Happiness Heard Your Name (Cobalt)

[Joshua Bernstein]

(this takes place the Monday after Homeward Bound)

Josh was sore all over. This shouldn't have been a surprise; he'd done more hauling of boxes than he had in...well, a year. Not to mention the time spent showing Sean his appreciation for not only the help, but the promise of space and the second chance. He'd gotten quite a workout all in all, more than he'd had in years.

Carrying boxes of books up and down stairs was no easy feat.

So the following Monday, every step he took his muscles protested, begged him to relax and allow them some time to recuperate. And yet he was the happiest he'd been in years and in spite of the soreness there was a permanent smile etched across his face, a smile that no amount of telephone calls or teasing from Janice or disruptions from Vincent could erode.

If his legs hadn't been so sore he would have been nearly skipping down the street on his way to meet Cobalt, but as that was out of the question currently he contented himself with whistling, though it was questionable whether anyone would have recognized The Maverick's Oh, What a Thrill had they been listening.

He pushed open the doors to the restaurant he and his friends most frequently met at, and the hostess pointed him in Cobalt's direction before he could even say he was meeting someone because they met there that often.

"Wonderful day, isn't it." He beamed, flopping happily into the seat across from his smaller friend, completely ignoring the fact that the humidity had everyone dripping with sweat. "So how was your weekend? Did you and Ben do anything fun? Talk to Leila? How is she? I'm sure she's doing splendidly, she's such a trooper."

[Cobalt Weaver]

It was a wonder that Josh and Cobalt ever became such good friends. Cobalt, too, spent the weekend packing up boxes and helping Ben reorganize his basement. It had been a surprisingly wonderful time and not once did Cobalt accidentally ruin the mood or say something impolite, irritable, or hurtful. All in all, it had been a huge success and he was actually starting to function comfortably in a relationship. Minus little hiccups. Cobalt felt wonderful, and the novelty of actually feeling wonderful made it all the more exciting. But really, Cobalt hadn't conducted himself any different than any morning, save for allowing Leila to mock him more than usual, and every so once in a while, he'd allow himself to smile quietly for no reason.

Truth be told, Cobalt was more focused on how goddamned humid it was. He hated summer so. Much. He couldn't wear shortsleeves or shorts because (1) he was at work and that was not work attire and (2) he would sunburn instantly. So he was still stuck in long sleeves and pants and it was hot and gross and humid.

Glowering mildly at his drink, Cobalt started when Josh flopped into the seat across from him, grinning like an idiot. He blinked, adjusting his glasses as his friend gleefully barraged him with questions. "Uhh..." He have Josh a look, "...I guess today is okay. Aside from it being humid and disgusting. My weekend was fine; Ben and I didn't do anything particularly exciting, but we did clear out his basement; Leila is back to work against my better judgment and she's doing quite well, she says hello. Did I miss anything?"

And now for the real question: "...So what happened to you this weekend?"

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh continued to grin widely, feeling pleased about everything.

"Oh, I suppose it's humid, but a little humidity never killed anyone." He returned dismissively, because he was far too happy to care about a little thing like the weather.

"And that's fantastic, I'm so glad you and Ben are getting along again, I was worried, but you know, everything works out all right in the end, doesn't it? That's great, that's just fantastic. What were you clearing out his basement for? And I'm thrilled Leila's back at work, it must have killed her to be on bed rest, such a bright young woman, she needs mental stimulation."

He picked up the menu, but didn't peruse it; his mind wasn't on food, and besides, he knew it by heart at this point anyway.

"My weekend? Oh, not much, I spent all day yesterday moving, but that's it."

That revelation was accompanied with a satisfied sigh and a widening of his smile.

Life was good.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt narrowed his eyes at Josh, not really seriously annoyed (yet), but still a little miffed at Josh's dismissiveness. Mostly because he didn't see where this new, happy Josh had come from. While he was truly glad that his friend was no longer desperately sad like before, the sudden mood change was...more than a little disconcerting. Cobalt stared at him, scrutinizing, but settled on: "Yeah, I guess."

