Nacho cheese belongs on you

[Aldon Huang]

Aldon was having a rough time navigating his emotions at the moment. He seemed to bounce between elated about the new addition to his and Gregg's family and absolutely panic-stricken at the thought of Gregg going out to battle with witches and hunters. On the one hand--puppy! On the other hand--Ryland meeting Gregg! On the other other hand--Gregg fighting again!

He had to shove his hands under his butt and sit on them to avoid chewing all ten fingers off in his anxiety. Aldon was arguably always a high-strung individual but he wasn't often prone to nervousness of this magnitude. He kept jumping at odd noises, at his phone going off from Ryland's texts, from the sound of wind against the window. He kept an ear out for Gregg but he was also trying to keep it together with Ryland and inside he was a ball of nervousness at the thought of them meeting.

It would be like a clash of the Titans, he was pretty sure. Ryland and Gregg. Gregg and Ryland. Aldon in the middle with his frazzled, shattered nerves. It didn't sound like it would make for a good first meeting, not to mention the fact that Gregg was about to join Ken to fight the witch who had taken Alva and refused to give him back....

Whomever was writing Aldon's life story had a VERY active imagination, he had to give it to them.

He wished that he could give up on this life already and just skip ahead to the next. Be a normal human? Be a garlic farmer? All fine with Aldon! He didn't want to be a feral anyway, with feral friends who had all gone berserk. Rae saying he was okay with Alva killing himself. What world was he living in anyway??

That part admittedly still stuck with him in a bad way. Rae's complete lack of concern shook him to the core and he was... He was scared. For Rae. For Alva. For everybody involved in this crazy scheme, to be honest, and even a little bit for Yoojin dating that hunter leader guy, Jem. God, he wished he was out there pulling garlic out of the ground right now! Or harvesting some nacho cheese from a drippy tree!!

Ding-dong~

Their cheerful doorbell rang out. Aldon gave a yell and lept up, nearly wiping out on the caffee table that he stumbled into. Rubbing his shin ruefully, he hobbled to the door and applied his eye to the peephole.

Was it Gregg? With Teddy??

Or was it Ryland, arriving early?!

[Ryland Ren]

He rang the bell because... he didn't think he would feel right walking into the place where Aldon and Gregg lived together. The idea was off-putting but he... he was trying. That had to count for something, didn't it? Didn't it?! Ryland felt a sort of hot desperation gripping him as he stood there, half wanting to barge in and half wanting to skedaddle off into the middle of nowhere before Aldon arrived at the door.

Oh, he was going to be sick. There were too many emotions and so much anxiety that his head felt like it was swimming. Clutching the collar of his hoodie like it was some kind of security blanket, he held his breath and listened--and he heard cursing? Or muffled grumbling? Something to that effect.

When the door opened, he fully expected to see Aldon and Gregg standing there together with their arms wound around each other and some puppy between their legs, looking like the perfect holiday card. To his relief, it was just Aldon. Although he looked like he might have stubbed his toe by the way he was grimacing.

"Hey."

Ryland knew it was a lukewarm greeting but he was still half afraid to show his feelings when they were so deep and so hard to contain. His heart already beat too fast coming here and now it beat even faster upon seeing Aldon's face. Really, it felt like it had been too long. All they did before was argue about things and Ryland was pretty sure he rebuffed him plenty of times, but especially with this weirdness of having an... open relationship. (Because what else did he call it? He didn't know--he wasn't well versed in any type of relationship outside of the typical two person deal.)

Is it just me? he wanted to ask as he stood there, windswept hair in his face. The cool air from the strange and sudden storm had buffeted his face; he knew his nose and cheeks were a little red with cold.

[Aldon Huang]

It was Ry.

It was RY.

IT WAS RY!

Should he open the door?

Why shouldn't he open the door?

Why was he even debating it?! What was wrong with him??

Aldon dithered by the door for about five seconds and then yanked it open suddenly because he was deathly afraid that Ryland would think he wasn't home and just...

Leave.

He couldn't leave!

"RY!" Aldon was a spaz, they'd always known that from the moment they met and he tried to get Ryland to love him by throwing hot nacho cheese at him. He was a spaz every time they saw each other after not seeing each other for a long time. There was no playing it cool with Aldon. His attempts to be suave and cool in the past were easily seen through. Ryland's lips would quirk in that certain way. Aldon would feel... exposed. Oh he'd still bluff it through, though. Never let it be said that Aldon Huang didn't give everything 110%!

He threw himself onto Ryland, the way he always did. Hugged him tight, the way he always did, clinging with arms and legs, fingers and toes, heart and soul. Ryland was just standing there waiting to be jumped on and there was too much love in Aldon to be contained. "Ryyyy it's you!" He nuzzled Ryland like an overgrown puppy himself. Teddy was going to have competition in this household, he was pretty sure of it. Ryland and Gregg had better not love Teddy more than they loved Aldon!

"Come in! Come in! Teddy's not here yet so you just get me." He grinned as he pulled back and cupped Ryland's face in both hands. Even though he said 'come in,' he was holding things up by clinging to Ryland. Aldon could feel how cool his cheeks were, and he saw the pink tinge at the tip of Ryland's nose. Leaning in, he gave the tip of Ryland's nose a soft, playful little peck. "Cold outside? Looks like a storm."

Still not going in, though. He was taking his time with it...