Neo slipped back into the house on legs that still felt like they didn't fully belong to him.
The music was louder now, the chatter fuller, like the party had been waiting for him to return before continuing properly. Someone handed him a drink. Someone else hugged him. Pia squeezed his cheek and told him again how grown he looked.
Neo smiled. Laughed. Played the role.
But his mind was still in the car.
Still in the low voice that had said enjoy being eighteen like it meant more than just cake and candles.
Lucas didn't come back in immediately.
When he finally did, ten minutes later, it was like nothing had happened. Same composed stride. Same unreadable expression. Same polite nods to the adults who greeted him like he was just another guest and not a man who had bent Neo's world slightly off its axis.
The party wound down naturally after that.
Neighbours began to leave, carrying foil-wrapped leftovers and soft smiles. Aiden's parents hugged Neo tightly, promising to see him soon. School friends filtered out one by one, joking, laughing, already replaying the night like it would become a core memory.
Samantha lingered longer than most.
Neo handled it carefully kind, distant, untouchable. He answered her questions with half-truths and gentle deflections, walked her to the door like a gentleman, thanked her for coming.
When she finally left, the house exhaled.
Soon it was just Neo, Pia, Aiden, their mom… and the two men who didn't quite fit into the word guest.
Kellan checked his watch.
Then, casually, like it wasn't a decision that shifted gravity, he tilted his head toward Aiden.
"Come outside with me for a minute."
Aiden didn't hesitate.
Outside, the night had gone quiet. The kind of quiet that made sounds sharper crickets, distant laughter, the soft click of the gate closing behind them.
Aiden walked a few steps ahead, hands loose at his sides, already smiling to himself.
"You always do that," he said, turning around. "Just decide things."
Kellan raised an eyebrow. "You followed."
"Because I wanted to." Aiden stepped closer, invading space on purpose now. "You don't usually pull me away unless you've got something to say."
"Or unless you're about to say something you shouldn't," Kellan replied smoothly.
Aiden laughed. "Wow. So you do know me."
He circled Kellan slowly, eyes sharp, playful. "You know, everyone inside thinks you're scary."
Kellan's gaze followed him, calm and steady. "Do you?"
Aiden stopped right in front of him, close enough to feel warmth. "No. I think you're just… quiet."
Kellan leaned down slightly, voice dropping. "That's because I listen."
Aiden's grin faltered for half a second.
He recovered quickly always did tilting his head, smirking. "Careful. You keep talking like that, someone might think you like me."
Kellan didn't move back. Didn't smile.
"I wouldn't give them reasons to talk if I were you," he said. "You already tease enough."
Aiden's breath caught just a little.
"So you are paying attention," he murmured.
Kellan straightened then, reclaiming control without touching him at all. "I always am."
Silence stretched between them, charged but contained. Whatever this was, it stayed right there in the space between almost and not yet.
Inside the house, Neo laughed at something Pia said, completely unaware that outside, a different kind of connection was quietly locking into place.
Kellan glanced toward the door. "We should go soon."
Aiden nodded, softer now. "Yeah."
But neither of them moved right away.
Because some moments weren't meant to be rushed.
Just… remembered.
The night air felt thicker the longer they stood there.
Aiden was the first to move again because it was always Aiden. He stepped closer, close enough that Kellan could smell his cologne, warm and familiar now.
"You know," Aiden said quietly, "you never tell me to stop."
Kellan's jaw tightened. "Because you never cross the line."
Aiden smiled, slow and deliberate. "What if I want to?"
That did it.
Kellan's hand came up not touching, not yet just bracing itself against the wall beside Aiden's head. A cage without bars. A promise without words.
"Then I'd stop you," Kellan said, voice low. "And you wouldn't like how."
Aiden's breath stuttered, just once.
"Big words," he whispered, tilting his head up slightly. Their faces were too close now. One breath apart. One bad decision away. "For someone who hasn't even touched me."
Kellan leaned in. Slowly. Intentionally.
Not a kiss.
Just close enough that his lips brushed the shell of Aiden's ear as he spoke.
"I don't touch things I can't afford to want."
Aiden swallowed hard.
"You already do," he said, softer now. No teasing. Just truth.
For a split second, Kellan almost broke.
His fingers flexed against the wall. His breath ghosted over Aiden's cheek. The tension between them was sharp, electric like the world itself was holding still to see what he'd do.
Then Kellan pulled back.
Just enough to survive.
"Go inside," he said quietly. "Before you convince me to forget myself."
Aiden laughed under his breath, shaky but victorious. "You're already halfway gone."
Kellan met his eyes then dark, unreadable, but burning underneath.
"Careful," he said. "You don't know what you're waking."
Aiden stepped past him, shoulder brushing Kellan's arm accidental but not really.
