Standing in front of Ked's appartement door, Vinny raised his hand to knock, only to put it back down again. The nervous boy had been repeating this action a couple of times, cursing at himself for not getting his act together.

He thought hard about what could the occasion be, why Ked suddenly invited him over and also why didn't he attend class. He can't find an answer despite thinking about it since the start of his walk from campus to where he is now. It must be something serious, right?

"Well I won't know until I come in.." he thought to himself.

With a deep breath and a shake to remove his tension, he finally succeeded in giving the door a few knocks. The immediate feeling of his stomach dropping made him almost regret doing it, cursing yet again at himself, but decided to man up and face whatever it is that he is about to. The metal door opened a few seconds later.

A head of blonde hair emerged from inside the room. Ked had a warm playful smile on his face that successfully calmed Vinny's nerves.

"Come in, you'll like what you'll see." Ked opened the door wider to let Vinny in.

Vinny still couldn't find his voice as he silently made his way inside. The apartment is not large, however he could tell the rent must've costed quite a lot.

The first thing he noticed, the balcony far at the end of the room. There's a television on the wall, a blue couch across from it, and in between a small coffee table. On his right side was the kitchen, not interesting enough for Vinny to admire. A small passage on his left lead to two closed doors, and he guessed one of it must've been the door to Ked's bedroom. The place is quite fancy for someone like Vinny who lives in his late uncle's old house. He almost feels bad for just entering, feeling like an intruder.

"Take a seat on the couch. Oh and take your shoes off and put them here. I'll grab the thing." Ked said before heading to one of the doors on the corridor.

Vinny wasted no time and followed his orders. The way his body sinked into the soft couch surprised him a little. He wanted to lie down immediately but again, felt too bad for doing so.

"Hey Vinny?" Ked yelled, voice slightly muffled by the walls between them.

"Y-Yes?" Vinny mentally facepalmed himself for stuttering such a short word.

"Close your eyes!"

Vinny had no idea what to expect, so he did the only thing he could, and once again followed Ked's order, placing his hands on his eyes to cover them.

"Are they closed??" Ked's muffled voice appeared again.

The boy covering his eyes yelled back another yes with a voice full of curiosity. He could hear Ked's footsteps approaching, along with a.. panting sound?

Something moving and fluffy was put onto Vinny's lap.

"Okay, you can open them now."

A gasp escaped Vinny's mouth at the sight of a small white bichon sitting on his lap, looking up at him and wagging it's tail.

"Ked what the fuck?! Where'd you find it?" Vinny yelled not in anger, but quite the opposite.

Ked chuckled at the brunette who immediately gave the puppy lots of pets and ear scratches. He knew the boy would love dogs, and he has never been more happy to be correct.

"I found it barking in front of my door this morning. So I just picked it up." Ked explained, joining Vinny to pet the little bichon.

"Wait, is this why you weren't at campus today?!" Vinny asked, shocked at his own conclusion and looking up at Ked.

"Well what am I supposed to do? I can't leave her alone like that. And it's collar doesn't show the owner's details." Ked argued.

"You could've handed it to the front desk or something??" Vinny argued back.

"I wanted to play with the damn dog, okay?? I mean look at it!" Ked gestured at the dog. "And aren't you glad you get to see it as well?" he added, looking at Vinny.

The latter opened his mouth to argue again, however no words came out. Admittedly, it was true that he's more than happy to meet this mysterious dog. He continued to give the dog lots of love, cooing from time to time at how cute the puppy is.

"It's so domesticated.. it hasn't even barked once." Vinny said in awe.

"Right? I better find the owner soon, though, I can't keep-"

Ked was disturbed by a high pitched bark coming from the dog, which shocked both boys especially by the irony of what Vinny just said. The dog then proceeded to escape both their grasps and ran to the door. The pup stood on it's hind legs as it started to scratch on the metal surface.

A small voice of a woman from the outside was heard by the two boys. After exchanging glances with Vinny, Ked took initiative to stand up, head towards the dog and picked it up as he opened the door. A woman in her late 20s stood there, looking like she's been scouting the corridor.

She gasped at the sight of the blonde boy holding the dog.

"Oh my god, Loki! Oh thank you so much for taking him! Where'd you find him??" She spoke, hands reaching out to grab her dog.

Ked awkwardly obliged and handed the dog over. He apologized for 'taking' her dog and explained how the situation came to be. The woman was thankfully understanding and didn't cause a scene, instead she thanked Ked for holding on to her dog and explained that she's glad her dog didn't end up anywhere dangerous. Their conversation soon ended and Ked finally shut his door again before walking back towards Vinny.

"Well that was quick."

