The Odd Couple

Vivi pops her head up as she hears a key slide into the lock of the front door. She thinks about getting up, but she's too comfortable and knows that the person on the other side will come to her. The door opens and a sweaty Francis walks through, plopping his messenger bag and camera onto the ottoman that doesn't belong next to the door.

“Hey, guy. I thought you'd be out a little later,” Gino says without looking up from this week’s copy of National Geographic.

“I forgot my water bottle at the office and didn't feel like going back. My Instagram followers can enjoy my pictures from Pride a little while longer.” Francis walks over to his boyfriend and squats down to rub Vivi’s head who's sitting on the couch next to him. “Did you feed her yet?”

“She didn't come running to the door, did she?”

“I guess not.” Francis reaches for the PlayStation controller on the coffee table. “I'm gonna see who's online real quick. Do you wanna order food and watch a movie later?”

“Sure. Whatever you're in the mood for.” Gino knew he didn't mean it, but he enjoys making his partner guess what he really wants.

Francis rolls his eyes and avoids the trap, scrolling through his short friend list. Only two people are active, and they both watching shows as usual. They might as well have bought a Roku instead, but he enjoys seeing their avatars all the time. “Actually I think I'll just catch up on American Gods.”

“You're not going to rewatch Drag Race or Battlestar Galactica for the sixteenth time?” Gino teases. Francis flashes his tattoo’d middle finger. “Can you hold off on that, though? I wanna watch it with you.”

“You just make complain about it the entire time.”

“Yeah, and I can't do that if I'm tryna finish up this article.”

“You're the worst.” Francis walks to the kitchen to grab a sparkling water and Vivi follows him. She wags her tail and waits patiently by her bowl. Francis notices her and smiles. He takes a sip from the can first before pouring a tiny bit into her empty water bowl. If he deserves the light taste of watermelon and cucumber in his hydration, why doesn't his little black terrier-mix?

“I heard that. Stop spoiling her,” Gino calls out.

“Go back to your printed media, old man.” He walks back into the living room and grabs his tablet from his messenger bag, pulling up his comics app. He strolls to the couch and stretches out across it, resting his head on Gino’s lap.

Gino looks down and rests his magazine over his boyfriend's face. “I thought you were going to stop bring work home.”

“Excuse me for liking my job. Besides, I didn't get to read everything that came out this week. I really wanna see if Ultron can take Squirrel Girl.”

“I'm sorry, Squirrel Girl?”

“Yeah. Just know she's the best and no one can't beat her.”

Gino continues to look puzzled. “So you know that Ultima can beat her then.”

“Ultron. And hey, comics love pulling twists. You never know,” Francis replied. Not caring to investigate further, Gino goes back to his article on South Africa. “So calzones for dinner?”

“I love you,” Gino leans down and kisses his partner. Vivi returns and jumps onto her master’s stomach. Francis pets her. The couple reads their material. The dog begins to float. “You really do spoil her.”