Rick didn’t want to admit that he had been waiting for Teo’s return until the very last moment. He lingered in the living room with the rest of Orion’s family during the movie marathon, and then stayed a little longer in the kitchen, making himself some tea, since it took longer than just filling a glass from the tap. All of it was just so he could hear the front door open and know when the dark-haired man would be home.

But Teo never came.

Rick climbed the stairs with steps slower than a snail's until he realized what he was doing and accelerated to a normal speed. Nevertheless, the moment he opened the door to the room he shared with Amelia, her look clearly said that his desperation had not gone unnoticed.

“Don’t,” he warned her.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Amelia was more than understanding in the matter, and Rick couldn’t appreciate it enough. She was the only one he could confide in, and even though he didn’t want to say too much—feeling that in doing so he was leaving Orion out of an important part of his life—she still knew enough and was okay with it.

“I think I pissed him off yesterday,” he admitted honestly, as he went to his side of the bed and slid under the covers.

“How?”

“He asked me who he is to me, and I said the brother of my best friend.”

“Rick—”

He didn’t let her finish, because just the way she said his name clearly showed that, just as he was disappointed by Teo’s absence from the house, she was disappointed in him.

“He is. That’s true, Amelia. I’d like to ignore it, but the fact remains that he’s Orion’s little brother.” He was exaggerating, but it was better than underestimating the situation.

“He's his younger brother, not his little brother,” the red-haired woman corrected him. “You talk as if he were a child, but he's been an adult for a long time.”

“Barely.”

Rick didn’t forget the fact that Teo was still a student, while he himself had spent years in a corporate job—monotonous work that brought decent money and friendships he was grateful for, but was mentally exhausting.

“He was a consenting adult when you met him years ago, and he still is now. And it seems like he knows what he wants.” Then she turned her head and gave a pointed look at his friend. “Unlike you.”

“He’s Orion’s brother and too young for me,” he gave her the same arguments he had given directly to the younger man before.

“He’s finishing school soon,” Amelia reminded him. “And Orion would understand. Even though it doesn't seem like they get along, you are his best friend and he is his brother. You are the best person for his brother precisely because he knows you and knows you’re good.”

“I wish I knew what happened between them.”

“Right?”

Their eyes met, and Amelia nervously bit her inner lip. “I know it’s none of my business, but the atmosphere when those two are together is unbearable. Besides, Orion never talks about his brother. It’s all weird.” She sighed. “I’m curious, sue me.”

“Have you tried asking Orion?”

Rick didn’t have the courage, but he thought that maybe his friend had. Besides, she always knew how to approach any topic carefully, and she had that charm that made people feel like they could confide in her. Rick was proof of that.

“No.”

And just like that, his hope died out.

“I didn't think during the holidays was the right time for it.”

That made sense. Well… Rick had stupidly tried it with Teo, and it had gone just as badly. Especially since he hadn’t approached it very sensitively, realizing that in hindsight.

“Maybe if you and Teo got together, it would benefit the two of them as well. They might find their way back to each other again because of you.”

“Now you’re exaggerating.”

Rick didn’t see it as optimistically as she did.

“It’s Christmas, and if all those movies we’ve watched over the past few days have taught me anything, it’s that miracles happen at Christmas.”

Rick’s first reaction was laughter. “You’re crazy.”

Amelia shrugged with a smile. “Maybe.” Then she added, “But still, I think it could have a happy ending. Orion adores you, and Teo seems to too. It sounds promising.”

“Maybe.”

The brown-haired man fell silent as he thought more about her words. Until now, he had mostly thought pessimistically, imagining the worst-case scenarios, especially how he could potentially ruin his relationship with Orion and simultaneously further ruin the one between the brothers, giving little thought to the best-case scenario.

“Sleep on it.”

Amelia didn’t give him a chance to protest as she turned off the night lamp on her bedside table, the only light in the room. A second later, she shifted lower on the bed to lie down comfortably, which he felt from her movements beside him, and Rick decided to do the same. He had no other choice.

…

A few hours later, he woke up needing to use the bathroom. It was to be expected after all the tea he’d had before bed, but he still debated whether to leave the warm bed or risk trying to hold it until morning. In the end, he chose the first option and quietly left the room so as not to wake his friend.

After completing his mission, he decided to replenish his fluids and, with careful steps, went downstairs toward the kitchen, trying to make his footsteps inaudible so as not to disturb the silence of the night.

He had just reached the counter when he suddenly heard a sound that, in the quiet of the night, seemed much louder. It took him a moment to realize it was the front door lock, followed by the door opening.

His breath hitched for a second as he heard footsteps heading toward him.

The only light in the kitchen came from the streetlamps outside, illuminating the room enough to make the objects inside distinguishable, and Rick immediately saw the silhouette of a young man appear in the doorway.

“Not sleeping?”

The sound of Teo’s voice confirmed that he had correctly guessed who was sneaking around the house at this hour.

“I was thirsty,” Rick admitted honestly, reaching for the cabinet he had opened earlier to pull out a glass.

“Uh-huh.” Teo made an acknowledging sound before coming closer. “Good idea.”

The younger man stopped just behind him and reached past him toward the same shelf. Rick felt his breath on his ear, his body brushing gently against his, as if hinting at what he’d been missing when keeping his distance.

The older man automatically turned around, coming face to face with him, and thus realized they were even closer to each other than he had originally thought.