-

They both are now sat on the floor around the coffee table. Ked had offered Vinny some snacks and drinks, but Vinny declined his offer and just asked for water instead which he had already drank, the empty glass now placed on the table. Vinny felt kind of sad that he only got to touch the dog for such a short time. He was glad that it came back to it's owner though.

"So.. how was today?" Ked started.

"It was okay." Vinny answered shortly.

"Did you miss me?" Ked teased, placing his head on his hand leaning towards the brunette.

"Shut up." Vinny looked away trying to hide his embarassment.

The blonde smiled at his reaction, though now feeling a little bad for teasing a little too much.

"How's Jude?" he attempted to change the topic to shift the mood, and judging by Vinny's expression it definitely worked, just not the way he intended.

"She's.. weird today." Vinny answered plainly.

"Weird how?"

Vinny clicked his tongue. "I don't know. Yesterday she came to my place and we talked. I don't know what happened, I thought everything was okay but.." He stopped in his tracks and groaned. He hid his face in his hands as the memory of last night played in his head.

"What if she hates me." Vinny muttered.

Ked scoffed at the silly predicament. "There's no way that could happen."

The brunette was silent, still hiding his face. A question was itching to come out of him. He tried to keep it in, he really did, but the intense curiosity and wonder eventually got the best of him.

"Ked are you gay?"

Ked doesn't get shocked easily by most things, but the sudden question blurted out by the boy covering his face before him definitely knocked some wind out of him. After a painful second of processing the question, he let out an awkward laugh.

"Damn.. was I that obvious?" he said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Vinny at this point was too flustered to remove his hands from his face. Wanting to look at the blonde, he separated his fingers from each other, giving space for his eyes to look. The sight of the other boy being just as flustered eased him a little, though not enough for him to expose his face.

"Just.. answer the question." Vinny said in desperation, his heart beating rapidly. "Please?" he added.

Ked sighed, then took a breath to prepare himself.

"Yes. I am gay, Vinny."

"And you're attracted to me?" the brunette responded in the speed of light, practically shaking in desperation to know.

His mannerism caused the blonde to erupt in laughter at the sheer ridiculous-ness, throwing hid head back. He truly had never seen anyone as blunt as Vinny, though he kind of understood his shorter friend. He couldn't cease his laughter though, a hand covering his mouth as he tried to control his breathing.

"Oh my god, just answer me!!" Vinny in frustration slammed his hand onto the table, revealing his flustered face.

"Okay, okay!!" Ked waved his hands as if shooing the laughter away. He cleared his throat before answering.

"I.. I think I am."

He smiled at Vinny. Upon seeing Vinny not giving an answer besides his cheeks impossibly reddening, he continued. "I know it's kind of fast. But, Vinny, you're really cute and I really like being around you. Honestly my last straw was seeing you in my beanie."

"I'm not cute." Vinny pouted and averted his gaze, his actions contradicting his own words.

Ked chuckled at the sight.

"Hey." he says warmly, scooting closer towards the agitated boy. "You can take your time. I know the fact that a guy liking you is scary-"

"It's not scary." Vinny disagreed sternly as he looked up at Ked, slightly startled by their close distance. "I-I just don't know how I feel.. yet." he continued.

"I understand." Ked smiled for the hundredth time today, thanks to a certain flustered brunette. "It's not an easy process, finding out about who you are. Do it in your own pace, alright? Don't feel pressured by my feelings."

The two took the moment to stare at each other's eyes. It was like time stood still, each feeling their pounding heartbeats. Vinny saw patience and acceptance in Ked's eyes which assured him that maybe, just maybe, everything will work out. He could almost taste the love radiating out of the handsome boy in front of him.

An unspoken connection had formed between them in the quiet. Vinny can't help the smile forming on his lips, contagious as it influenced Ked. The latter had to disturb the moment with his new favorite thing to do, tousle Vinny's hair. Vinny chuckled as he felt the tension easing out, now getting used to the feeling of Ked's rough fingers running through his hair.

"You know.. I tried talking about this with Jude." Vinny said.

"Yea? And what did she say?" Ked listened in.

Vinny shrugged, "She said she loves me no matter what, but then acted weirdly distant today." He sighed at the thought.

"That is kinda weird." Ked said agreeingly. "She doesn't seem like the type to be homophobic though."

"She isn't, she can't be. I've known her for a long time and there's no way she is." Vinny stated, his voice sounded pained.

"Then it's probably just her trying to understand you. It sucks that that's even needed, but give her some time." Ked gave Vinny a few pats on his back to ease him.

The two sat there, staring into the distance not knowing what to say next.

"I'll talk to her if you think it'll help?" Ked mentioned his idea.

Vinny thought about it for a while. Maybe it'll be a good way to get answers. He definitely doesn't want to stay distant forever with his best friend, so, he agrees to the offer, hopeful for some more clarity.