His eyebrows shot up as Josh began talking a mile a minute again, barely able to track the other man's prattling. "Uh. Yeah, I'm glad we're working out too. It's...nice. Everything does sort of work out in the end. Hopefully." A part of Cobalt still severely doubted it, but he was trying not to sabotage his own relationship. "Uh. We were clearing out his basement because he needed to get rid of some crap. It was...fun." Against his will, Cobalt could feel his lips curl up into a small smile. It had been fun.

Giving himself a little shake, Cobalt remembered himself and nodded, "Yeah, Leila's thrilled to be back. She was ready to get out of bed and hit the ground running, but hopefully she'll try to take it easy."

Cobalt was going to elaborate further but then Josh dropped the news that he spent the whole time moving. Cobalt looked up, startled, and stared wide-eyed at his friend. Josh was...moving? Swallowing, Cobalt looked up and tried to sound nonchalant, "Oh. Um. You're moving? I didn't know. Where are you moving?" Cobalt figured back to New York, and he was a little irritated that Josh was so happy at the prospect of leaving them all behind, but he would get to that in a moment.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"I see, getting rid of stuff is a worthwhile endeavor. I should have done that before this weekend. I forgot how heavy books can be." He rubbed one arm ruefully, smile still in place.

He caught the smile mirrored on Cobalt's face, and he was filled with warmth. It hadn't been much of a surprise when Ben and Cobalt had confessed that they'd begun dating, if only because he'd assumed they were sleeping together already. Not that he would ever ask that, it was far too personal. Still, he was pleased they were working out their relationship...and that it hadn't taken them three decades to do so.

"It was a bit sudden," He admitted with a shrug, "But I couldn't turn down the offer. Although I know you're not going to want to visit anymore now that I'm living with Sean. I'll try to only invite you over when he has Hammel business to deal with in the evenings."

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt shrugged a little petulantly, still kind of stung that Josh didn't seem like he felt that moving away from everyone was a big deal. But he wasn't about to tell Josh that. If the other man wanted to move away without thinking it was a bit deal, then fine. Whatever.

He would have continued to sulk when Josh mentioned that he was moving in with Sean ....Oh. Feeling a little silly, Cobalt frowned, "You moved in with Sean? Oh. That's what you meant." Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he searched for something articulate to say, "...So you guys worked out your issues. I'm glad."

"And, uh. I don't...you don't have to worry about...I can behave myself in front of Sean. Particularly now that you guys are living together and stuff." Cobalt shrugged awkwardly. He didn't like Sean, because Sean got on his nerves and made him feel stressed. But he didn't intend on letting that get in the way of his friendship with Josh. That would just be stupid.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Of course. Where did you think I was moving?" Josh asked curiously. He wouldn't move away from his parents, not when he'd coerced them into moving up here in the first place.

Then his smile turned a bit self-conscious, because as happy as he was that he and Sean had reconciled, there was still an undercurrent of anxiety and insecurity that wasn't helped by knowledge of how they'd gotten there. "Well, yes, we did. I....ahhh...it turns out he didn't want to disown me after all." He confessed uncomfortably to the table, "But I suppose you got that. And umm...we had a bit of a fight about it. Or rather, he yelled at me and I tried to defend myself, but I don't think I did a very good job. But somehow he agreed to....to try again. Which is more than i deserve but I'm glad. And I know you can behave in front of him, but if we're spending time together as friends I want you to be comfortable, you know."

[Cobalt Weaver]

"I don't know," Cobalt mumbled, petulant and a little embarrassed, "You said moving, and I didn't have all the information so I assumed you were moving..." He gestured out the window vaguely, "...Elsewhere. I was surprised at how nonchalant you were being about it. I guess this makes more sense." Stupid Josh.

Cobalt raised his eyebrows as Josh recounted the story of his and Sean's resolution. "What a surprise," Cobalt said dryly, a little amused. He knew that Sean was a lot of things, but the telepath wasn't the type of person to abandon a friend he'd known for so long. Cobalt enjoyed being right.

