"Oh, for the love of...will you two stop screwing around?" Joe said, watching Tai clap a hand over his mouth in a last second attempt at not spitting out his drink, but he sloshed a bit over the rim of his cup anyways, soaking Matt's shoes.

"Fuck, Tai!" Matt said, but he was laughing too.

"I didn't fall all the way down the stairs," Tai finally managed to get out, between bubbling explosions of laughter and a flailing gesture that suggested he had more to add if everyone would just wait. "I just sort of...grabbed the railing on the way down and...skidded to a graceful stop."

Matt doubled over, way beyond laughing, just letting out a sort of drawn-out wheeze.

"Jesus, shut up!" Tai said, grinning.

"You looked ridiculous! The look on your face!" Matt said, visibly struggling to get ahold of himself. He took a gulp of his drink and fixed Tai with a fond look, shaking his head. "That girl got as far away from you as she could."

"What can I say," Tai deadpanned. "I am great with the ladies."

On the couch behind them, Sora let out a rather loud snort. Tai primly ignored her.

Matt got a far away look, quietly reliving the incident, and then immediately lost it again, pressing the heel of his free hand into his side and laughing, soundlessly, until his legs turned to rubber.

"We should do this more often," Tai said, and a slow grin spread across his face as he watched Matt sag against the back of the couch, somewhere between laughing and crying.

"Seriously," Joe said, "You're paying for that carpet."