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Vintage lets out a soft groan as the light filters through the windows, spilling onto the bed and the carpeted floor. The warm rays of the sun just barely hit his eyes, and he stifles a small hiss. There’s an unfamiliar weight that prevents him from sitting up fully, and upon looking down, Vintage sees Double Egg. The Inkling clutches him tightly in his sleep, his arms snugly wrapped around his midsection and a leg draped over his own.
Vintage exhales, feeling a frown tug at his lips. No wonder he couldn’t sit up. And to add insult to injury, it seemed that Egg had also taken the liberty to kick off the sheets in his sleep. Just another thing to add to their growing list of chores… Whatever. It wasn’t like he was a stranger to this; Egg was a blanket-kicking fiend. And also a Vintage-kicking fiend, with how many times he had jostled him awake in the middle of the night.
With a sigh, he starts to peel Double Egg off of him. First his arms, then his leg, before finally rolling him over onto his back. Said Inkling groans as he starts to stir, upset at the sudden movement. Vintage just watches with his typical neutral expression.
“Vin…” Egg groggily calls out, blindly searching for the Inkling before his hands grasp at Vintage’s arm and stomach. He blinks profusely until the sleep from his eyes dissipates. As soon as his brain clocks that it’s his boyfriend he’s clutching, that usual lopsided, toothy grin spreads across his face. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Vintage says, ever so flatly.
“What time is it?” He yawns as he adjusts his position, moving to try and coax Vintage to lay back down. He stays stiff, looking at Egg blankly. His gaze only leaves to briefly look at the digital clock on their cluttered nightstand. Double Egg’s shades block the time, and Vintage reaches over and shoves them onto said Inkling's face without looking. Egg sputters in surprise.
“Nine twenty-seven.”
“Cool.” Double Egg lets himself cozy up to Vintage after he lets his sunglasses sit on his head. “Forty-two minutes to cuddle.”
“...Thirty-three minutes, and no.” His lips are barely etched into a frown as he lightly pushes the other Inkling away. Egg stubbornly clings onto him though, letting out a small, protesting noise.
“Why not? Train doesn’t leave till eleven.”
“It’s always good to be early. Plus, it takes us ten minutes to walk to the train station, and I need to account for you getting distracted…” Vintage explains as he slides out of the bed, feeling his feet hit the cold floor. He can hear Double Egg groan in annoyance.
“You think too much.”
“You don’t think enough.”
“You’re so mean to me!” Egg complains as he hauls himself out of bed, groggily walking after Vintage as they both head to their apartment’s cramped kitchen. It’s a good thing they didn’t have much in the first place when they first moved in together. Even so, the cabinets always seemed to not have enough room and counterspace was a scarcity.
Vintage doesn’t reply, opting to instead look through their fridge. They had some leftovers, a nearly empty carton of milk he’s pretty sure Egg keeps drinking straight out of, some sauce packets, and a small container of cut up fruit. He grabs it, cracking it open and sniffing at it. It didn’t smell too bad.
“We need to go shopping.” Egg comments from over his shoulder as he leans over to grab the milk. Vintage’s suspicions prove right, as the other Inkling drinks the liquid straight from the bottle. His eye twitches with irritation, and his frown deepens ever so slightly. When Egg pulls back, he has a minor milk mustache.
“What?” He stares at Vintage’s fussy expression. “C’mon, don’t tell me you’re pissed at me already.”
“We share that, Double Egg.”
“I never see you using it.” He retorts.
“I used it yesterday. When you wanted me to make mac n cheese.” Vintage replies back, gaze narrowing. Double Egg perks up, looking a little guilty. He chuckles awkwardly as he tosses the carton into the garbage bin.
“Oh.” He rubs Vintage’s shoulder apologetically. “Oops.”
Vintage doesn’t reply as he turns his focus back to his fruit. This was far from an ideal breakfast, but it’d do. He’d be able to grab a granola bar or something when the rotation hit and everybody was aweing over Off the Hook’s thousandth appearance on TV that day. He starts to pop a few pieces into his mouth, gnawing on a mix of strawberries, grapes, and blueberries easily.
As he eats, he watches Double Egg idly. The Inkling is pouring himself a bowl of cereal. Vintage can’t read the title, as the Inkling’s hand is partially covering it, but he can see the giant monkey crab mascot, grinning widely and seeming way too excitable. It was looking at what Vintage could assume was the treat inside. He didn’t understand how Egg stomached the stuff- too sugary. No wonder he was always exhausted and begging Vintage to go home by the first rotation.
“Egg?” Vintage suddenly murmurs. Double Egg was staring at his cereal, dejected at the lack of milk and even more dejected at the fact that he was the one who caused his predicament when the other Inkling’s voice catches his attention. He perks up.
“Yeah?”
