Danny looked at him surprised, Chris smiling a fake smile so casually. “Danny, is this guy bothering you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

The guy shook his head, pulling his arm away. “That’s harsh Danny. After all this time, is that really how you’re going to act? Still a child.” This seemed to strike a nerve, making Chris jump in before he beat his face in and went to jail. Who would take care of Jason?

“Danny, weren’t you heading home? I heard you guys are having a barbeque this weekend, can I come?” Chris asked. In that moment, Danny appreciated his effort and nodded.

“So you’re just going to ignore me? Guess you did move on, you should introduce me to them. Does she know you’re actually…?” His voice came to a silence as Chris grabbed his collar and gave him a terrifying expression.

“Go on home Danny, text me later.”

“Okay, thanks Chris.” Danny’s voice was low, nothing like what he was used to. This stranger was the cause of his discomfort and he wasn’t having it. He made a promise to protect Jason, and protecting Danny was doing just that.

As Danny walked off, the stranger turned to him with a pissed off look. “So what’s the deal with you? You fuck him too? Being overprotective, or just think if you do just enough you can tap that ass too? I can give you some tips.”

What the hell had this guy done to Danny? That was quite a change of language choice. He wanted to smash his face in, but he let him go since he was drawing attention. “You should head to wherever you were going. I hope we don’t cross paths again.”

“Oh, and what if we do? Is that a threat?”

Chris ignored him and walked in the direction Danny was heading. If this guy followed Danny because he went the other way, it wouldn’t end well. Whoever he was, he was defiantly trouble. He rounded the corner when he spotted Danny crouched against a wall in the alleyway.

“Danny, you okay?” he asked. Danny looked like he was having a mental breakdown, sweat dripped down his face as he nodded and stood shaking. “Yeah, I’m going to get this home for Jason. I just needed a second.”

“Is that guy going to be an issue?” Danny looked unsure as he answered, which made Chris anxious. “I don’t think so.”

***

Jason noticed recently that something had changed within Danny. He was more absentminded than usual, spacing out at times while in conversation, and occasionally running into stuff. There was obviously something going on, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

It was only when he had told Danny the date and time of his doctor’s appointment, and he had forgotten, that Jason felt it was necessary to speak up.

“Danny.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you alright?” He stopped chopping up the carrots he was dicing for dinner, and went into a blank state once more. “Danny?”

“Sorry, what was that?” he asked.

Jason stood, scraping the chair back against the floor forcefully. The action startled Danny, who looked in his direction. The expression on his face, made Jason falter his advance. He looked scared, like he was expecting Jason to lash out at him.

“What’s going on with you?” Jason asked lightly, trying to disarm his caution. He intertwined his fingers with his own, bringing his hand up to his mouth.

“I’m sorry, I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Okay? Well I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

“Okay…” His unsure voice was wavering, something Jason wasn’t used to. A sudden feeling rising in the pit of his stomach overwhelmed him. It was the feeling of needing to protect Danny from whatever was causing him such distress.

“Everyone will be here soon for the barbeque, so why don’t you relax a little and I’ll take over?”

Danny seemed unsure, fidgeting until Jason finally took the knife away and guided him to the table to sit. He made him some warm milk tea, and then set it down in front of him. Even though they had trouble communicating regularly on important matters, Jason knew how to calm him down when he was anxious.

When they lived in the dorm together, he realized how many bad habits he had because he paid attention to him enough. He was sure Danny never realized, that over the years they had spent together, Jason had slowly trained him off of his bad habits.

One of those bad habits was his leg shaking whenever he was really anxious, like what he was doing at that moment while sitting at the table. In order to calm him, Jason introduced him to the drink and learned how to make it on his own. Now every morning before he goes to work, Danny takes some Jason had made, and stored in the fridge the night before, to warm up later.

When the doorbell rang, Jason went to answer instead. Danny’s parents greeting him kindly, but he noticed a very unhappy Chris standing behind them with another person he didn’t recognize.

“Who is this?” he asked.

“This is Darren, we ran into him earlier on our way here. It’s been forever since he and Danny have seen each other, so we brought him along. I hope you don’t mind?” Danny’s mother asked.

He didn’t want to be rude, but he could tell Chris knew something about this stranger that he didn’t. The sudden outstretched hand from Darren as a greeting, made him even more wary of his presence.

“Nice to meet you! When they told me they were on their way to see Danny and his partner, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to reconnect. I hope you will excuse my intrusiveness and curiosity?”

Jason studied him, realizing there was something off about his composure. He wasn’t sincere at all, which sent warning signals to his brain immediately. Still, he couldn’t be rude to Danny’s parents, so he let it slide when he shouldn’t have.

He avoided his handshake and turned his attention back to his parents. “Sure, come on in. The meat is almost done.” The cheerfulness of the parents overshadowed the irritated reaction Darren gave as he retracted his hand. It didn’t go unnoticed by Chris and Jason, who already suspected him. As soon as Darren entered the house, the look on Danny’s face instantly revealed it was a terrible choice.

Jason internally cursed to himself as he watched Darren approach Danny with affection, Danny remaining completely still as he embraced him in a hug and continued to have conversation with his parents. It was like Danny was a ghost, unable to react at all. He had invited an unwanted guest into the house, now he needed to expel it or protect Danny from it while it was here.

