The Puppet Master

Oli stood up and nodded his head to Josh, and greeting him with a small smile and a timid "Hello." The amount of admiration and respect Oli's actions had shown made Josh blush. "Hey, Oli." Josh tried to convey a sincere warmth, and from Oli's reaction (his smile widened and his eyes started to sparkle in an unusually pretty way) he was doing it right. Their "moment" was, however, interrupted by a burst of loud cheering from the tv screen that Josh's dad was gazing at intently. Realising that their relationship would only ever be seen as platonic in his dad's eyes, Josh felt no anxiety in sitting close to Oli on the sofa.

It was only a few minutes later that Josh realized that he needed to eat, so he got off the sofa, and explained his need to leave, and Oli followed him. Josh talked about his day whilst he was making dinner; Oli turned out to be an amazing listener. Whilst the pizza was cooking, the phone rang, and with a brief apology Josh was off to find the phone. He found one nestled amongst the piles of clothes in the laundry room. It was strange, but his dad did have a habit of leaving things in places they shouldn't be. When he picked up, he expected it to be a salesperson, but it was his mum.

"Hey, baby, how are things?" His mum's voice rung with happiness.
"Good, thanks, how about you?" Josh had a feeling that she was going to share some good news.
"I'm great, I have some good news. I can come home, your aunt has recovered and I will be due back home in about five days."
"Mum, that's great! I have missed you."
"I've missed you too, Joshie. It's okay, I'll be home soon, you'll have to fill me in on what has happened. I must go now, I've got a bit of packing to do. Love you."

"Love you too, mum."

Then she was gone; a buzz was emitting from the phone. In the blink of an eye, Oli was suddenly standing in front of him, concern engulfing his features, as he laid a hand on Josh's arm, he said:

"Is everything alright? Your heart began beating abnormally quickly." Josh broke into a smile, Oli's concern was endearing and sweet, something that he had never really imagined the devil to be. "Yeah, everything's great. My mum's coming home, isn't that great?" Without thinking, Josh flung him arms around Oli, hugging him so tightly and pushing his into Oli's neck.

Oli stiffened at the affectionate gesture, clearly taken back by the suddeness of it, and at how strange it was. He had never been hugged. He raised his arms to Josh's back, and mirrored the grip that Josh had on his body. He warmed to the affection quickly, murmuring a sincere "That's great, Josh." in his boyfriend's ear.

"I have to go and tell Dad." Josh loosened his grip on Oli, but Oli on the other hand, was finding it very difficult to detach himself from such a heartfelt moment. Josh didn't look at him like he was a freak, but almost seemed delighted in the unwillingness that Oli presented with ending affection.

Josh was towing Oli through the house by the hand to try and find his dad. No surprise, they found him in the living room, watching television. "Mum's coming home." Josh blurted out. His dad, taken aback, turned round, and with a smile that had been missing for far too long, rose from his position to hug Josh. It was at that point Josh realised he had to let go of Oli's hand in order to hug his dad; his dad seemed to notice that too.

The insinuation of the action didn't seem to sink in, and he hugged Josh so he could barely breath. "Did Mum tell you when?" His dad asked, eyes lit up with the hope of seeing her as soon as possible. "About five days, maybe more or less." Josh was surprised his dad didn't sprain a muscle in his face from the smile he was wearing.

"That's great, I'll go and call her now. You boys have fun, and Oli, make yourself at home." The warmth in his voice was a contrast to the previous awkwardness it had possessed.

They settled down on the sofa, a decent distance apart, but Josh had his hand lightly resting against Oli's thigh. Oli didn't seem to mind, despite his rather old fashioned take on relationships; he seemed to enjoy the affection. Josh started to drift off, his head slumping on the nearest comfortable object (Oli's shoulder).

In the room next to where Josh and Oli were sitting, Josh's dad had such a sudden wave of realisation that he almost got whiplash.

Hands. Holding.

Josh. Oli.

Josh AND Oli.

He almost started to sweat nervously. He dismissed the panicked, surfacing thoughts as crude and unrealistic. It had probably just been a heat of the moment grab in the midst of a happiness so overwhelming they weren't paying attention to what their hands were doing. Josh had dated that girl back when he was fifteen anyway.

Yes, that was it.

Not that he had anything against gays, just when he envisioned Josh's future it had always been a happily ever after with a women.

No need to panic, he told himself, just friends, probably nothing.