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“You should stop eating that.” William said, looking up from the magazine he was lazily perusing and across the table at Gabe.
“Stop eating what?” Gabe questioned as he absentmindedly licked the spoon that was in his hand, watching William, slung back in his chair, in his peripheral vision.
“Blueberry yogurt. Like the one you’re literally eating right now.”
“Why? I like blueberry yogurt.” Gabe’s lips twisted into a frown, his eyes reverting down to the little plastic container as he scraped the yogurt from the bottom, trying to salvage any remaining parts of his favourite snack.
“Because when you kiss me, you taste like yogurt, and it’s gross.” William looked up from the magazine again, brown eyes half-glaring at Gabe through shaggy layers of bangs that fell to the side, and long, flaring eyelashes that batted angrily when he blinked.
William was gorgeous just sitting there, full lashes falling over cheeks rosy from the heating indoors, his smile crookedly twitching up every now and again, presumably when he was reading an article he found either entertaining, or unbelievably stupid.
“Aww poor baby, looks like you won’t be able to kiss me anymore.” Gabe pouted, putting his hand over his heart as he fake-cried, mocking William.
“Or you could just stop eating the yogurt… or like, brush your teeth.” William looked up again, face falling flat in response to Gabe’s persistence.
“Every time I wanna kiss you? That’s so unfair. And besides, the yogurt isn’t even gross, you’re just a picky baby.” Gabe stuck his yogurt-y tongue out at William, scrunching his nose up like a pug.
“Okay, fine. I’m gonna start eating something you hate. See how you like not being able to kiss me.”
“I would kiss you through anything, but sure, since you wanna turn this into a low blow bet all because of yogurt… no kissing for a week. If I can go a week without giving in to you, I get to continue to eat my yogurt whenever I please.”
“Fine, whatever. And since I’m a fair participant in this, I can’t kiss you either.” William shot back as Gabe left the table, not really realising what he had agreed to.
“Wait, Gabe, does this mean no sex? Gabe! Does this mean no sex?” William called out to him, dropping his magazine to run after him.
“I never said that. I said no kissing.” Gabe tilted his head and grinned a little.
Stupid man. William thought out loud under his breath, though not quite sure if he was talking to himself or to Gabe.
“What was that?” Gabe snarked.
“Nothing.” William rolled his eyes. “You really want me to fuck you without kissing you? Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds? It’ll be like having sex with a prostitute!”
“I just wanna use your love tonighttttt!” Gabe started singing, mostly to add fuel to the fire, because sometimes it was funny watching William get riled up because of him.
“Whatever.” William rolled his eyes again and left to do the dishes to take his mind off the fact he had agreed to a completely stupid bet.
*
The two laid in bed later that night, Gabe playing Snakes and Ladders on his phone, groaning every time he made a wrong move, and William reading a book next to him, but occasionally turning his head to watch Gabe’s brows furrow and forehead wrinkle in concentration, and his fingers hit the little keys like his life depended on it.
Gabe wouldn’t be Gabe if he wasn’t so annoyingly competitive. Even if loss was inevitable, he competed just for the sake of proving he wasn’t a chicken, though most of the time he fought as hard as he could, because he didn’t like losing, and often wanted to prove the other person wrong.
William wasn’t actually doing much reading, he was more staring at the pages and thinking about how he was totally gonna lose his own bet. He wasn’t going to admit it to Gabe, but a few hours in and it was already affecting him more than it seemed to affect Gabe.
William was bored and he wanted to make out with Gabe, the stupid love of his life who was sitting there playing his stupid game like it was nobody’s business.
Snakes and Ladders his ass. William was sat there thinking about a different type of snake and something to climb that wasn’t a ladder that would keep Gabe busy instead of a digital adaptation of a board game. Whatever, it was completely Gabe’s fault for eating that nasty blueberry yogurt nonstop in the first place.
*
Two days in and Gabe had gone grocery shopping, now the fridge was full of blueberry yogurt like Gabe had bought double the amount just to piss William off.
