Page 4 of Gratification in Gluttony

“And yet, here I stand, the victor.” Gem straightened with a triumphant grin. It dimmed as he inspected his ice cream covered fingers. “Ew, this is pretty gross, actually. I might have been a tad too enthusiastic. Do you have a spoon?”

Without waiting for an answer, Gem crossed the kitchen and washed his dirtied hand while two of his free hands searched for a clean kitchen towel and a spoon. “You want one?” Gem asked, holding a spoon up over his shoulder.

Sighing, Toni hopped onto the dining table and pried open his Karamel Sutra ice cream. “Yeah, grab me one.”

Gem joined Toni on the table, the wood creaking under his weight as he settled his thicc ass beside the Elas. He handed Toni a spoon before dipping his own into his Chunky Monkey and taking a huge bite. Toni followed suit, and they ate their ice cream in silence for several minutes.

“Your intestines are gonna hate you in a few hours, you know,” Gem said as he sucked on his ice cream covered spoon.

“I know,” Toni grumbled, even as he took another bite. “But it’s worth it.”

“You say that now. But when you get the lactose shits, you’ll be singing a different tune.”

“Like you’re any different. You literally broke my toilet the last time we did this. I had to call a plumber!”

With an unattractive snort, Gem raised two hands and pantomimed crying. “Oh my gods, I’m so sorry my friendship is such an imposition for you!”

“Shut up,” Toni said, unable to stop a chuckle from breaking through.

Gem grinned back, taking another bite of Chunky Monkey. “You love me, and you know it.”

“Yeah, Gemmy,” Toni admitted, knocking Gem’s shoulder with his, “I do.”

Thoroughly pleased with himself, Gem wriggled closer until they were pressed together from hip to shoulder. The fur on his arms and legs vibrated, emitting a barely audible hum of satisfaction. Toni smiled as Gem snuck an arm around his waist as another hand landed on his thigh and squeezed.

They sat like that as they emptied their pints of ice cream. When both cartons were scraped clean, they leaned back on the table and sighed in contentment.

“Ollie’s coming tomorrow, right?” Gem asked as he inspected the chipping green nail polish on one of his thumbs.

“Yeah, Rusty’s meeting him and Jude at the station.”

“Oh? Jude’s coming?” Gem waggled his thin brows. “Another opportunity to make a good impression.”

Toni scowled, thinking back on his first introduction to Oliver’s adorable friend. “I think it’s a bit late for making a good impression, no thanks to you.”

Offended, Gem crossed his middle arms over his chest and pouted. “Deities below, you can hold a grudge. I bet Jude doesn’t even remember.”

“It’s kind of a hard thing to forget,” Toni bit out.

“Oh em geez!” Gem’s head fell back as he groaned. “It wasn’t even that bad. You’re so dramatic.”

“You told a complete stranger that we watched porn and jerked off together!” Toni jabbed Gem in the shoulder. “Then you said that kissing me was so unsatisfactory that it was like kissing your brother. Not exactly a stellar review of my talents.”

“Okay, yes, that happened, but you need to move on. You’re hot, you’re charming, you’re funny, and you’re a little scary. That’s a great combination. Just be those things in front of Jude, and he will, like, totally fuck you, probably,” Gem said, eyes wide and serious.

With a harrumph, Toni picked at the loose strings of his ripped jeans as his legs swung. “I mean, I am charming. And funny.”

“You’resocharming and funny,” Gem agreed readily.

Toni gestured to his body. “And I ain’t bad looking.”

“Objectively attractive!” Gem concurred.

“And I can be scary,” Toni said with a razor-sharp grin.

Gem beamed at him. “Very scary.”

“I can salvage this!” Toni said, and Gem’s head bobbed up and down enthusiastically.

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