"He actually yelled? Wow." Cobalt looked vaguely impressed; he never would have expected the telepath would be capable of yelling, least of all at Josh. Instinctually, he bristled a little bit at the idea, but the tiny, unbiased part of his brain mentioned that Josh sort of deserved it. He frowned a little at Josh's mention of not deserving another shot at the relationship, which Cobalt thought Josh deserved fine. Regardless of his many mistakes and foibles, Josh was one of the best people he knew. But Cobalt had already gotten into an argument about that with the other man, so he held his tongue.

"Don't worry about it," Cobalt shrugged, "Sean and I have an accord of mutual avoiding and ignoring as dictated by a several hour conversation in a bank vault." He grimaced at the memory, "After that, I can certainly handle small doses of Sean." He didn't want Josh to feel bad that he didn't get along with Sean, but there was no point hiding that Cobalt still didn't like him. Josh already knew, after all.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Oh!" Josh exclaimed as understanding seeped in, eyes wide in surprise because it hadn't even occurred to him that there was a possibility of misinterpreting his delighted comments on his weekend to mean anything than exactly what he'd meant.

"Oh. No, no, definitely not. I couldn't move, my parents are here." He reminded the other attorney earnestly, quite forgetting for the moment that Cobalt had none of these. "Who would take care of them if I moved?"

Both Matt and Talia were in New York, close enough to visit on occasion but not to be there in the event of an emergency, and besides, they both had families. Or rather, they both had families with children; of course Charlie and Bobby were their family, as well. And of course Josh also had a family now, hadn't Sean insisted that was what they were? He smiled at that thought.

He covered his face with one hand at the memory of Sean yelling at him, a little embarrassed. At least nobody else had been there; he didn't think he would be able to handle that mortification. "Yes." He admitted ruefully. "He yelled. I've never seen him so upset in all the years we've known one another. I thought I really had ruined things forever at that point. But then he dropped by a few days later and we talked things out."

And because he'd never heard the story about Sean and Cobalt being stuck together in the bank he asked, "Why were you talking in a bank vault?" His tone was curious; he couldn't imagine any reason either man would purposefully seek out several hours worth of conversation, and in a bank vault of all places.

"Well, if you're sure you can handle him in small doses then you and Ben should come over sometime. We can do something....coupley. Maybe play some poker."

[Cobalt Weaver]

"Well, I know that now." Cobalt rolled his eyes. But back on point. "But I'm glad that you guys...worked things out. Really. It's, uh. Nice? To see you...less sad." Because it was seriously that hard to say "I don't like seeing you sad", even though Josh was now one of his best friends. He figured the other man would understand, seeing as Josh wasn't all that great with that kind of stuff either. Both men were articulate when it was their job to be, but feelings were way harder than practicing law.

Cobalt groaned at the memory of the long afternoon in a bank vault, "Ugh. It was awful. The bank had some kind of lockdown or something. We were stuck there for ever." He didn't care that he was being overdramatic. It had been extremely awkward.

When Josh mentioned doing something "coupley" and "play some poker", Cobalt made a face. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny Josh. Shut up."

[Joshua Bernstein]

Cobalt's assumption that Josh would get the gist of his statement was correct. He didn't like seeing any of his friends upset, either.

"Thank you." He beamed, leaning back in his chair, relaxed with happiness, though his smile morphed into a frown at the other attorney's obvious discomfort. "Really? That sounds awful." Not the being stuck with Sean for hours part, of course; he was perfectly happy to do that (well, he was happy to do that within reason. He did require space.) but being stuck in the bank sounded stressful. "Do you know why they had a lockdown?"

Unlike Cobalt, the idea of poker did not bring to mind the party at Cobalt's, because unlike Cobalt he had played poker for decades before that fiasco. And unlike Cobalt, he'd been too intoxicated to actually remember any of what had happened.

So he didn't understand the look the other man was giving him. "What?" He asked defensively, "Poker is fun, Sean and I play all the time."

