Linx tipped back the bottle and let the dull burn pass through. A fifth of the bottle was empty and he could easily get at least a third way down, but he's seen the consequences of alcohol. A happy bliss until your consciousness wakes up to your regretful decisions.

He wasn't going to let a mere beverage control him. He barely lets his rational mind control him.

He swirled the bottle around and viewed his bland room. Ivy's drawings spruced up the mood and made it look like someone was actually living in it, but something was missing.

A warmth, a purpose, maybe a personality, of this room. The boys' room was so cozy, the beds seemed like they could give free massages and the plants added a type of life Linx wasn't used to. Joy seemed to cling to their walls and affection floating around. While he's stuck in here, everyday, and his window being the only thing he cares about.

He took another sip and he felt fine, if he ignored his insatiable boredom. Another gulp down, he sat the bottle on the floor and walked out the door and turned to the office. He hadn't gone in the office in who-knows-how-long because it was all for work and never piqued his interest. But if Trev's in there, then it may be a little more fun.

The door was open, as it always is, and Linx peeked in. Trev was swaying back and forth on his chair with his feet tucked into his chest, all while making random clicking noise. Linx watched as quiet as a mouse and wondered what Trev was looking at.

Trev, tired of scrolling through countless job applications, looked out the window and nearly fell off the chair when he saw Linx in the corner of his eye. Linx's dull eyes burned into Trev and he froze in his chair. The look he had wasn't of a predator looking at his prey, but of the outlier kid wanting to play with the popular kids.

"I- hi? Is there something you need, Linx? I can call Orion over if you want..." He quietened down as Linx stepped into the room and shuffled around the place. He never touched anything, but he would always stop and observe anything that caught his eye.

The bookshelf near the door held many trinkets and he spent a good 10 minutes simply studying which books were more loved and the hidden bookmarks which peaked out of their hiding. Once he was done with that, he stayed rooted in his spot and looked at all the desks with their small souvenirs, especially Finn's.

And then Linx laid his eyes on the giant tiger plush toy sitting in the corner. Trev didn't need to see the twitch of Linx's hands to know he wanted to touch it.

He got up and went to retrieve the toy, brushing off some of the dust on it's head. Trev held it out to Linx and he tentatively grabbed it. It was a large plushie, it's tail just about brushing the floor, and heavy. Linx set it on top of his shoulders, like a neck pillow, and looked over at Trev.

His eyes squinted just the bare minimum and the raise of his eyebrows was all Trev needed to see the twinkle of happiness in Linx's eyes. Linx held onto the tail and paws to keep the tiger in place. He swished the tail back and forth absentmindedly, looking at where to go next. If he allowed himself to go somewhere next that is.

Linx knew he shouldn't be in the office and could hear the commands of his mind to go back to his room, but a soft haze blocked it out. The yammering of these voices kept going, the same voices which told him to duck his opponents hit and run away from all his troubles. Yet once he placed the tiger on his shoulders and it's weight centered him, it was almost as if the word fear was never a part of his life.

He spotted the computer Trev was just at and went over to push a random key. Nothing happened and Linx narrowed his eyes at it. He pressed a few other keys, just like Trev was doing a few moments ago, but it was still the same blank screen.

Trev quickly came over when he realized what Linx was doing and made sure nothing got messed up. The last thing he wanted was to accidentally sign up for an absurd job, get accepted, and then have to decline them. The phone call which he would have to make already made him cringe in anxiety.

Seeing everything in its place, Trev clicked around and opened a new window for Linx to play around. He didn't start touching the computer like Trev hoped, just let the tail of the tiger skid across the keys.

"Can you, I mean- Do you know how to use the computer? I can teach you..." Trev opened an interactive website and dragged his mouse across the screen, causing a flurry of colors to lay in its path. Trev glanced behind, and the small lift of Linx's mouth made Trev want to drop all precautions to the wind and hug him.

Linx didn't notice Trev's gaze of endearment and reached for the mouse so he can also make the screen colorful. Yet when he moved the mouse around, the screen didn't explode with color. The tiger's tail stopped swinging and the cursor went still on the screen.

Trev broke out of his gaze the moment the light in Linx's eyes dimmed down and swiveled around to see the problem. The only difference was the position of the cursor and he couldn't find any fault in that. He stared at the computer, as if it'll tell him what it do to make Linx upset. Nothing changed and Trev felt the frustration bubble within him.

After Linx almost froze to death that day, he couldn't stop the guilt clawing at him. Linx's wrists were still sprained and Trev noticed every twitch and jerk of pain which Linx tried so hard to conceal. He so desperately wanted Linx to speak out about his troubles, even a mere suggestion would be more than enough. Though Trev has no place to comment on what Linx does, not after that day when he failed to keep Linx safe.

