"Come in!" Kai shouted when he heard a knock on the door. He had managed to convince Leo to stay at his place instead of going to the club nearby. He wasn't the party person of what Leo was aware, so he went along with Kai's proposition to stay at his place.

"It smells nice. Why wouldn't you cook for me more often? I got us wine, by the way." Leo stepped to the kitchen counter and put groceries out of the bag. Kai chattered around finishing cooking. 

"It's just a steak with vegetables, and you know I don't like cooking, so it's not gonna happen anytime soon." He smiled cockily, stating firmly to take away from Leo any hopes for the near future.

"Then I feel privileged that you cooked for me today." Leo pretended to be moved by his words. "What should I do to deserve your meals more often." He smirked at him while turning around to put the wine into the fridge.

"The only person I cooked for is Noah... when he got sick and needed a babysitter," Kai said while mixing the sauce in the pan with his back to Leo.

"Are you implying that I should get sick to get you to cook for me? I feel offended now. I thought I'm more special than that." Leo laughed and headed to the bathroom to wash his hands before settling down at the table.

"You are special," Kai whispered to himself, focusing on mixing boiled vegetables with the rest of the ingredients for steak dressing.

He became aware of the feelings he was slowly developing for Leo. They had a good connection from the beginning. Kai felt safe and secured when Leo was pulling him out of his comfort zone. When Noah became busy with his writing, they started spending more time alone with each other. Then he felt more confused with his emotions, which had already grown out of friendship and admiration.

"Let me set the table." Leo took out cutlery and plates, putting them neatly on the table. "It's unexpectedly good. It's a shame you don't like cooking because I would come over every time I have classes. I'm too busy now for cooking myself." Leo started daydreaming as Kai stood in place watching him, amused.

"You can always come over. Just bring take out with you." He said in a voice without a trace of emotion, staring right at Leo while pulling out his serious face. "You don't need my cooking as an excuse to visit."

"So cold." Leo shrugged in his chair. Kai noticed a shy smile appearing on Leo's lips which he tried to hide.

As they finished eating and tidying up after dinner, Leo opened the wine, and they moved on the sofa.

"What do you want to watch?" Kai asked, going through the list of movies on Netflix. 

"Something light, my brain will not catch up with anything serious in this time," Leo said, sinking deeper in his seat. "I'm too tired."

Kai smiled and had selected a random comedy from the list. They watched a movie that turned out to be quite funny, and Kai couldn't have imagined a better evening to celebrate his first interview. He heard the phone ringing on the table and reached for it to check his messages. His mood instantly dropped when he saw his mothers name on the screen. 

"What is it?" Leo gave him a concerned look.

"It's my mother. She's asking when I'm coming to my cousin's wedding." Kai said and put the phone back on the table, ignoring the texts. 

"Aren't weddings supposed to be exciting events? You don't look so happy about it, though." He turned sideways to the back of the sofa to face Kai.

Kai shrugged and rested his head on his hand, leaning against the armrest. "We never got along well with my cousin. She..." He paused for a second. "She can be... especially unmanageable at times, you know. She is not the person you can trust and... there will also be someone else I don't want to see." He frowned as the uncalled for memories left a bitter scratch on his mood.

Leo looked at his hand's and focused his gaze back on Kai. "Who?" Kai looked away from the TV.

"My ex-boyfriend. Nolan and Elaine- my cousin, are best friends. We didn't end on best terms." Kai didn't talk much about it with anyone, not even with Noah. He always brushed off any attempt to bring it up. While talking to Leo about his past never have been easier. He hadn't realized how nervous he was at the thought of seeing Nolan. 

"So why do you even consider going there. It's clear you don't want to." Leo interrupted when he drifted off in his thoughts. Kai paused for a few seconds, thinking about the reasons. 

"I don't know. I feel obligated to be there. All my family will come. Also, my mother is expecting me to show up, and she doesn't take no as an answer. I don't want anyone to think that I turned my back on them." Kai told him and feel surprised that he would try to question the idea. He considered staying at home using his work as an excuse, but it didn't sit with him. He grew up in a traditional family where weddings were the most meaningful event in life.

"I understand, but you should put yourself first. You can see your family on a different day. Just say you have work or something, and you can't come. Well... if you decide to go in the end, I can come with you for mental support, you won't be alone this way, and we can leave anytime you want."

Kai thought about taking Noah with him as he usually did in the past. The thought of going there with Leo excited him, and instead of thinking about all the people he prefers to avoid, he thought of Leo. They would spend the day together and the night at his parents' house after the wedding. Strangely, going there doesn't seem so bad anymore.

"Thank you, I will think about it." Kai was planning to call Noah and talk about it with him first. As much as he wanted to spend more time with Leo, he didn't want to drag a poor man into his family dramas. They could all pretend everything was perfect with no scratches between them, but he had gotten so far away from his family that he had no idea how to act around them anymore.

"Can I ask why did you break up with each other? We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I'm just curious." Leo said with a low voice. Kai could tell he felt awkward asking.

"It's difficult to explain." Kai focused on the screen in front of him. "We drifted away from each other, and one day he... broke up with me and moved out." He finished, his voice shaking from emotion. "Just like that. No explanation why." He whispered. Memories overtook him, and he didn't notice when Leo moved closer and pulled him in a hug. 

The topic was sensitive to Kai. It would seem like an ordinary 'couple issues', but it was mentally drenching for him. He loved Nolan and wanted to believe him when he reassured him of his feelings. Despite this, his actions said the opposite. He blamed himself for so long, torn between what he saw and who he should believe. Noah had never really liked Nolan. He wasn't sure if he should trust his boyfriend or friend. At that time, he promised himself that he would never doubt his friendship again.

"It's okay." He squeezed him close to his chest. "Whatever happened in the past, it's over now, and I'm here for you. I can kick his ass if he doesn't behave."

"You better don't. My mother will bury us alive for ruining her perfect image." Kai chuckled and kept drinking his wine, feeling already a bit dizzy.

"Is she that bad?" He nervously shifted in his seat. "Umm... I mean, I can tell you are not that close to her from what you said."

"Mhmm, I don't remember my mother ever hugging me. That should tell you enough about her as a parent. And after she found out I'm gay, she stopped casually talking to me. My father was never around much. I barely know him." Kai pulled his legs up on the sofa, shifting to the side to face Leo.

"It must be lonely to live like that." He softly looked up at Kai.

"Yeah, that's why I got attached too quickly to Nolan and refused to see any wrongs in our relationship." He sighed. "I would rather lie to myself than go back to be lonely again."

"In the end, you got out of it. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Leo grabbed and squeezed his hand. "Changing the topic. When did you start painting?"

"In middle school. My parents worked long hours, so I had to wait for them in the art room with other kids. We played games, done the homework and draw. I happened to be very good compared to other kids, and the teacher gave me more attention and taught me a lot."

"That's nice of her. I guess this is how you discovered your lifetime hobby?" Leo reached for a bottle and poured them more wine.

"Yes, since then, I never stopped drawing." Kai smiled to himself and chuckled at Leo's following comment.

"There is always light in the darkness, huh?"