Loyalty (JoshxBrendonxTyler)

30. Open

Lunch comes around quicker than expected. Brendon would assume it was because he, Tyler, and Carina were having a pretty good time playing cards. Well, cards for a while, then they switched to Pictionary, and Brendon quickly learned Tyler should definitely stick to writing in comparison to their art.

He never said anything, but once it had been their turn when the three of them first started playing, neither him nor Carina could guess what they had been drawing.

"Sheep," he muttered, unsure.

Tyler shook their head.

Carina looked a bit closer as they continued to draw, gasping. "Spaghetti!"

Tyler's eyebrows raised and pulled together, shaking their head once again. They were about to keep on going in hopes someone would eventually get it, but they had run out of time.

They huffed, sitting back.

"What was it?" Brendon asked.

Tyler ran a hand through their hair; it's been growing out a lot. He still wondered if they'd shave it again, or if maybe them and Josh both were commiting to not shaving.

"It was a Christmas tree." They deadpanned.

Carina and Brendon both looked at each other, pursing their lips together to hold themselves back before turning to Tyler once more.

"Oh," Brendon nearly laughed.

Of course, he never did.

Now, though Pictionary had been very-- unintentionally-- amusing, everyone migrated downstairs after cleaning up the gameroom for lunch. Grace sat to Brendon's right, and Tyler sat at his left. They sat closer than normal, too. The both of them were nearly thigh-to-thigh, but he assumed it was because Tyler had been missing the closeness Josh constantly gives them.

Brendon will have to compensate, and hopefully that's okay.

"What do they serve here?" They ask, quietly so it was only shared between them.

Brendon grabs the menu, reading it off to them one by one, and explaining how it the entire thing works. The employees bringing around a cart for beverages; water, coffee, sometimes hot chocolate, and then will later come back to ask what they'd like to eat.

"What do you think is the best?" Tyler then wonders once he read the choices outloud.

Brendon looks up from the menu to look at them. Why did his opinion matter? They connect eyes, but he quickly glances back down and clears his throat. "Uh, I mean. . . I like the chicken and rice. . .?"

Tyler hums. "I'll get that, too."

"Okay."

So, they both ask for coffee, and Brendon decides his mom needs water instead. Time passes and the conversation is steady enough, Tyler's hand slowly holding onto Brendon's knee the longer they sit there until that hold turns into a tight grasp.

The two of them connect eyes as it happens, but neither of them say a word about it.

Tyler only asks, "What's your favorite meal?"

Brendon thinks they're weird. Tyler has the tendency to ask out of the blue questions, and most of them are about food, too. It's nothing important but Brendon doesn't mind; in fact, in a way, it's charming. They're getting small things out of him.

He lifts his shoulders. "I don't know. I've never thought about it."

Still, they both are speaking quietly to each other. Carina glances their way and rolls her eyes with a smile, but it's okay. Sometimes the two of them just need themselves.