Some Call It A Problem...(Josh)

Sean wasn’t possessive of his partner or of his time. While he loved the other man and enjoyed spending time with him, he understood the necessity of having an outside social life. Particularly given that they had agreed to try again and rectify some of the obsessive elements of their first relationship. So when Josh had gone out drinking that night, and the telepath had wanted to stay in, he had wished his partner a fun and reminded him to call if there were any problems.

Of course, the telepath hadn’t lost track of the time of night, even if he wasn’t worried. M.S.A.D. was long gone, and Pilot Ridge was otherwise safe. He trusted his partner not to do anything illegal, and thus when he it became late enough to retire to bed for the night, he did so without fear of a call from the police. They’d talked about the fire last year, and he was sure that Josh would never try that again.

The insomnia had kept him awake for a while, but he had eventually fallen asleep. The telepath was a light sleeper, so when the door opened and Josh’s voice rang through the halls, he roused himself awake. Turning his head, he saw the hour was in the single digits, far too late for a rational person to be returning home.

“We have company.”

He could only imagine.

Sean quickly pulled a robe over his pajamas and donned a pair of slippers. He ran his fingers through his hair to make himself presentable, before leaving the bedroom and walking down the hall and down the stairs.

There in the foyer, he found his partner and a man who didn’t look particularly familiar. “I trust you had fun tonight.”

Josh had lost track of the time.

Somehow, despite the vast expanse of starts hovering above when they had left the bar to be deposited at the foot of his home he had, in his inebriated mind, been convinced that it was only late in the evening rather than early in the morning. As such, when Sean appeared the attorney's brow furrowed in consternation at his partner's state of dress.

"You don't usually sleep so early." He commented, stumbling forward with disregard to the fact that Stefan was attached to his arm.

"Oh...yes...this is....this is...." He fumbled slightly, trying to remember the name given to him earlier that morning. "Stefan Spencer. We met 'cause he needed a cab and I thought...we could have dinner or something....but if you're tired I can call take out."

Stefan first got the feeling that things were not as they seemed (or more correctly, as he assumed) when Josh mentioned Sean had been asleep. But he brushed away his concern easily enough. Just because Sean had been asleep didn’t mean that now that he was awake he wouldn’t be up for a little entertainment.

The feeling returned when Josh continued, saying he had invited Stefan over for dinner. Still, his drunken brain latched onto the phrase “or something…”. Maybe all was not lost. He could still hope, right?

Still trying to get his footing in the kitchen, which was harder since he seemed to think Josh was something stable to hold onto, Stefan tried to think back over the conversation the two of them had in the cab. Josh had to know what Stefan had been talking about. It had seemed they were on the same wavelength. Maybe it was Sean who was confused. People were like that when they first woke up.

“Tea?” he asked, turning to the robed man. “You have anything a little stronger?” This was not exactly the sort of situation that called for tea. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He flashed the man a smile and gave him a wink as well. “It’s never too late for fun, right Josh?” He turned back to his new friend, hoping that he would be able to get Sean in the right mood.

Given the hour of the night, the fact that the taxi had left, Sean’s tiredness, and the fact that both Josh and Stefan were obviously intoxicated, the telepath decided that it would be best for Stefan to spend the night. The house had more than one spare bedroom, plenty of linens, and it would be good for the other man to sleep this off.

Because he would obviously spend the night, Sean also supposed there was no harm in him drinking more if that was what he wanted to do, since he didn’t seem to be a destructive drunk.

“There’s beer in the refrigerator,” he informed Stefan, as he tightened the belt around his waist. “There’s an open bottle of wine in there too. And we have a liquor cabinet if you’d like to take a look. But I’m still putting on tea.”

It would be good for Josh to have a bit of that to help him regain some of his sensibilities. And since Sean was already awake and would be for a while, he also would appreciate tea.

He offered Stefan another smile as he stepped past him, walking into the kitchen to find the kettle. “There is still hummus and pita,” he confirmed to his partner. At least Josh seemed apologetic, now that he was aware of the time.

Although the attorney still didn’t seem aware of the attempts at flirtation.

It would be a long night.

Filling the kettle with water, Sean crossed to the stove, turning it on and setting the kettle down to boil. He could try to deflect the conversation to something that wouldn’t incite jealousy on his partner’s part, which would also be coupled with mortification if he realized what it was that their houseguest expected. He could, likewise, try to give a subtle hint to back away from his expectations.

Probing an inebriated person’s mind was so very easy.

“So you have a cat?”

At Sean's confirmation Josh made his way to the fridge, pulling out cheese and hummus and potato salad. He had just backed away and placed them on the counter when Stefan began gesturing towards the fridge, apparently considering it to be handsome.

Josh thought that was rather an odd thing to say about any appliance, but some people were quite fond of machinery. Just look at all the people attached to their cars!

Somewhat more awkwardly, Stefan was apparently the sort of person who referred to everyone in endearments. Josh was used to this from women, especially those his mother's age. It was far rarer to hear from other men.

Rare, but not completely unheard of.

"I believe I'll stick with tea. I had no idea it was so early in the morning."

Out came a pan and bread, and onto the stove went three sandwiches.

Sean didn't seem in the mood to eat, but perhaps he would change his mind. One never knew, particularly given that he was conversing about pets when he didn't even like animals.

Still, he decided he might as well join that conversation.

"A cat? We have a rabbit." He offered, hoping this would constitute a worthwhile contribution to the pet conversation. "What's your cat's name?"