Blind side (Tronnor AU)

8. Beautiful

"Is it me or this is kinda disturbing?" Troye heard Joe mutter under his breath, as they stared at Connor, who was sat in the armchair with Joey balancing on its elbow rest.

Troye chuckled, "Yeah, it's like from this movie, what is it called?" he frowned in contemplation, "The one with the weird evil guy who had a midget and called him mini-me."

Joe snapped his fingers, trying to remember the name, but failing, "I see what you mean, but I can't think of the title."

Indeed, Troye found the picture of Connor and Joey together almost unsettling. It seemed like Joey was just a slightly larger version of Connor, his hair styled in the same quiff, smile just as bright and even some of the mannerisms the same.

They shared their passion for hiking (which made Troye roll his eyes) and animals (which made Tyler roll his eyes), obsession with healthy eating (eye roll from Troye again) and fashion sense (this one nobody seemed to mind). In fact, Troye really enjoyed the sight of Connor in a dark patterned dress shirt for a change, and he could have sworn that he hadn't seen a snapback on him for a few months. He liked both these facts a lot.

What he didn't like was the fact that Connor's knee repeatedly brushed against Joey's thigh, but Connor, instead of moving away, remained in the same sitting position, smiling up at his conversation partner and nodding eagerly to something he was saying.

Troye snapped out of his mental rant, remembering something he wanted to tell Joe for a long time, and turned to face him, "This is kinda random but I'm sorry about your parents."

Joe gave him a perplexed look, which then transformed into a warm smile, "Thanks, I guess. I mean, it has not settled in with me yet. Since Zoe and I are here, we are gonna see them only at Christmas, and for now it seems like everything is the same."

Troye reached over to give Joe's hand a squeeze, "It's gonna be alright, mate. If you ever need something, you can count on me, you know that?"

"Sure," Joe hid a smile in his glass and fell silent for a moment. "Okay, enough with the sappy stuff, I hate it. Tell me something funny instead."

Troye thought for a second, his eyes wandering around the room, "Do you know that we call baby kangaroos in Australia?" He waited for a reply and, upon receiving none, continued, "Joeys."

Joe snorted, glancing at the chair where the guy in question sat, and shook his head at Connor, who having caught up on their laughter, looked up at them questioningly.

"What are you two laughing on about?" Zoe asked from her place on the couch inquisitively.

"Just banter," Joe shrugged dismissively, then pointed at an album in Zoe's lap, "What is that?"

"Oh, a scrapbook," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and threw it into Joe's hands.

Troye wrinkled his nose, "A scrapbook? Are you eight, Zoe?"

He felt someone plop into the seat next to him, crushing him a little bit, and, as he turned, he was met with Connor's curious stare, "What's all the fun about?" he asked, eyes never leaving Troye's face.

"Apparently, Zoe has a scrapbook," Troye complained, "How lame is that? It's like she's in kindergarten."

Connor's eyes twinkled a bit at that, "Yeah, I actually made it. For Tyler." He paused for dramatic effect, furrowing his eyebrows, "Are you insinuating that I'm immature?"

Troye's face fell, "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean it that way," he hurried to explain himself.

Connor looked at him coldly for a straight minute, before giving away to laughter, his poker face failing miserably, "I'm just messing with you, Troye boy," he teased, poking Troye's side, "It is kinda lame though, isn't it? Besides, I probably am immature."