Finding Love in a Coffee Shop

Teacups

Christmas brought great joy to Dustin. He was overly hyper, bouncing around the living room like an excited puppy. Probably due to the fact that Will bought him a thousand dollar photography camera.

Which Will hadn't mentioned he was going to buy for him beforehand. I'd been just as surprised as Dustin.

"What?" Will said defensively when I gave him a wary look upon seeing the gift. He was sitting on the armchair, scratching Sherlock behind his ears. The traitor had opted for Will's lap instead of mine.

"You're spoiling Dustin," I accused, but without much menace.

Will jutted his chin, a habit I noticed he did to seem more stubborn. "I'm not spoiling him."

"Oh, you so are," I responded with a grin. "Look at you. Trying to suck up?"

Crossing his arms, Will sent Dustin a fond look. "I just like seeing him happy. After all the two of you have gone through, it's nice to know he can act like this."

This caught me off guard a little and I had to swallow down the lump that formed in my throat. Will was right. Dustin usually was never this enthusiastic. In fact, he hadn't been this happy in a long time. Sure, he hadn't been depressed when it'd just been the two of us, but ever since we'd moved to this house and met everyone, he'd become much livelier. I had, too.

"How did you even know he was into photography?" I questioned, watching as Dustin snapped a few shots of the Christmas tree.

"I seen his room before, Katie," Will responded with a small smile. "It's not hard to deduce after seeing all the photos on his walls."

That was true. Dustin had a lot of prints on his walls, some of his own making, some he'd bought from the few art shows he'd been to. It was something I teased him about, but secretly I was pleased he'd gotten interested in something artistic and not weed, or whatever high schoolers were doing these days.

"Kate! Will! Say cheese!" Dustin called, popping up behind us with his camera, ready to snap a photo.

Will quickly wrapped an arm around my shoulder, crushing me to his chest. "Cheese," he said, smiling brightly at the camera.

I just barely managed to force a smile onto my face by the time Dustin pressed down on the shutter button. He fidgeted with the camera for a moment, then paused, squinting at the screen. Then he broke out into laughter, doubling over and clutching his camera. "Katie! Your face! It's so perfect!"

And he sounded so happy and content and carefree, my heart clenched. A lump formed in my throat and I had to swallow it down forcefully. Fortunately, Will spoke so I didn't have to. "Really? Let me see?" Letting go of my shoulder, he went over to Dustin and peered at the camera screen. And then he began chuckling. "That's quality."

"I don't want to see it," I said, holding up my hand. "I think I'll spare myself the embarrassment."

"Suit yourself, but this is going on my wall," Dustin replied with a grin. "Oh! I almost forgot to give you guys your presents! I'll be right back!" After he gave me a pointed look, he ran out of the room.

Will stared after him for a few seconds, a fond smile on his face. "I love your brother."

And if his expression was anything to go by, I believed he really did. "I do too," I told him with a grin. "Even if he's a little bitch sometimes."

"Little brothers," Will said by means of explanation.

"Yeah, I guess," I murmured, crossing my arms and cupping my elbows. "Um, so I got you a few gifts too, but um, they're really not that great."