Page 14 of Unicorn Unashamed

Josh nodded, satisfied, and went back to his room to throw off his wet clothes. He still was wound up and antsy, but having Raymond around kind of soothed him a little bit too, for all that he still wanted to crawl into his lap and kiss him.

Right now Josh wanted comfort, so in lieu of day clothes, he pulled on a soft pair of flannel pajama bottoms and one of his most worn t-shirts. He didn’t super care about Raymond judging him for walking around in sleepwear. Not that he really thought Raymond would.

For Raymond, he decided to leave clothes for now. If he truly was going to leave pretty soon, it’d be silly to have him change and then change back. It wasn’t as though Raymond was spending the night.

He doesn't want to. He doesn't want you.

Josh gritted his teeth. He needed to stop being stupid. Raymond was his friend and Josh wanted to be a good host. He made his way back to the living room.

Which was empty.

“Damn it, Raymond—”

Then he registered the sound of running water coming from the kitchen. When he got there, it was to find Raymond at the sink, downing another glass of water.

“Oh good,” Josh said. “You’re still here.”

“You were right,” Raymond said. “It makes sense to wait a while. My next client isn’t for a couple hours anyway. I have the time. Thanks for uh, keeping me from going back out in that.”

“No big deal. Do you want to watch TV or something?”

“Sure,” Raymond said easily, following Josh back into the living room. “If you don’t mind.”

“Pick whatever.” Josh grabbed the remote and held it out. “It’s hooked up to Netflix too.”

“All right.”

Josh left Raymond on the couch flicking through shows and went over to his sectioned-off office space intent on losing himself in work, but even just that small distance away from Raymond made him uneasy. He was more comfortable around him. Closer to him. This constant buzz of want.

Josh could ignore it, but maybe trying to concentrate on work right now was just an exercise in disaster. He could stand to spend some time doing something a little less involved. He picked up his sketchbook instead and grabbed a pencil. It wouldn’t be a big deal to join Raymond on the couch and watch something with him and maybe sketch. As long as Raymond didn’t mind.

“Course I don’t mind,” Raymond said when Josh asked. “It’s your place. I’m the one intruding.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I gave you much of a choice,” Josh said as he sat down on the opposite end of the couch. Too far away, he thought mournfully.

Raymond chuckled, finally sounding more like his regular self. “You said it, not me. Are you good with watching this?”

“This” was a nature documentary about alligators. One that Josh had been planning on watching anyway. He smiled at Raymond, loving how similar their tastes were. “Yeah, sure.”

They watched in silence for a few minutes while Josh absentmindedly sketched out bits and pieces of animals and people in the show. When he started feeling tired, he set his sketchbook and pencil on the coffee table to close his eyes.

“Josh? You okay?”

“Hm?” Josh felt fine. Great, actually. Really content and happy, just a little sleepy too. The buzzing had finally settled a little, with Raymond so close and warm and there. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Raymond shifted on the couch. “Do you want me to turn the TV off?”

“Mm-mm, it’s cool.” He let his chin rest on his hand and blinked slowly at the screen. “S’good background noise.”

“If you say so.”

Josh drifted happily as the program played out, startling a little when Raymond got up to go to the bathroom. He felt a little colder with him gone, and when Raymond returned and brought the warmth back with him, Josh snapped his fingers in realization. “Oh!”

Raymond looked at him, confused. “Oh?”

“Nothing, nothing. I just figured something out.”

“You uh, wanna share with the class?”

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