“Can you do my testosterone shot today?” Vintage asks as he pops a particularly tart strawberry into his mouth. Eugh.
Egg stares for a moment, and he can watch the color flush his face in real time. It’s amusing, really. Quickly though, Double Egg regains his bearings, a broad, toothy smile spreading across his face. “Of course I can. Only if you do mine in return, though.” He punctuates his sentence with a small nudge from his elbow.
Vintage exhales through his nose. Of course. But he nods anyway, any sense of annoyance fading away as he sees the giddy glint in Egg’s eyes at his response. What a dork.
After a few more minutes of eating breakfast and some banter between, Vintage and Egg head to the bathroom. The latter is quick to open the door filled with their medicinal supplies, pulling out two barrels, four needle caps, and some antibacterial wipes. And of course, two vials with a light yellow mixture inside. Vintage watches Double Egg in the corner of his eye as he rolls up his sleeve.
“Lookin’ good, Vin.” Egg grins cheekily as he shamelessly eyes his boyfriend. Vintage presses his tongue to the roof of his mouth- the urge to punch the other Inkling was very strong. There wasn’t even anything remotely being revealed. His unyielding stare doesn’t seem to deter Double Egg either, as the toothy smile persists. Whatever.
“So…” Egg idly shakes one of the vials to get rid of the yellow color. “Any reason in particular you wanted me to do your shot today?”
“I’m supposed to do it on my shoulder this week. I can’t reach it.” He explains plainly. The other Inkling hums in response, pausing his movements to check the small jar. The yellow discoloration was gone. Satisfied, he pops the thicker needle head onto the syringe and sucks up about three millimeters.
Vintage supposes he should ready Egg’s needle as well. He doesn’t have the time to afford to procrastinate- they still had stuff to do, after all. They needed to get dressed, brush their teeth, actually walk to the train station… And of course, Vintage needed to account for Double Egg’s tendency to get off task.
He nearly spills the thin plunger full of testosterone as Egg wipes his shoulder with the antibacterial pad. Whoops. Vintage blinks back to reality as he pops on the thin needle, his partner’s shot ready to go right after his.
“Y’good?” Egg questions, an amused smile pulling at his lips as he catches Vintage’s slight spook.
“Fine.”
“If you say so.” He shrugs, angling the needle right next to the chub of Vintage’s shoulder. After a few tense moments, he slides it in. Vintage’s gaze narrows as he tenses. The sensation is familiar, yet he can’t help but react a little bit every time. He easily relaxes though, letting out a small exhale as Egg’s thumb pushes down on the plunger. He watches the entire scene through the mirror.
About twenty seconds later does Egg quickly retract the needle. He leans down, tenderly pressing his lips to the injection site. Vintage just kind of stares, the tips of his ears barely flushing pink. “All better.” The Inkling declares as he leans back, a cocky grin on his face. He rolls down Vintage’s sleeve for him.
He considers saying something, maybe chiding Egg, but he decides against it. He simply stays quiet and grabs the other syringe and wipe. It smells like hand sanitizer as he rips the package open.
“Not even a thank-you?” Egg huffs as he pulls up his shirt. Vintage grabs a bit of his chub and glides the wet cloth along it. He shivers.
“Thank you, Double Egg.” Vintage says flatly as he presses the needle inside. Egg gives a little yelp, tensing but quickly adjusting to the prickly feeling. He shoots an annoyed glare at his boyfriend. It’s relatively quiet as Vintage administers the testosterone inside, other than their shared breathing. He pulls it out after a moment.
“You’re such a jerk to me,” Egg whines, although there isn’t any true malice in his voice. He was used to Vintage’s silence. He lets his shirt fall back against his stomach. “Makes me wonder why I-”
Abruptly, he’s shut up by a kiss. Double Egg’s body immediately goes completely still, brain short-circuiting as he registers that it’s Vintage’s lips that are pressed against his. Quickly, he resists the urge to smile like a stupid idiot as he eagerly returns the favor. Vintage, rarely, if ever, showed him affection. He was naturally reserved, so an action like this was always unexpected.
To his chagrin, Vintage pulls away near immediately. He just stares as the other Inkling sputters in surprise. Huffing, Egg speaks. “The hell was that for?! Can’t I show you affection back?!”
“No. You taste like cereal.” Vintage explains flatly. Double Egg looks back at him in disbelief, eyes twitching as he studies his face. Vintage isn’t really sure what he’s looking for- he was pretty blunt about his intentions.
“Oh, whatever.” Egg mutters as he pulls Vintage close, peppering his face in kisses. “That’s a dumb reason.”
Vintage doesn’t make a move to pull away. He probably should- they were wasting time. But he supposes he can let it slide, just this once. Double Egg would whine endlessly if he didn’t. A rare, small smile graces his lips and he exhales contently.