Ransom. He licked his lips and huffed out a little breath. "Um," he said. What was he supposed to do? He turned to March, eyes wide, pleading silently for help.

MARCH With her teeth bitten down on her tongue, her eyes flickered to Holster before an uneasy feeling hit her. Not sure how to approach the situation, she pushed it to the farthest corner of her mind. Her shoulders raised up to her ears before falling, her head tilted to the side. "First kisses are always a little awk."

RANSOM He was…not mad, exactly, but frustrated with both of them, for making this awkward and being weird and territorial and dragging poor Kent Parson into all of it. None of that night was going to plan (in fact, none of Ransom's romantic life in general was going to plan) but the one thing he knew for certain was that the only person who hadn't tried to stir up drama that night was Kent Parson. So he shoved his quesadilla and his disgusting drink away, pulled Parse flush up against him, and kissed him like they were in a dirty Pimms fanfic.

HOLSTER Ah, fuck. As Holster looked between the three faces staring back at him he could see that he'd made a mistake. He'd wanted to smooth things over, to distract from the stupid, idiotic dejected faces he might make if he lost control, but what he'd hoped would move things along seemed to have stagnated them awfully. He was about to apologize and get the hell out of Dodge when Ransom suddenly surged forward to kiss Kent. It looked incredible, if Holster was being honest with himself, but it didn’t feel like he'd thought it would. Instead, he was too acutely aware of the dull thudding in his chest, suddenly too bare in his thin shirt. He shouldn't be here, he realized. They didn’t need him and he needed to get used to not needing them, either.

KENT Kent didn't think it was possible for his eyes to go wider, but Ransom proved him wrong. And then his wide eyes fell shut and he sank into the other man because damn those lips were softer than he had expected. He hummed and settled his hands on Ransoms biceps, appreciating the way they flexed under his fingers. This was definitely a good idea.

MARCH The thoughts that had been rolling around her mind for the ten minutes halted once Kent and Ransom kissed. She watched as their lips moved against each other’s and her cheeks started to flare. Part of her wanted to look away, but the way they kissed, she couldn't deny herself the satisfaction.

RANSOM Ransom thought, with a mixture of smugness and anxiety, that he had officially made out with every single person currently in that room, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Despite the fact there were about a thousand thoughts concerning the abrupt way March had divulged their relationship and the look on Holster's face after she'd done it, kissing Kent Parson made it all go away. So he enjoyed that for a few minutes, his arms slung loosely around Kent's neck and his lips already feeling a little bruised.

But he couldn't let himself exist in that floaty space forever. With great difficulty he pulled back and fixed Kent with a soft smile, bracing his hands against the counter behind him. "That was good, right? They didn't talk me up for no reason?"

HOLSTER It took all of Holster's self-control to remain in the kitchen. Every inch of him wanted to run and hide away in the attic (nothing bad happens in the attic) but some dark part of him knew he needed to see this if only to build up a tolerance. He and Ransom weren't together and never would be, not with someone like March in the picture. He forced his hand out of his pocket to grab the water bottle he'd set on the counter, taking a long swig of the cool liquid to give himself something to do as Ransom broke the kiss. Idly, he wondered when the best time to leave would be—now that they were talking again, it might seem more natural?

KENT "Definitely good," Kent said, winking. "Ten out of ten. Would kiss again." He glanced over at March, her pretty lips calling to him, and he couldn't resist—he laid his hand on her cheek and pulled her into a deep kiss. He hummed happily and pulled back. "Yep. Also very kissable. Definitely would repeat." He turned to Holster. "Sorry, bro, but I have to have as much data as possible, so—" he tugged him forward by the front of his shirt (turnabout was fair play and all that) and stood on his toes to reach the taller man's lips.

MARCH Her cheeks still burned red, only to have them get warmer when Kent placed his hand on her cheek. Sitting up slightly from the slouched position she was in, her eyes fluttered closed as Kent pulled her in for a kiss. Bringing a hand up to his neck, she grazed the skin with her thumb before March let out a content sigh. She giggled as they pulled away and watched the Kent and Holster kiss, her eyes bigger than she was sure they'd ever been.

RANSOM Ransom watched Kent kiss March (and it was hot) and then Ransom watched Kent kiss Holster (and it was also hot), but the idea that he wouldn't get a turn when Kent wrapped it up was...unsettling. And frustrating. The idea that the last time he kissed Holster was probably the last time ever was an additional slightly anxiety-inducing thought. And then he had a quarter of a boner and he was pretty annoyed and he just wanted to get out of what was suddenly an extremely hot kitchen. "Hey," he muttered to March, placing his hand maybe a little dangerously low on her back, "you wanna get out of here? Go back to your place?"

HOLSTER Holster was, in a word, overwhelmed. The skin-too-hot-too-tight feeling was back, and the lump in his throat resided slightly as Kent kissed him. He hadn't been prepared for this, and all the panic and fear he felt manifested into a deep, desperate kiss. He cupped Kent's jaw, pulling him close. He could hear Ransom speak and it only made him kiss Kent harder.

KENT Kent wrapped his arms around Holster's broad shoulders and groaned at being kissed so thoroughly. He hadn't really meant to kiss so many people in such a short timeframe but he had absolutely zero regrets. As his fingers found their way into Holster's hair he felt a little shiver run through his body. He pulled back to briefly to catch his breath and grinned at the taller man. "Yeah, you definitely present a challenge to these two." He glanced back at March and Ransom, who looked cozier than they had a few minutes ago, and wiggled his eyebrows. "You two can go have some fun. I'll keep this one—" he gestured toward Holster "—occupied." His eyes went a little soft and he smiled at March. "See you later, babe?"

MARCH She watched as Kent continued to kiss Holster, her head tilted to the side to catch a better look. Then suddenly Ransom moved closer to her side, the hand on her back, her head turned toward him, as she attempted to concentrate on what he had just said. March blinked before Kent spoke, her head turned toward him and Holster once again. "Yeah," She nodded, her voice came out soft and scratchy. March hopped off the counter, walked over to Kent and wrapped her arms around his torso in a tight hug. "Don't get into too much trouble, yeah?" She tried to make the mood lighter before she raised herself on her toes and gave Kent a soft kiss on the cheek. Then she turned to Ransom and reached for his arm, waiting for his lead.

RANSOM Ransom's stomach dropped and it felt a little like some sort of wild animal was burrowing its way into his chest. Kent Parson was a cool dude and a great kisser but at that particular moment, all Ransom wanted to do was break something. Maybe over his head. But he refused to let it show on his face, plastering on a halfhearted smirk and clinging to March's hand for dear life.

As March and Kent kissed, Ransom locked eyes with Holster, trying his best not to look like a jealous asshole. "Have fun, bro," he said quietly, offering the hand not wrapped around March's for a fist bump. "Attic's all yours tonight."