But now Linx came to him willingly! He might finally have a chance to redeem himself, however insignificant it may be. At the current moment though, he needs to figure out what was wrong.

"Can you, um repeat what you just did, please?" Trev poked the mouse towards Linx and he obliged, only because of the possibility of creating magic on the screen. Nothing happened as before and Linx wanted to move on if he was going to keep getting the same disappointments. Trev insisted he stay, and after a few more tries, they found the problem.

Linx didn't press down on the mouse, he just glided it.

After explaining to Linx on the basic functions of the mouse, the screen came to life with many shades and hues. The tiger's tail swung back and forth at the harsh hand movement, but Linx kept a steady grip in him.

Trev took a small step back and watched the beauty which unfolded in front of him. Linx's usual stoic face was brimming with happiness, his eyes creased at the edges and the smallest tilt in his mouth was all Trev needed. He would take any show of emotion from Linx, even if it was an annoyed eye roll.

He took out his phone and snapped a few pictures, as a keepsake for whenever he's down and needs a reminder he never intentionally hurt Linx. Or at least, that's what the boys tell him late at night when he can't sleep. Either way, he'll treasure this moment and ingrain it into his heart.

Trev glanced back up when he heard no more clicking of the mouse, wondering what new problem popped up. But nothing happened, Linx just decided he wanted to sit in his chair and swivel around.

And while it was quite sweet to see Linx goofing around and letting loose, this wasn't the Linx Trev knew. To be frank, Trev thought Linx would hole himself back up in his room after shaking like a leaf in autumn at the grocery store. He was grateful to have Orion there to save the day before Linx could have another panic attack and worsen his wrists.

As Linx slowly spun with his new found toy, Trev shut off the computer and sat on top of his desk.

"Um, so Linx, what brings you here? Anything exciting happen in the past few hours..?" Not the most thrilling questions, yet it was enough to get Linx to stop spinning and stare at him.

Linx hummed and began to spin again, as if that single noise contained all the answers Trev needed. Trev watched him, now with some uncertainty because since when did Linx hum? Much less as a response?

Nothing was quite adding up and he knew he was only missing a small part of the equation to figure out what was going on. Trev texted Orion to come over and he soon got a thumbs up emoji in return. He tucked his phone away and was again surprised to see Linx in a new position.

How does he move so quietly?

He was trying to stand up, an emphasis on trying. Each attempt his balance gave out on him and he fell back into the chair. The third attempt when Linx was tittering too forward for Trev's liking, Trev rushed out and placed gentle hands on Linx's waist to steady him. The tiger on his shoulders not helping at keeping Linx's balance.

He wasn't sure why Linx would've wanted to get up in the first place, so he stood by him with grounding hands. Trev tried to memorize the warmth underneath his hands, the puffs of breaths next to his ear, the sharp yet sweet smell of... of...

Of alcohol?

The equation quietly solved itself and panic took over Trev. So many questions flooded him and his grip on Linx tightened ever so slightly, not that Linx seemed to notice. He seemed to still be dizzy from the chair spinning or was it from the alcohol? Both? Perhaps he didn't smell it right?

Orion soon comes in and stops in his tracks to send a questioning look to Trev. Trev motions with his head to come over and Orion obeys. In a very extravagant manner, Trev sniffs with his nose at Linx and locks eye contact with Orion.

Luckily, Orion got the hint and soon the same confused expression came over him. Orion observed Linx to check for any drunkenness or problems in general, but he was still stoic as ever.

Linx moved out of Trev's grip and turned towards Orion, though it didn't look like was examining him like all those other times. No, Linx was just looking at him to acknowledge his presence and not trying to analyze what his next step might be. He was just looking because why not? and not because it was an instinct to know where everyone was in a room.

Warmth spread throughout Orion, and even though he knew this wasn't progress at all with the alcohol making Linx like this, a twinkle of hope shined through. Maybe Linx could open up to them, despite all the mistakes they've made along the way.

The room buzzed with energy when Orion and Trev looked at one another and both came to the same conclusion. They couldn't wait to have family nights and Linx groaning at Monopoly or going on a road trip and Linx just simply being with them because he wants to. For now, baby steps is all they'll take and can take.

Linx's gaze flickered behind Orion to the door and that warmth subsided a little. For now, those thoughts were only a far-fetched dream and the smell of alcohol was very much not a dream. While drinking of alcohol was no big deal in the family, the reason behind why Linx was drinking in the first place was the main concern.

There was a chance he drank to ease his nerves from the near panic attack in the grocery store. Maybe he was celebrating that he finally wasn't sick and could eat other foods beside soup. Perhaps it truly was an innocent reason why he drank, but they couldn't rule out a darker reason if it meant it'll make him drift further away.