“Where have you been?”

His question was quiet, but still carried a hint of reproach, even though Rick had no right to it.

“Drinking with my friends.”

Rick frowned.

“Are you drunk?”

“I never drink enough to get drunk,” Teo replied without hesitation.

The dark-haired man didn’t indulge in addictions. Whether it was alcohol or sweets, he knew firsthand that too much of anything is harmful and never allowed himself to be persuaded to have more. Having successfully stayed away from drugs, he wasn’t about to let himself be dragged down by something weaker.

“How much did you have?”

The older man tried to maintain eye contact, but the way they were standing, the streetlight hit the younger man’s face directly, revealing all his features—especially his lips, which Rick desperately tried not to stare at.

“Two beers,” Teo answered truthfully.

Although his friends drank hard alcohol, he didn’t. He never drank hard alcohol when he was drinking beer, and vice versa. He didn’t mix drinks, never drank more than he could handle, and never let himself be persuaded otherwise. Those were his rules, and he made no exceptions.

“I stopped drinking two hours ago,” he added, giving another important piece of information.

“Then why didn’t you come home sooner?”

Rick was the last person who had any right to ask or to demand that he meet an imaginary curfew. Yet the question slipped out before he even realized it.

“Did you miss me?”

Teo’s lips curved into a dazzling smile, and this time Rick couldn’t stop his gaze from drifting lower. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t even notice that Teo had his hands placed on the counter around him, more or less trapping him.

“I was worried about you. That’s all.”

Rick tried to sound casual, but it failed when the younger man was this close.

Teo pressed their proximity further when he reached his hand near Rick’s head, and the older man didn’t realize what he was doing until he heard the sound of a cabinet door closing behind him. Afterward, however, the dark-haired man didn't return his hand to the surface of the kitchen counter; instead, he boldly placed it on the other man's waist.

His touch was fleeting, as if he wasn't sure how far he could go, yet he briefly squeezed him in his hands before loosening his grip again.

Rick would have liked to stop him and tell him not to touch him like that, but selfishly, he didn't want to lose it. He knew it wasn't right. He knew he shouldn't, but he was enjoying it.

“Mateo.” He didn't sound firm at all. 

“Mateo.” He tried again, this time more quietly, but instead of sounding steadier, his voice sounded almost needy.

“Do whatever you want.”

Rick didn't need to hear anything else. It was officially past midnight, which meant he had been here for six days, and no one could blame him for not at least trying to resist. He had lasted six days. Six days, but he couldn't do any more. Not when Teo was so close that in the silence of the kitchen, he felt like he could hear every sound of his body.

His hand landed on the younger man’s neck first, and then he pulled him closer, leaning forward himself, as his fervor left him no patience to wait until Teo was close enough.

Teo’s lips were welcoming, and though at first it was just a gentle kiss—testing the waters and leaving both of them a chance to pull away—neither did. No, instead, their lips began to move skillfully against each other, and the gap between them narrowed more and more.

Rick’s hand moved slightly higher to play with the swirling hair at the nape of Teo’s neck, while the other gripped the counter for support.

The younger man held him tightly by the waist, and the more heated their kisses became, the more it seemed he gained courage; after a moment, Rick felt Teo’s hand sliding from his hip down his thigh.

He knew he should stop before things went too far, but he had no strength to do so.

Teo, however, caught him off guard.

Getting the older man out of his pants wasn’t the plan. No, instead his hand wandered lower, gripping Rick in just the right place to effortlessly lift him onto the counter. Rick only had to spread his legs slightly for Teo to settle between them.

Before Rick could feel embarrassed by their positions or his own eagerness, he saw Teo’s radiant smile. It wasn’t mocking or provocative—Teo simply looked at him with unabashed joy, and that was enough for Rick to lean in and kiss him again.

“Don’t push me away anymore,” was the first thing Teo said breathlessly when they took a moment to catch their breath. They still remained close, their foreheads practically joined as one, and Rick held their proximity literally in his own hands as he held Teo’s face, while the younger man gripped him firmly around the waist. “Please.”

“I can’t resist you,” the older man admitted truthfully.

“Good. Then don't.”

“We shouldn’t.” Rick still held onto his weak protests, feeling that one of them should be the reasonable one—and since he was older, it should be him.

“We want to.”

He had no argument against that. Rick wanted Teo just as much as Teo seemed to want him. Even after three years. Even though their situation was complicated. Even with the age gap between them, which wasn’t negligible.

“I want you.”

Teo’s whisper carried through the quiet kitchen straight to Rick’s heart.

“I want you too.”

“You have me.”

The two of them never moved from the kitchen to Teo’s room that night, nor did they go further than kissing, but nevertheless, this passionate moment—which was the culmination of all the tension from the last few days—changed something between them.

Rick didn't protest when Teo walked him to his room later, and he didn't even protest the next day when Teo caught him alone in the kitchen while Orion and Amelia were upstairs and Teo’s parents were at work. The younger man decided to use the opportunity to test the mistletoe hanging above the door.

Thus began days of stolen kisses and secret moments together.

Amelia became their accomplice, though Teo didn’t know—or rather, no one had told him directly—and she gave them as much time alone as she could. She kept Orion busy and away from them so he couldn’t catch them, and though Rick sometimes felt guilty about it, every time he saw the joyful smile on Teo’s face, he told himself it was worth it.