Private Finished Slumber Party!

Gabe laughed at Yuki's bad joke before cycling over the different characters and selecting Boo. "Well, you don't have a ghost of a chance. Or... something. I'm not the best at puns." He picked up his controller again, eyes focused on the screen. Okay, he was gonna take this seriously. He wouldn't push for any physical affection after this. Gabe knew he had messed up a little, sure, but Yuki did say the loser had to kiss the winner so...

Was he totally in the wrong?

He wasn't right, that's for sure. They had said they were going to be doing a sleepover for friends. That was the plan. But it was proving to be much harder than he thought. They were dating and Gabe enjoyed the closeness the two got to share. It was a nice feeling that he wanted more of. That was the problem, though. He shouldn't be pushing so hard for Yuki to give the affection he wanted. The other boy was new to relationships (although Gabe didn't have that much more experience) and expecting Yuki to be open with himself wasn't something the plant user was going to force.

Gabe couldn't help but laugh at Yuki's terrible humor. It was endearing to see his partner acting so silly. It was a nice shift from the usual stress that lingered around parts of their relationship. He watched Yuki skip through the instructions and introductions. It made sense, though. Both of them knew how Mario Party worked. Play mini games, win coins, buy stars, screw over your fellow players and be number one. Easy enough.

And then the game changed.

Yuki was getting sloppy. His eagerness to beat Gabe seemed to be backfiring and, combining that with a few other moments that worked out greatly in Gabe's favor, Yuki couldn't catch up. It was Gabe's victory. He gave a little fist pump and grinned at the other boy but faltered slightly at the yawn. It would make sense that Yuki's tired. A lot had happened today, after all. Gabe gave Yuki a small smile at the mention of going to bed, but felt his cheeks warm at going to bed together.

What did that mean!? Did Yuki want to share the bed? That was... unexpected. And it was a bit strange, considering that the white-haired boy had been pulling away from physical affection. Was Gabe reading too much into this? He probably was. He'd figured it out when they got to the room. "Sure, Yuki. We can get everything set up and chill in my room till we're both exhausted. If you need to use the bathroom to brush up and everything, you can go first. It takes me a bit because of these stupid things." He opened his mouth and tapped his teeth a few times, careful not to touch the pointed ends.

Gabe tensed up at Yuki's exclamation, very confused at his outburst. Ice cream sandwiches? What ice cream sandwiches? He furrowed his brow before watching his partner dig through his bag haphazardly for something before pulling out actual ice cream sandwiches. Was Yuki just hanging onto these the whole time? Why didn't he mention having them sooner?! They could have kept them in the freezer so they would have stayed cold. Although seeing the cold, thick wisps of fog emanating from the bag, apparently the sandwiches were still chilled.

When Yuki handed off one of the sandwiches, Gabe couldn't help but smile. Of course Yuki'd want a sweet treat to end the night. It was very cute to see his partner's excitement at the treat and his reaction to the bite. He took a bite of his own sandwich, enjoying the neapolitan flavors on his tongue. Can't go wrong with a classic mix, that's for sure. Carefully biting through, Gabe would finish the sandwich with slow, careful bites in order to not get brain freeze.

"I can't believe you were hiding these treats the whole time. They're so good." Gabe hummed, unable to resist smiling at the tastes in his mouth. "But did you want to sleep right away after we get comfortable? Or did you want to talk... or something? I don't really know what you do at sleepovers beyond video games and movies." He laughed.

Ooh, that was a dangerous idea.

Gabe knew what his book collection was like. Having lost the small collection he had when Halcyon was destroyed, it had been a small pleasure in life to build up a new library of romance novels. Manta Carlos also had rather unique novels as the authors also catered to a multitude of supernatural creatures both big and small. Finding all of the different novels had been a treat and being able to see the difference romances had always made Gabriel's heart feel fuzzy with joy.

But he also knew of the more... passionate scenes that lay within some of the books. Scenes that might make your new boyfriend/partner fluster. Or maybe even creep him out a little. So there was some concern. As long as he knew what book Yuki wanted to read, it shouldn't be too big of a deal to read together, right? He waited for Yuki to return from the bathroom before he entered himself, carefully scrubbing each tooth and washing his face thoroughly before returning to the room.

"If you want to, you can read some? I don't think you'd like a lot of them, though." Gabe said quietly, cheeks warming. He shut the door to the bedroom, moving with quiet steps to his bed before pulling the covers away and sliding into it. He wasn't ready to lay down yet, though. He moved a few pillows over to the side and scooted closer to one side. He looked to Yuki and felt his voice catch in his throat. The idea of being curled up with someone wasn't new to Gabe; he had shared a bed with Diego before back in Halcyon during the rougher times. But this was different. This wasn't just two close friends; Yuki and Gabe were dating. And Yuki had been insistent on keeping it more platonic for tonight.

After pondering for what felt like an eternity, Gabe felt his voice quietly slip out into the room. "...did you want to sit up here to read, Yuki? Or maybe even just... cuddle? No, wait. That's too forward. Ignore that. You didn't hear me say that." He began to babble before grabbing one of the pillows and hiding his face in it laughing.

Gabe felt the bed shift and his body tensed in surprise.

Yuki... wanted to cuddle? Like, was genuinely okay with it? He looked up to see his partner sitting on his bed with that faint smile that made his heart pound. With an audible swallow, he sat up properly and shifted to face Yuki properly. This had to be a dream. He didn't think Yuki would actually go for it. On the other hand, he didn't think he'd actually admit it out loud, either.

"...really? I, um... didn't think you'd be open to the idea... But I'm happy you said yes! I mean..." He trailed off, deciding not to keep babbling like a nervous idiot. He shifted back under the covers and held them open for Yuki to slide into as well, but paused and let his hand fall back down onto the bed. "I... realize you might not want under the covers. Sorry. I just... run cold so I'm getting curled up under here." He laughed.