Box Shaped Heart Ch. 11

"Can you please tell us what that was all about?" Michael woke him up from his reverie.

The audience was watching him all wide eyed and bated breath.

He chose to play it cool.

"Couples fight. Sometimes. It just makes the makeup sex all the much better," he added with a small, knowing smile, looking straight at the audience, like he wanted to hear a confirmation from the guys and gals gathered there that evening.

A confirmation that immediately followed, in the form of a few genuine laughs and agreeing murmurs.

Michael Cathaway, however, was not that easy to sway.

"What were you two fighting about here, anyway?" the host insisted.

Carter turned his attention on the interviewer. Now that was the boss level. All right, he could do it.

"Your paparazzi didn't manage to get audio, too?" he smiled, but this time he was the one to watch the other with cold eyes.

The host had the nerve to look affronted.

"Hey, it's a legit business. And you two were in a public space," Michael pointed out. "Of course, you may choose not to tell us about it," he added, faking courtesy.

"No, that's okay," Carter grinned. "It was about the dishes. Aron never washes the dishes," he made a gesture like he was really fed up with the situation. "And he's really obnoxious about it! You wouldn't believe it! Sometimes, I think he deserves a night on the couch for that reason only. Amirite, ladies?" he flashed a smile towards the audience.

The women in the stands had no qualms to agree with him, quite noisily.

"You two were just walking out of a restaurant," Michael insisted. "How did washing the dishes come into your conversation?"

"Aron just commented that it was such a good thing that he didn't have to do the dishes, and that really pissed me off. Really, it's not like it's always his turn," Carter added with determination.

"We have a few other pictures to show you, Alex," Michael proved right away that he was not going to give up so easily.

Hmm, what could follow? Okay, this was a bit worse. In the next set of pictures, Alex was climbing in Simon's car. Still, there was nothing compromising about them. So he shrugged.

"That's a co-worker's car," he pointed out, without dropping his smile one inch.

His jaw was starting to hurt a little.

"Are you always this afectionate with your co-workers?" Michael's face lit up with a shark like smile.

Eh, truth be told, in the next picture that rolled on the screen, Alex was embracing Simon.

"I was teaching Simon how to hug. That guy, he has no idea what he's missing in life. He just has this no hugs policy," he explained promptly.

He just hoped the next picture was not going to show Alex French kissing Simon. He still had that Photoshop theory up his sleeve. Luckily, that was all the host had on him.

"No hugs policy," Michael spelled the words like they were some kind of dead foreign language.

"Yeah, some people are weird like that," Carter added quickly. "And I won't have a non hugger around me. There, here you have it. One of my strongest pet peeves. I can't stand non huggers. They're the worst."

It was clear as day that Michael still wanted to press the matter further, as the screen behind them returned to the show's intro. Apparently, someone was telling the guy something in his earbud, by the way he was frowning.

"So you would say that your marriage is completely fine?" the host returned to his artificial warm smile from the beginning of the show.

It was like the guy was turning back to factory settings. It was fun to watch.

"Fine? It's fantastic!" he grinned.

Ugh, close call, but he had managed it.

"I love Aron," he said simply. "He's the perfect guy for me. I am the happiest man in the universe to have him."

The artificial smile froze on the host's lips, while the audience broke into an endearing awww.

"And this was our show for today. There you had him, ladies and gents! Alex Ruskin!"

What? Was it over? The audience's applauses were making him a tad dizzy, as he stood up and shook hands with the host.

***

Aron opened the door as he fiddled with his key. For a couple of seconds, they looked at each other, Aron more of a shadow in the door. Carter could make the silhouette, a man with his arms crossed over his chest. Dressed in some tight fitting t-shirt, that even in the semi-dark, showed Aron's strong shoulders and arms.

"So I don't do the dishes?" Aron asked, his voice a bit strained.

Ah, damn, Carter thought. His mind was struggling for a solution, but now his neurons just decided to play dumb. Or dead.

Luckily enough, Aron decided to save him from his predicament by moving quickly and pulling him into a hug.

"I love you, too, Alex," Aron whispered in his hair.

His neurons twitched, but decided to just continue their newfound routine. There was no comeback to that.

TBC

*****

Author's note:

Everyone, thank you for reading! I know this is a slow burn, convoluted story, and the main character is a big doofus, so all more the reason to be thankful to readers. To put – hopefully – your mind at ease, I just want to let you know that the story will have sexual content, an evolution, and a resolution. So I hope you'll stick around to see how it goes!