"I think I do," he murmured, heading back toward the house.
Kellan stayed outside for a moment longer, staring at nothing, breathing through something that felt dangerously close to want.
Inside, laughter floated through the windows. Neo's voice. Pia's. Normal life.
But outside
Something had shifted.
And both of them knew it.
The gate closed behind Lucas and Kellan, the low hum of the engine fading into the night like it was never real.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Neo's mom yawned, stretching her arms. "I'm officially too old for parties," she laughed. "I'm going to bed. Pia, don't forget the dishes."
Pia groaned dramatically but nodded. "Happy birthday again, superstar." She squeezed Neo's cheek before disappearing down the hallway.
Just like that, the house emptied.
It was only Neo and Aiden left in the living room, balloons sagging slightly, gift wrappers scattered like evidence of a crime scene.
Neo cleared his throat.
"Aiden… stay," he said, quieter now. "Please."
Aiden didn't joke. Didn't tease. He just nodded and dropped onto the couch like his bones finally remembered they were tired.
"Yeah," he said. "We need to talk."
Neo sat beside him, knees bouncing. For once, he didn't know where to start.
So Aiden did.
"So," he said slowly, staring straight ahead. "Lucas Luther."
Neo groaned and covered his face. "Don't say it like that."
Aiden finally looked at him. One eyebrow raised. "Like what? Like the man who casually turned your birthday party into a press conference?"
Neo peeked through his fingers. "He didn't mean to-"
"Neo." Aiden cut him off gently. "He absolutely meant to."
That landed.
Neo dropped his hands, chewing on his lip. "I know. And that's the scary part."
Aiden leaned back, arms crossed. "Okay. Your turn. Explain. Slowly. Preferably without pretending nothing's happening."
Neo exhaled, long and shaky.
"He's… intense," he admitted. "And confusing. And unfairly hot, which is not helping at all."
Aiden snorted despite himself. "Of course."
"But it's not just that," Neo continued, voice dropping. "He looks at me like he already knows where this is going. Like I don't get a say."
Aiden's teasing faded completely.
"And do you?" he asked quietly.
Neo thought about the car. The locked doors. The way his name sounded in Lucas's voice.
"…I don't know," he said honestly. "And that's what scares me."
Aiden nodded slowly, then laughed once, sharp and breathless. "Crazy. Because Kellan does the exact same thing."
Neo's head snapped up. "Wait....what?"
"He doesn't touch," Aiden said. "Barely even breathes too close. But it's like… he's always five steps ahead. Like he's waiting for something."
"For you?" Neo asked.
Aiden swallowed. "Yeah."
They stared at each other.
Then, simultaneously
"Oh."
Everything clicked.
Neo laughed first, soft and disbelieving. "We're so screwed."
Aiden laughed too, running a hand through his hair. "Completely."
They sat there for a moment, the weight of it settling between them not panic, not excitement.
Something deeper.
"You know what the worst part is?" Neo said.
"What?"
"They didn't even do anything obvious."
Aiden nodded. "And yet somehow everything changed."
Silence again.
Then Aiden bumped Neo's shoulder lightly. "Hey. Whatever this turns into… we don't go through it alone. Deal?"
Neo smiled, small but real. "Deal."
Aiden hesitated, then glanced at Neo from the corner of his eye.
"Can I ask you something without you freaking out?"
Neo sighed. "At this point? Ask."
Aiden picked at the edge of a ribbon on the table. "Are you… fully gay? Or is this just a Lucas thing?"
The question landed gently, not accusatory, just curious.
Neo didn't answer immediately. He leaned back, staring at the ceiling like the answer might be written there.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I've never really wanted anyone before. Not like this. So I don't know if it's men… or him."
Aiden nodded, understanding more than Neo expected.
"Same," he said quietly. "If you asked me last month, I would've sworn I was straight or bent a little. Now Kellan breathes in my direction and my brain malfunctions."
Neo laughed softly. "So what do we do?"
Aiden turned to him, serious now. "We don't rush. We don't label anything yet. We just… play along and keep our eyes open."
Neo hummed. "And what if they're just bored?"
Aiden smirked. "Please. Men like Lucas and Kellan don't do 'bored.'"
Then his smile faded a little. "But still… we should ask ourselves something important."
Neo raised a brow. "What?"
"Do they even like boys," Aiden said. "Or are we just convenient?"
That question stayed hanging between them heavy, unanswered, necessary.
Neo exhaled. "Guess we'll find out."
Aiden stood up, stretching. "Yeah. Until then, we move smart. No rushing. No falling first."
Neo watched him for a moment, then smiled knowingly.
"We're already in trouble, aren't we?"
Aiden laughed. "Deep."