“You got the gross ones.” William said, face flat in annoyance as he turned from the pantry to the counter and took a bag of chips Gabe had bought, waving it in Gabe’s face, pushing it against his chest until Gabe clutched it.
“You like these ones, I’ve seen you eat them before.” Gabe’s brows furrowed as he shook his head in disbelief, waving his arms around and throwing the bag back to William.
The chips crunched against the packaging as William caught it. “No you haven’t, I don’t eat these.”
“Just try them, I promise they’re good.” Gabe pleaded, pouting as he stepped in closer to William.
“Not a chance. It’d have to be life or death.” William chuckled, smiling that gentle, sweet smile that Gabe loved so much as he shook his head and continued reorganising the pantry.
“You’re so dramatic, Bill.” Gabe smiled back.
William laughed. “I love you too.”
Later that night when the two were curled up together on the couch, William in Gabe’s lap, watching some movie Gabe had rented that neither of them understood, Gabe was eating his so-called ‘gross’ chips as William leant against his chest, his spare arm around William’s shoulder.
“You’re getting crumbs in my hair.” William said, observant, but careless.
“Hm.” Gabe hummed a laugh in acknowledgment, ruffling William’s hair so it fell over his face, turning his head to breathe in the scent of whatever fruity shampoo William had been using. He liked the smell of William, always fresh and never too strongly of anything.
Gabe set his chips aside next to William so his hand was free to drag gently along William’s bare collarbone, smooth and warm under his fingertips.
William’s hand dropped down to Gabe’s chips, idly eating them as Gabe’s fingers drew patterns across his skin. “Thought you hated them?” Gabe smiled.
“They’re not so bad… maybe.” William sighed, taking Gabe’s hand with him in the movement as his chest quickly rose and fell flat again.
Gabe just smiled, brushing William’s hair behind his ear and twisting it around his finger, his fingertips lightly dragging down the nape of William’s neck occasionally.
William’s head turned, looking up to Gabe and leaning in, which made Gabe laugh a little, cause he knew what was happening, but also hadn’t forgotten about their little bet.
“Uh-“ Gabe tutted, pressing his thumb to William’s lips. William just rolled his eyes, lazily shoving Gabe’s chest and turning back to watch the movie.
*
Three days in and it was beginning to torture William. He thought he was going crazy as he sat at a barstool on one side of the kitchen peninsula, watching Gabe lick that stupid spoon on the other, wishing he was licking the inside of William’s mouth instead.
“Hope you’re enjoying that yogurt.” William deadpanned at Gabe, watching the corners of his mouth turn a pinkish-white with yogurt before crooking up when he smiled at William.
Gabe ignored William’s sarcasm. “As a matter of fact, I am, and I’ll enjoy it even more when I can taste it on your lips too.”
“Shut up.” William spat, leaving to go ponder deep thoughts or whatever happened in his brain that Gabe was yet to understand, or more probably, bitch and moan to himself about agreeing to such an awful bet.
It was worse than the one Gabe lost where he had to run down the street and back naked. It was worse than the one William lost where he had to let Gabe have full control over the groceries for two weeks and ended up eating frozen pizza for three days straight. Of every stupid, drunken bet they had ever made, this was the worst one, and all William had to do was not kiss Gabe.
Gabe joined William in the living room where he was slumped on the couch, legs crossed and feet propped up on the coffee table. “When will you let me in your mind?” he asked, taking William’s book and placing it page-down on the table so William wouldn’t lose where he was up to, straddling William’s hips.
“What does that even mean?” William asked, holding Gabe’s hips as his hands found William’s waist under his t-shirt.
“You always look so deep in thought, and you go to this place that I’m not invited to. I want you to let me in there with you.” Gabe said as his hands wandered across William’s skin.
William’s hands reached up to cradle Gabe’s neck. “I thought you were already there with me.”
“Almost. I think.” Gabe looked William up and down before climbing off him. “Come to bed with me.”
