What are you doing?

When Collin entered the living room in the morning to get some work done, Max was still sleeping on the couch where he'd left him the night before. A soft blanket was wrapped around him right up to his chin, his breathing slow and steady. Whatever he was dreaming about seemed pleasant—his features relaxed, smoothed. It was almost… cute?

Careful not to wake him, Collin lifted the chair and moved it back. Slowly, he lowered himself onto the seat and the chair didn't even squeak.

He logged into his company laptop and opened the e-mail from his manager. With the list of tasks for this week, he dove right to work. The world around him muted as he focused on the endless rows and columns, formulas and percentages.

Lost in the ever so exciting Excel spreadsheet, he didn't hear any movement behind him. A set of large hands landed on his shoulders. Collin gasped and whipped around so fast, he slid off the chair, wedging halfway beneath the desk.

Max stood above him, head tilted in curiosity.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You scared the hell out of me," Collin complained, resting his palm on his pounding heart. He shoved the chair, forcing Max to take a couple of steps back, and scrambled out from beneath the desk. "I'm working. Or I was trying to."

"Sorry," Max said.

"It's fine," Collin sighed, sitting back in his chair. "I left you something to eat in the kitchen."

On the counter sat a white plate with a sandwich wrapped in plastic foil. A thick bun was cut in half and filled with cold cuts, a couple of crunchy lettuce leaves and a large slice of tomato. Collin had eaten the same thing for breakfast, but paired with a steaming cup of coffee. He couldn't get through those Excel spreadsheets without one.

Max darted to the kitchen, and Collin turned back to his screen. He barely made a couple of edits, before he heard crunching behind his back.

"What is it?" Max asked between bites.

"A spreadsheet," Collin answered. "Budget tracking."

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Max hovered far too close, and a few crumbs rained down the back of Collin's collar.

"What does that mean?"

"I'm analyzing company spending."

"Hm…" Max paused. "Is it interesting?"

Collin let out some air out of his mouth. "Not very," he admitted.

The crunching retreated, and when Collin glanced over his shoulder, he saw Max standing by the window, laser-focused on something outside.

But the silence barely lasted a few minutes.

"What are you doing now?" Max asked. At least he wasn't munching anymore, scattering crumbs everywhere.

"Still working."

Max pointed to one of the pie charts. "What's that?"

"A visual representation of departmental budgets," Collin explained.

"And what is that?"

"Net change in cash flow."

"And—"

"Okay," Collin cut in. He couldn't focus like this, not with these constant questions. "You know what?"

He stood up, eyes scanning the entire room, trying to find something that could occupy Max for a while. Something that wouldn't make much noise. His gaze landed on a narrow book—a manga, an easy, casual read that he thought was good enough to entertain Max while he worked.

He pulled it out and handed it to him. "Here. Try this," he said. "It's fun."

Max examined the manga in his hand, front, back, flipping a few pages. Not much interest showed on his face, but he flopped down onto the couch, opening the book to the first page. Collin draped a blanket over him and got back to his desk.

"What are you doing?" Max asked.

Collin's head dropped. He'd only managed to work for an hour.

"Working," he said. "Did you finish reading?"

"Yes."

"Want another one?"

"No."

"What do you want then?"

"I want to go outside."

Collin glanced at the time. There was still a lot of work left, but… he could take a lunch break. Maybe some fresh air would tire Max out enough he'd take a nap, letting Collin work in peace.

"Fine," he said. "Get your jacket."

—

Just a few days ago, he regretted taking a walk in this weather. Not much changed. It stopped heavily snowing, yes, but it was still damn cold, and he was freezing his butt off. His buns were like an unfortunately poured tub of ice cream.

But Max was having a great time. With a spring in his step and cheeks flushed pink due to the frost, he almost frolicked down the park path. At this time of day, the park was empty. The grass was buried under a thick layer of snow, now even taller than before. The playground equipment was frozen solid, and the surface was shining with ice, just asking for a broken leg or two.

Mounds of snow banked up on the sides of the somewhat shoveled pavement. Max kicked one, sending a white cloud flying. Then he hopped into a pile, legs sinking up to his knee. He glanced at Collin, eyes sparkling with excitement and flashing white teeth (with suspiciously sharp canines) in a wide smile.

"Come on!" he called, pure joy ringing in his voice. "Jump with me!"

But he didn't wait for Collin to join him. Instead, he yanked his hand and Collin stumbled, trying to catch himself. He was almost there, but didn't account for the curb, perfectly concealed by snow. Tripping, he came falling like a boulder, taking them both down with him. Max hit the ground with a low grunt, cushioning Collin's fall. Splayed on his dog-eared friend, Collin lifted himself up on his hand, cold snow stinging his bare hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes sweeping the other's face in search of a sign of a head injury.

Max never stopped smiling. He scooped some snow, and a second later a puff of white powder dusted Collin's face. A bit got behind his coat, and goosebumps pickled at his skin, hair standing up straight. He cupped a handful of snow and smashed it into Max's face.

"No!" Max laughed as Collin rubbed the snow into his skin. "Stop! It's so cold!"

Max grabbed Collin's wrist, pulling it away from his face, and Collin couldn't help but smile. It's been a while since he'd enjoyed snow like this. In this joyful, carefree way. It reminded him of his childhood, when life was simple and his biggest worry was that they'd play handball during P.E. Kit Lawson was that kid (the type every school has) that treated PE as if it was Olympic trials. Kit never let them just have fun, and the yelling and the bruises from being hit at full speed by a firm ball made the entire class the least enjoyable chore. Hell, he'd rather scrub a pile of severely burnt dishes than do that again.

After tugging Max's hat lower over his ears, he pushed himself up. "Come on," he said, extending his hand to help him up, too.

"Collin?" He heard behind him.

Turning his head, he was met with a familiar face. A tall, slim man with a curtain of mouse-blond hair that fell in soft waves. Ryan. A… friend of his, he supposed, although they have never been close. Since they shared a good chunk of friends, they saw each other often. Or as often as the homebody that Collin decided to socialize. Which wasn't, in fact, that often at all.

"Ryan, hey," he said.

"And who's this?" Ryan asked, eyes turning to Max, briefly looking him over with that beguiling smile they all knew so well. That was Ryan—always a flirt, always ready to go after what he wanted. "I didn't know you had a new boyfriend."

"That-that's not my boyfriend," Collin replied, forcing an awkward smile. He felt his cheeks warming up, but hoped everyone would chuck it up to it being cold. "That's Max. My… friend."

A musing hum came from Ryan, and he extended a slender hand. "Nice to meet you, Max."

Max offered a toothy smile, beaming with friendliness. "You too," he said, shaking the man's hand.

The corner of Ryan's lip twitched, and Collin could tell—the guy liked what he saw. No surprise, really. Max was his type. Tall, fit. A breathing man.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to draw attention back to himself. "It was nice to see you, Ryan, but we have to go," he said.

Max's lips dropped to a sad horseshoe. "Already?" he whined. "We just came here."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Collin replied. "I have to go back to work, but we'll go out later. Promise."

"Oh, that's too bad," Ryan said, voice dripping with honey. "But we so need to catch up. I'll text you and we'll organize something."

"That'd be great." Collin matched the (fake in his case) sweetness.

With Max's wrist in his grasp, he rushed out of the park, not bothered by this situation at all.

Not at all.

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