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Day 16: Nate/Sterling "Grocery shopping"
Nate knows he should be grateful that after his divorce Jim Sterling has allowed him to crash on the couch for a bit. However, the man has been so incredibly irritating. They've fought all the way to the grocery store of all places.
And then Jim has to go and park right next to a wall that practically blocks them from the view of the rest of the parking lot, all while they continue to argue for several more minutes before they actually make it out of the car and into the store.
"Do you have your shopping list?" Jim has the audacity to ask as if Nate is a little kid.
"You don't have to talk to me like that," Nate growls. However, his own tone of voice makes his head hurt. He'll have to get a drink after this.
"I'm just being concerned as a friend," Jim plasters on an obviously fake smile. "Which is something I am allowed to do as you are sleeping on my couch right now."
"I have…" Nate pats the pocket of his shirt and realizes much to his disdain that he does not actually have his shopping list.
His expression must betray this because Jim immediately states, "You don't have your list. Nonetheless, I remember the items on your shopping list so if we stick close together we may yet finish this tedious task in a timely manner."
Grudgingly, Nate realizes that this actually makes sense. If he wants to get over this ordeal as quickly as possible they need to stick together although that doesn't erase that he will still have to go back to Jim's house and although the man is the closest thing to a friend he has right now, he is annoying.
This annoyance is only further amplified by how ardently Jim seems to focus on choosing which brand of pasta he needs to buy in the very first aisle they go into. Nate is half convinced that the at least five minutes spent comparing spaghetti noodles is done purely to annoy him, but as he watches the other man hold up boxes and presumably pretend to squint at them another thought crosses his mind and this one is weird. Jim Sterling wears polo shirts well. His arms look good in them.
What a weird thing to think. Nate decides to brush it off as his brain misfiring due to needing a drink. Except for some reason this manifestation of being sober leads to words, well a word, actually coming out of his mouth. "Nice."
Jim turns to look at him in confusion and for a moment Nate thinks he's going to have to explain something he really doesn't want to explain.
However, he's pretty sure he comes up with a suitable explanation. "I just think the store brand pasta is the nicest option." Hopefully Jim won't think about how he's never shopped at this grocery store before.
"I usually go for the name brand," Jim responds with the decisiveness of someone who had indeed been playing up his need to compare pastas. However, he puts the store brand in the cart which strikes Nate as odd. "You had coffee creamer on your shopping list. That would be the next aisle over unless you like that fancy stuff that goes in the refrigerator." He presents the last part with an air of disdain.
"Right, so we're going one aisle over." Annoyed, Nate plans to grab the first canister of creamer he can find and hope it will work, but Jim seems to have other ideas.
"You don't want to go for that one."
Nate turns to glare at him. "How do you know what flavor of creamer I'd want?"
"That one won't taste so good when combined with whiskey. Bad aftertaste." Oddly he doesn't seem to be condemning Nate for being an alcoholic. He just seems to be stating matter of factly that it won't taste good.
They go through several more aisles. Nate's list of things he needs is small and definitely unhealthy and he feels guilty that Jim's own list is far more expansive and includes things like fruits and grains and lean meats. This of course leads to another mini-argument beginning out of spite.
Of course this doesn't look good in the middle of a grocery store, and when the young employee turns to glare at them they suddenly both go silent. They can at least pay for their purchases without fighting.
When they step outside the store, Nate finds himself falling behind Jim as they carry their bags because his face is just straight up too annoying to look at. Except this is when the strange thoughts return. Jim's backside looks good in his jeans as he pushes the cart. Why is he thinking about how Jim Sterling's backside looks in jeans? Maybe he's just appreciating butts in general, but this butt is not a butt he can condone appreciating.
"Not gonna happen," Nate states out loud and Jim turns to look at him.
"You sure you're okay?"
"I need a drink," Nate tries to deflect as he still doesn't like where his mind is going. He also makes a point to speed up so he is now walking far in front of Jim and almost at the side of the car that is partially hidden by the wall.
Nate slips around the wall and goes to open the car door and put his groceries inside. It is at this moment that Jim apparently catches up with him and instead of doing something normal like putting his own groceries in the other side of the car, he comes around to Nate's side and puts a hand on his shoulder.
Nate whirls around and he thinks he has plans to punch Jim in the face. He's certainly been irritating enough today. However, apparently Nate's subconscious has other plans because he does not punch Jim in the face. Instead, he kisses him.
Much to his surprise, Jim actually kisses him back and well, once Nate's brain sort of starts working again he doesn't want to pull away. Instead, hidden by the wall on one side and the car on the other, he's standing there making out with Jim Sterling in the parking lot of a grocery store. Stranger yet, he's pretty sure he hadn't kissed Maggie like that since a long time before the divorce.
Nate ends up far too busy for the rest of the day to have a drink.