"So Linx, what do you feel like doing today? I think Remi has more than enough snowflakes for his little critters, any other plans you got in mind?" Trev shot him a look and Orion shot one back to trust him.

Linx moved back to the computer and the two boys followed by. Despite Orion not being there to see the glory of Linx lighting up like a firefly, he could tell the simple back and forth of the game was starting to become boring to him. He racked his mind for a new activity and the answer was stupidly straightforward.

"You want to play a multiplayer game? I promise it'll be real fun, Trev could join us too." Orion put on a lazy smile and Linx scrunched his eyebrows at the word 'multiplayer'. Orion hopped next to him and there was no way he could hide the excitement in his eyes.

"Here, let me show you!"

_______

Austin walked through the front entrance, and once the door shut behind him, all the stress from the day slithered away. It wasn't fun being yelled at for a mistake that wasn't his, but was still responsible for it. He was supposed to teach the new interns some code for their new project, but since neither of them approached him, he thought they had it all under control. Who was he to baby some twenty who-cares-how-old adults? College should've taught them when to ask for help.

Apparently, that was the wrong move and now he's been dealing with a mild headache since lunch time.

He went through the motions of coming home and realized that no one had welcomed him yet. Austin stilled and listened for any signs of life, and was relieved to hear bouts of giggling from the hallway.

He tossed his backpack on the couch and walked up the small flight of stairs to the hallway. Austin could hear the laughs coming from the office, but he still peeked into Linx's room to make sure no food trays were left behind.

His eyes connected with the open bottle of alcohol resting on the floor. No cups were around, so Austin could only assume whoever drank it, was drinking alone.

He hoped it wasn't a certain twenty year old, but he had a feeling those chances were slim.

Austin went in to grab the bottle and screw the cap back on. He went back to the kitchen to store it away, concern nipping at his heart. He pushed it away for now, this was a problem all the boys should know about, so he can't act right now. As of now, he simply had to see why he could hear Linx's laughter in the air, along with Trev's and Orion's.

Austin silently crept towards the office and his typical stone-cut face softened ever so slightly. The three of them were all clumped in front of Trev's computer and the theme of Fireboy & Watergirl played softly in the background, though it was overpowered by all the cheers and ripples of laughter.

Sitting in the middle was Linx, pretty Linx with a soft giggle on the tip of his tongue. A red hue was spread on his cheeks and Austin hoped it was from embarrassment and not from a certain bottle in the kitchen.

To Linx's right was Orion with a smug expression, both hands on the WASD keys and the arrow buttons. Most likely showing off on how well he can play two players at once, though he seemed to have blundered when a loud groan was heard from him. Not that he seemed to mind when Linx laughed at him and pushed his hand away to take control over one of the characters.

To Linx's left was Trev who had his phone pulled out, the video likely being a blurry mess with how much Trev shook with his giggles. He whooped and bounced in his seat when the two finished the level, to then proceed to pet the tiger that was sitting on his lap.

Austin must've been leaning too far in because Trev's bright hazelnut eyes landed right on him. He motioned to come in, and Austin did with much caution. He didn't want to impose on the moment, he knows his stoic face has ruined the party on more than one occasion.

This was one party he did not want to ruin, not with Linx finally showing more emotion than Austin does on a regular basis.

So he tiptoed over and remained nonchalant, until he was peering over Trev's shoulder to look at the computer as well. The gameplay was as Austin expected and he knows Orion was purposely messing with Linx in the game to hear another laugh after laugh from him and a weak shove in Orion's direction.

Trev sabotages Linx every once in a while by pressing one of the arrow keys, which Linx doesn't quite glare back with his impassive eyes, but they could tell he would have his revenge. Which he did by poking Trev's phone out of his hand every time Trev had wronged him. Though Austin knows Trev had a weak grip on his phone just so he could see how Linx's eyes scrunched up in joy whenever the phone landed on the tiger's head and somehow always managed to not fall to the ground.

Austin leaned towards Linx, and ignoring the bitter scent that came from him, lightly patted his hair. Linx jumped at the contact and tilted his head up to look to see who snuck up on him. Two identical sets of aloof eyes gazed at one another and Austin reached towards Linx's hair again.

Linx followed the hand with his eyes, until he couldn't no more because it went over his head and it ruffled his hair. Linx stared back at Austin, and even though Linx wasn't captivated as Austin was with him, Austin hoped he could see the happiness in his eyes.

The three knew this small crack into Linx's heart wouldn't be there tomorrow morning, that the laughs which spill so easily out of his mouth now would soon be sealed behind wariness and hunched necks. But at this instant? They would indulge in this moment and hope Linx remembers all the warm feelings and fondness whenever their fingers brushed against him. All the encouragement and adoration in every word they speak to him.

They hope, just as they always have.

_______