“We can’t kiss, what are we supposed to do.” William shrugged.
“I don’t know. We can figure it out.” Gabe smiled, holding his hand out and pulling William up.
They made it into bed, but never got very far. It was more like wrestling around on top of the sheets but gentler and more suggestive.
They argued over whether kisses on each other’s body counted, and decided that it did, and Gabe laughed when William raspberried his stomach and collapsed there for a second before coming back up to snuggle into Gabe.
*
“So does it count if I lick you?” Gabe asked four days in, looking down at where William spilt soda down his chin and most of his chest.
“Why would you want to lick me?” William laughed, wiping the sticky mess off with a damp cloth.
“I think I just want my lips somewhere on your body.” Gabe frowned.
William didn’t want to admit how much it was hurting him not being able to say yes to that. “If you’re doing it specifically because you can’t kiss me, I think it counts.”
“Please, I could make it, like, super sexy, or something.” Gabe argued.
“In what world would that be sexy?” William laughed at Gabe.
“A world where the lights are dim and we’re under the covers together.” Gabe smiled, running his fingers down William’s sticky, bare chest.
“We tried that. It ended awfully.” William said as he continued to wipe his skin with the cloth.
“It was not awful. It was cute.” Gabe pouted, pulling William in by the waist.
“You gotta quit that, or one of us will lose.” William said, making no effort to stop Gabe’s advances.
“I want you to lose.” Gabe grinned, wrapping the other arm around William’s waist and pulling him in tight.
“Thanks for the encouragement, Saporta.” William rolled his eyes, looking at Gabe softly as they stood skin-to-skin in the middle of the kitchen.
“Oooh, the last name, you’re cute, Beckett.”
*
Day five was spent by William ignoring Gabe. He didn’t mean to, but the bet was seriously starting to get to him, and Gabe wasn’t making it any easier by teasing him about it.
He continued to obnoxiously eat his yogurt, grinning whenever William glared at him, and William was sitting there doing what turned out to be a horrible job of pretending he didn’t care that it wasn’t affecting Gabe at all.
“Hey, Bill.” Gabe said, soft and smooth from across the table as William’s foot restlessly tapped against the floor. “You know you can talk to me if something’s wrong.”
“What makes you think something’s wrong.” William grumbled, only justifying Gabe’s questioning.
“I don’t know. I can feel it in the air. Well, that, and you’re not acting like yourself. You’ve gone all hermit-like on me.” Gabe shrugged, trying to keep the conversation light, though something in his voice suggested real concern.
“I’m fine. You’re reading too far into something that’s nothing.”
“Okay. As long as you’re okay.” Gabe nodded, despite knowing William wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Later that night, William was lying in bed, and Gabe joined him. William didn’t acknowledge Gabe’s presence, instead remaining deeply immersed in the book he was reading.
Gabe moved in closer, snuggling up to William under the warmth of the covers, and William’s body tensed. “Stop that.” he said quietly.
“What?” Gabe breathed out. There had been times where William didn’t particularly want to talk, but he always enjoyed Gabe’s presence.
“Just move over a bit. You’re too close.” William said again, even quieter.
“Okay, sorry.” Gabe frowned, turning over and opening up the video game on his phone. He must’ve sat on the intro page for forever, because despite having his phone in his hand, all he was doing was watching William, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and eyes focused on the book, but slightly distant at the same time.
His eyes travelled in loops from William’s shoulders, down his pale arms, to his fingers, long and lithe as they turned the pages. There was something to William’s movements that seemed off, like every motion was hesitant, and the tension coming from William hung in the air, thick and unbreathable.
“I love you.” Gabe whispered to William before finally turning his attention to his game.
*
Six days in and William was sulking on a bench in the apartment complex’s courtyard. He had completely forgotten he was supposed to be the one torturing Gabe over the bet, but in that moment, he had never felt so disconnected from Gabe in his life.