[Cobalt Weaver]

And, okay, a happy Josh was a little infectious, so Cobalt found himself grinning back as the older man leaned back, the very picture of contentment. He absently looped shadows around his fingers and shrugged when Josh expressed dismay over his plight, "It was basically awful. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore; the amount of ridiculous in my life has tripled since I've moved here. Guess it just figures." He made a face, "I don't know why they had lockdown, but I wasn't really in the mood to find out. It made me miss meeting up with Ben, and I had something to apologize for, then. And that took a while to smooth over." Really, it was amazing it hadn't turned into another argument.

He made another face, "I don't even know how to play poker. And I am still not all that interested in learning, given what happened the last time I tried to learn." He hadn't tried all that hard to learn, seeing as how he'd been a little distracted by horror. "And I don't know about you, but I don't think the four of us doing "coupley things"--" he raised his fingers for the air quotes, "--would end very well."

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Ah, that's always tough." Josh agreed, mirroring Cobalt's grimace at the mention of apologies. "I had to apologize to Sean about....you know." He waved one hand vaguely, sure that Cobalt would understand what he meant. "At least being late to meet him isn't quite as bad as that."

And then Cobalt explained his aversion to poker. "Ohhhh." He breathed in understanding. He didn't really remember what had happened except he'd woken up at Sean's house. In Sean's bed. Without pants.

What they'd done or how they got there was a mystery, but he thought he could fill in the blanks.

"That night is a bit of a blur." He admitted, "But we won't get drunk this time. It'll be fun. And Sean and I both like Ben, how could that possibly be a bad thing?"

[Cobalt Weaver]

"Right. Yeah." Cobalt nodded sympathetically, "No, it wasn't nearly as serious as that. Just a pain." He hated apologizing; he never knew what to say. Especially--and this he had failed to mention to Josh-- when he had been meeting Ben then to apologize for something else. It had been altogether a bad thing.

"Yeah, I figured," Cobalt said dryly at Josh's confession of alcohol-induced amnesia, "Unfortunately, some of us don't have that luxury. Besides...ehh..." Cobalt rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a good way to be tactful, "...While I am glad you both like Ben, and I did say that I could handle Sean for small doses, I still don't think that a couple-type event thing would be a good idea. Besides, couple-type events are always, always awkward." It was a truth universally acknowledged, after all.

While Cobalt was certainly interested in continuing to progress in his relationship with Ben, and he wanted to act like a proper boyfriend, he still wasn't too keen on having Sean any nearer to his personal life than he already was. Cobalt suspected the telepath knew far more than he generally let on, and he wasn't interested in getting unsolicited advice from the older man. The books had been quite enough.

Feeling a little guilty, Cobalt added, "But we'll see." Which he just knew was a stupid thing to say.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh was sorely tempted to ask Cobalt what had occurred during that infamous night after he'd gotten so drunk he couldn't remember, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to know, so instead he defended the idea of couples activities.

"It isn't always awkward. It isn't awkward if we're friends." He protested, falling out of his relaxed pose to lean across the table, expression earnest. He enjoyed social gatherings whatever the intent, therefore he was perfectly happy to participate in couple's activities. Even with Simon and Saul he'd been willing to participate in couple's activities, because he liked their company and they were built in teams for any games that came up. Less so with Sanjay, but the cab driver hadn't been particularly fond of doing couples things when they were supposed to be casual.

"I would invite Riley if he were still with Stephen, but...." But Riley was, to his knowledge, quite single now, unfortunately, "And I would invite Danny if he had a partner."

In fact, he would invite just about everyone he knew if they had partners, but as far as he was aware most of his friends were single.

Still, Cobalt's reluctant acquiescence that they would see had him dropping back into his seat, smile wide. "Excellent. I promise it will be fun."

Oh, he was already making plans.

"But enough about that, other than helping Ben move what have the two of you been up to? I've hardly seen him lately, now that I think about it. Last time was at the hospital." When they'd come out, so to speak.