Thoroughly Drowned Sorrows

Orion straightened up from the toilet and looked at himself in the mirror- a complete wreck, red-eyed and pasty-faced. "God, you're a moron."

He rinsed out his mouth and washed his face, poking his head out of the bathroom to see if Adrian was around. No sign of his roommate. Hopefully he'd been out while Orion had been passed out on the bathroom floor, too.

Orion barely made it to the bedroom before practically passing out again, landing face down on the unmade bed. When was the last time it -had- been made? Not this week, that much he knew. Did he have work today? He had worked yesterday... no, today was his day off. Good.

He winced when the door opened and slammed shut. Either Adrian was pissed or... Adrian was pissed. He rolled over, wincing at the beam of sunlight that made its way through the grey window and stained curtains. "Adri?"

"How was the floor, Orion?" Adrian's voice was pitched at that exact tone, just too loud for comfort.

"Fuck you." Orion rolled back over, burying his head in the pillows.

"I didn't know you were having a party last night. Oh, wait, this was just you, wasn't it?" Beer cans rattled and Orion rolled out of bed, eyes bleary.

"Can this wait? I'm trying to sleep."

"We need to talk about this." Adrian pushed the door open, letting more light hit Orion. "You've got a problem."

"I do NOT have a fucking problem, okay? I just got turned down for another part and I was..." He shrugged. "It's not a problem."

"You're drinking at least a sixpack a day. I don't even want to know about the tequila. It's a problem."

"Fuck OFF, Adri!" Orion shoved the door closed. "I don't want to fucking talk about this!"

He leaned against it, wincing when Adrian hammered. "You're not fucking running away, 'Rion. Get your head on straight. You need -help-."

Orion slid down the door, his eyes closed, flashing back to all the times they'd had this argument. "I'm fine. Just leave me alone, okay?"

"You're NOT fine, but you deserve being left alone. I'm going to go give your booze to the bums on 34th." Fridge opening, bottles clinking.

"Fuck you, Adri!" He pulled the door open. "I *paid* for that."

"Yeah, with money you could be using to buy actual food. You're going to fucking starve yourself if you don't eat right." Adrian started putting beer bottles in a grocery bag.

"Give me that, asshole." Orion snarled and grabbed the bag away from his roommate, pushing him up against the cupboards. "Don't touch my shit, okay?"

"Relax, 'Rion, relax..." Adrian's tone switched to soothing, his eyes wide as he tried to unwrap Orion's hand from his collar. The blond slowly let go.

"Sorry, dude." He turned and walked away, closing the bedroom door behind him.

He drank himself into a stupor that night, ignoring Adrian sitting on the other side of the wall, listening to every sound he made. Damn paper-thin walls.

He didn't drink the next day, made an effort to stay away from it so he'd look normal for work. He changed into the shirt and tie, making faces at himself in the smeared mirror. He grabbed his keys and walked out, avoiding Adrian's eyes. They hadn't spoken since the afternoon before.

Work was slow, Orion at his best and most charming for the older couples who frequented his restaurant. The flickering candles hid the faint shade of green as he ferried food out and empty plates back, filled glasses, mixed drinks...

It was always tempting to drink on the job. He didn't want to -lose- the job, though, so he behaved.

He got home shortly after midnight, unlocking the door to see Adrian sitting there. "'Rion, we need to talk. I know you don't want to, but you almost fucking killed me last night."

"Wouldn't have killed you, Adrian." Orion went to the cupboard and pulled a bun out of a bag.

"Yeah, but you were fucking scary. You need to control yourself or I'm out of here." There was a set to Adrian's jaw that Orion hadn't seen before.

"Huh? But we've been rooming since I moved to New York."

Adrian spread his hands, shrugging a little."Yeah, I've stuck by you through your drinking and you've paid my bail and shit, but dude. Going psycho on your roommates isn't an incentive for them to stick around."

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Orion nervously ran a hand through his hair. "Bygones?"

"Don't do it again. I'm serious. If you do, I'm out of here." Adrian pushed himself off the couch. "Anyways, I'm going to bed. Keep it down."

Orion nodded, taking Adrian's place on the couch as the other man closed the bedroom door. They usually slept in the same room, but with things as... strained as they were... Orion just didn't want to.

Not that they were together like that. God, no. Orion had had his share of girlfriends over the past few years, and Adrian brought boys home on occasion. Neither of them said much about the other's taste in companions- except for the screaming fights Orion had with the girls.

In retrospect, Orion thought, Adrian was probably a little overdue in giving him a warning.