Six days was a long time for him to go without kissing Gabe. He stopped letting Gabe get too handsy with him because he knew where it would lead, all because he didn’t want to lose a stupid bet. As much as it was hurting him, he wasn’t a quitter, and wouldn’t let Gabe have the satisfaction of winning a bet to him.
The wind blew past in whistling gusts, it was way too cold to be sitting outside, and William was starting to regret not bringing out a jacket or a blanket or something, but eventually he heard the door to their apartment creak open, and Gabe’s head peered out, sweet smile and all on his face, like he was just living his life normally.
“What’s wrong, baby?” Gabe stepped out of the doorway, sitting next to William.
“Nothing.” William said flatly, arms folded and legs crossed one over the other, sinking into himself and the chair, like a hermit.
“Oh come on. This can’t be because of the bet. It’s not that serious! I still fucking love you, you know.” Gabe’s voice perked up to compensate for William’s mood, nudging him slightly, assuring him to cheer up.
“I know you do, but it feels like we can’t show it to each other anymore.” William grumbled, and Gabe put his arm around William’s shoulders, pulling him in. “It’s like when we first met and I knew you liked me, and you knew I liked you, but neither of us did anything about it and it was this horrible feeling that ate away at me for weeks until you finally kissed me.”
“God, you have such a flair for the dramatic.” Gabe chuckled as he rested his head on William’s shoulder. “But that’s one of the things I like most about you. And I get it, how you’re feeling, believe me, I do.”
William took Gabe’s hand in his own for a moment, entwining their fingers and rubbing at Gabe’s knuckle with his thumb as their breathing synchronised into slow, even movements. The waves coming in, and the waves going out, calmly. It was something Gabe was always just able to do, calm William down no matter how stressed or upset he was.
“I mean I can kiss you if you want, y’know like, let you win, if it’s killing you that much.” Gabe said, pulling his hand out of William’s and letting it drop to Gabe’s thigh, moving to rub William’s shoulder gently.
“That’s cheating, it has to be a fair game. And also, that means you’ll have to give up your yogurt.”
“Completely worth it if I get to see you smile. And I miss your lips, dear Bilvy, it’s been hell not being able to kiss you.”
“Mmph” William groaned, not sure if he wanted to let Gabe cheat or not, but before he could think any further, Gabe’s warm hands were on his face and pulling him in closer.
Their noses brushed and their foreheads pressed together, and Gabe stroked William’s cold cheeks with his fingertips. “Just say the words and I will.” he whispered, running a hand through William’s hair.
They sat like that for what felt like an eternity, but was probably actually only a couple of seconds before William reprimanded, “But then you’ll lose, and you’ll lose your yogurt and-“ he was shut up by Gabe’s lips on his, warm and soft and so perfect and fuck he missed this.
When Gabe kissed him, the inside of his mouth tasted like the yogurt still, but William had missed the taste. He missed how milky and disgusting and so not-blueberry-like it tasted, it was the taste of Gabe, and it was comforting and familiar in a way William didn’t even know was possible.
Gabe pulled him even closer, enough that he was practically in William’s lap, not letting go of him as he slipped his tongue between William’s lips, slow and gentle, like he was kissing him for the first time all over again, like he got to explore that part of William for the first time all over again.
Gabe had been around the entire time, but had never felt so close yet so far to William, and as his lips brushed over William’s, he was closer than ever.
“You’re mine and only mine, you know that, Bill?”
“Mhm” William hummed into the kiss, clinging onto the collar of Gabe’s jacket to make sure he wouldn’t go anywhere now that he had him back.
“It’s cold, let’s go inside, we can continue this anywhere you want, but inside, cause I don’t want you to freeze to death, cause I really will miss you then.” Gabe smiled against William’s lips, and William smiled in return.
A million hours of kissing and cuddling and touching to make up for all that was lost in six days, and William had grown to not care when Gabe kissed him with his stupid yogurt-y lips, because the taste of blueberry yogurt would forever be better than not having Gabe at all. Those six days reminded him of that.