“We haven’t seen you in forever, you moved overseas with your parents’ right?” Danny’s mother asked.

“I did, I’m just visiting family in the area right now.”

“My gosh, what are they up to these days?” she asked.

It was weird, Danny’s parents were making conversation like nothing was wrong. Usually they were more adept at noticing Danny’s mood swings. Was it because they hadn’t been around him for a long time? Or were they ignoring the awkwardness and trying to being civil?

“Jason, do you need help?” Chris asked.

“Sure.” Usually asking such a thing got a reaction from Danny, but he was unusually quiet and glued to his chair. Chris stepped a little closer, trying to remain out of earshot.

“We need to get rid of him, why did you invite him in?” Jason looked up at him in alarm.

“What do you mean, you wanted me to be rude to his parents and a complete stranger?”

“Stranger? You mean he didn’t tell you?” Chris groaned lightly, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I swear to god, the pair of you just don’t know how to talk to each other do you?”

“Tell me what?” His grip tightened on the knife he held in his hand, sending warning signals to Chris.

“Don’t worry about it right now. For now, we need to keep an eye on him and make sure they are never alone together.”

Jason wanted to press further, but he had reservations about making a scene in open space. It was one of those times he really hated having an open floor plan.

“So, how long have you been together?” Darren asked.

The abrupt question made them feel awkward, Danny not answering. Jason knew it wasn’t because he didn’t want to openly admit it, it was because of Jason’s insecurities. In this situation, he had no problem coming out though, knowing he had to mark his territory or this guy wasn’t going to stop.

“Going on almost 2 years now,” Jason confirmed, his voice sweeter than intended.

Danny’s eyes jolted to him, knowing exactly what kind of mood Jason was in and what was going to happen if Darren pressed him further. Jason had a bad habit of picking fights when people irritated him. It was one of his more predominant behaviors since he had started to not suppress his emotions around Danny and other people.

“2 years? Wow, that’s pretty good since most people can’t get past a year.” He said it like it was meant to be a compliment, but Jason took it as a jab with his tone.

“That’s true, but they have known each other much longer,” his mother added.

“Oh, when did they meet?”

“Well, Jason was Danny’s roommate in college for the entire time he was there.”

There was some kind of lingering atmosphere, a mix between feelings of jealousy, hatred, and uneasiness. His only response was made with a tinge of regret showing.

“Oh, I see. It’s a shame we couldn’t go to the same college, then we could have been bunk buddies.” The implication of that comment pissed Jason off. Danny was getting more nervous, his eyes darting between the two of them.

“Yes, but you weren’t due to your circumstances, how sad. Though I’m grateful, since it allowed me to meet him.” Jason’s remark made even Danny’s parents notice the tension in the room. Chris didn’t dare intervene, but his mother smiled knowingly.

“Jason, were your parents coming today?” she asked, cutting the tension in the room.

“No, they couldn’t make it. I guess my mother is sick again.” This snapped Danny out of his trance and he directed his attention to Jason.

“Is it serious?” Danny asked.

“Don’t know, my dad said they were getting some tests done.”

“Well that’s not good, I hope everything works out. Speaking of parents, Darren, how are yours?”

“They are fine. Last I knew my father was wrapping up some business in London and my mother was on her way back from France.”

“Seems like their busy these days,” she stated.

“Well, all of us kids are grown adults now, so they don’t have to stay in one spot anymore. Not that it ever stopped them.”

“I know, I still remember the time your family first moved in next door. You were pouting for days.”

As they continued their conversation, Jason thought it was uncomfortable. Hearing them talk about memories he didn’t share made him feel left out. Chris offered to help him set the table, Danny eyed Chris in a resentful way before standing up to offer himself.

They chatted about many random things, mostly stuff about Darren’s life abroad. He didn’t hate it, but he found himself envious. He had hidden a part of himself for so long, he didn’t know how to open up and explore the world with his second chance. The fact that there was someone who shared a part of Danny’s life and got to do that, made him envious.

“How is your little sister doing, last I heard she wasn’t feeling well?” his father asked.

There was a brief pause before Darren spoke, his words were steady showing acceptance rather than the sadness someone would assume from what he was talking about.

“Cynthia died some time ago, we came back briefly to gather her for a proper burial but we didn’t stay.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, did they figure out what was going on with her?”

“She had late stage cancer, something that couldn’t be treated at the time. It’s part of the reason why I decided to become a doctor. My parents didn’t say anything about me changing majors the way I had, but I think they understood.”

Jason was frozen over the food that he was plating. Danny glanced up at him, wondering what was going on with him. He had never talked about Cynthia to anyone, and now her brother had come knocking on his door to covet his lover of all things.

“Cynthia, was she placed in the hospital nearby?” Jason asked.

The question caught everyone off guard, but Darren answered regardless. It seemed he was still defensive about his sister after all that time. “Yes, she was. I stayed with her during her final moments, the last few weeks of her life anyway.”

Jason sat in his seat and stared at his food, remembering his conversation he had with her on a whim. The smile that came to his face, made Danny realize he had known exactly who Darren was talking about.

“Did you know her?” Danny asked.