The following days were full of kisses and secrets.

Rick spent every fleeting moment with Teo, but at the same time, he tried to make up for all the lost time with Orion. Not only because he didn't want to arouse suspicion in him, but also because Orion was his best friend, and he had originally come here for him, not for his attractive brother.

Alicia and Atlas were at work, so fortunately Rick didn’t have to make up anything to them. Moreover, it meant the house usually had two fewer people who could catch Rick and Teo during their stolen kisses behind doors or the slightly bolder ones under the mistletoe.

The older man felt as if he were experiencing first love, which was comical, considering he was 32 years old and definitely too old to describe his feelings as butterflies in the stomach.

Teo, on the other hand, truly felt like he was falling for the brown-haired man. He had never been the type for relationships, and though he had once excused himself by saying he didn’t want to be with anyone while he was in the closet, and later that he didn’t want to drag anyone into the complicated situation with his father, now he had no excuses.

Now his feelings were catching up with him in full force.

Surprisingly, instead of being scared, he was enjoying it. Rick’s gaze every time he looked at him, and his habit of holding Teo’s face in both hands whenever they kissed, reassured him that it wasn’t just a game for the older man either. Besides, the mere fact that he hadn't forgotten him after all these years had to mean something.

There was a lot left unsaid between them, yet neither of them started that conversation. They simply enjoyed each other’s closeness and what they offered one another during these holidays.

“This is my room.”

Amelia and Orion had gone to the store, so Teo immediately took the opportunity to lead Rick by the hand to his door. Until now, the older man had only ever seen them closed, but today he had a direct invitation inside.

The younger man’s room looked exactly as he had imagined—decorated with various band posters, dark bedding, and a plaid shirt casually tossed at the end of the bed.

Their exploring paused for a moment when Teo led him by the hand to the bed and nudged him so he would end up where he wanted. To the older man’s surprise, Teo didn’t move on top of him but instead lay down beside him.

“I’m up for sex, but I thought we’d stick to just making out for now,” Teo explained as Rick turned to face him, and they both lay on their sides next to each other.

“I’m up for whatever you want.”

Teo’s smile lasted only briefly this time, as the older man moved closer, placing his palm on his cheek and claiming his lips in a gentle, almost lazy kiss.

“I’m obsessed with you.”

“Good,” Teo replied before returning to their previous activity, this time taking the initiative himself.

They kissed for quite a while, and although one might expect some clothing to be removed or hands to wander lower, it never happened. Instead, they just kissed, hugged, and touched. It was still intimate, but in a different way. More tender, more affectionate. Rick still had goosebumps from how Teo ran his fingertips from his neck down to his elbow before catching the wrist of the hand the older man was still using to hold his face.

“You’re so beautiful.”

In his 32 years, Rick had managed to blush for many reasons—shame when caught in a lie or humiliation when his bosses yelled at him. The reason Teo gave him was different.

“So beautiful.”

It was too much, and in his desperation, the older man quickly changed the subject before he could be embarrassed and bury his face in the other man’s shoulder.

“Why didn’t you sing your own song?”

“Huh?”

“At the concert,” he clarified. “You said you were writing your own Christmas song, but you didn't sing an original.”

Instead of an explanation, he first received a ringing laugh, which forced the older man to make eye contact again out of surprise, something he had been avoiding until that moment.

“I wanted to.”

Not only his expression but his tone was amused, and Rick hoped it wasn't because of his childish gesture of hiding when he couldn't handle the compliment.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Macy forbade me,” Teo admitted honestly. “She said my song wasn’t suitable for the small Hollybrook audience.”

“Why not?”

“She didn’t like that I rhymed mistletoe with hoe.”

A spontaneous laugh escaped Rick, just like Teo’s reaction earlier. It was yet another sign that they were good for each other. At least Teo believed so.

“You could have changed it,” the older man pointed out.

“Then it wouldn’t have been my artistic vision anymore.”

Rick was still amused, but now intrigued as well. “What was the rest of the lyrics to your song?”

Although Macy had protested against his song from the very beginning, Teo had finished it anyway. The first verse, however, had already led to its rejection and removal from the setlist, so no one had heard his song—his first and only Christmas song—in full.

He liked the idea of Rick being the one to hear it, so he moved straight to the chorus.

The lights are shining bright, but all I see is you.

Looking in your eyes, I’m searching for the truth.

Teo kept looking him in the eyes just as intensely, making his words hit even harder. Although he wasn’t singing, his voice was melodic, and every word that left his mouth sounded like music.

Will you be my heartbreak or a Christmas delight?

One thing I know for sure, it’s more than just the night.

Rick couldn’t help it—was it a coincidence, or was Teo’s lyric meant for him?

I never believed in miracles, not until I met you.

That silent night it was just us two.

I saw you completely, and you saw me bare,

But now it’s too cold, so my heart is what I share.

Rick swallowed hard. There was no longer any doubt. Teo had written him a love song, and he didn’t know how to respond. He could pretend it was just a Christmas song, that it wasn’t about him, but the way Teo looked at him said everything.

“There aren’t a lot of Christmas metaphors in it,” he finally said, still struggling for words. Teo fell silent too, though he surely had more lyrics—otherwise, it would have been a very short song.

The older man's fears that the situation would turn awkward were unnecessary.

“That’s why I rhymed mistletoe with hoe,” Teo reminded him with a laugh.

When the sound of his joy subsided, a gentle smile remained on his lips, and Rick’s face was a reflection of his own. The moment between them was intense, but in a different way than before. Without the hot kisses, only affectionate glances remained.

They had only known each other for a few days, but being this close, they felt as if it had been an eternity. Yet neither of them initiated a conversation regarding their feelings, each for their own reasons.

Rick didn't know what to do. He had only recently come out to his family and hadn't even thought about a relationship since. Furthermore, there were still the complications of how Orion and his family would react. Teo was still too young for the older man, and besides, he was his best friend's brother. It wasn't an ideal combination, but it was too late now... it had been too late three years ago.

Teo was experiencing similar inner turmoil. The last time his mother had seen him with another man, it hadn't ended well. Not that he didn't still hope deep down that his family might one day accept him fully, but he feared they might not react positively if they found out he had started something with Rick. Perhaps they would even accuse him of seducing him.

Above all, both of them worried about Orion’s reaction—Rick, because Orion was important to him, and Teo because his brother was much closer to Rick, and he needed Orion's support more than Teo did.

But aloud, neither of them said a word.

“What are the chances you have enough courage to sneak into my room at night?”

Teo’s voice not only pulled Rick from his thoughts but deepened the color on his cheeks as he imagined what the two of them might be doing behind closed doors. Though he didn't remember everything from their night together, every detail etched into his memory promised that he had something to look forward to if they met in bed again without clothes.

“You’re provoking me.”

“I never said we had to be naked.”

The smile on the younger man’s face suggested he had Rick exactly where he wanted him, once again enjoying having the upper hand. He simply found it easier to maintain his cool in Rick's presence.

“Not that I’m protesting.”

Before Rick could answer, Teo leaned in even closer and whispered his next words directly into his face, as if they were meant to be their little secret. Or perhaps an offer…

“You wouldn't be able to stay quiet enough.” Finally, the older man found his voice, and along with it, the courage to provoke him back.

“I’m not the one who told me to go harder,” Teo reminded him.

“You’re the one who was moaning my name,” Rick countered.

Before the dark-haired man answered, a mischievous smile curled on his lips. The hand that had been holding the other man’s wrist traveled back up his arm, over his body, and then went lower and lower… until it stopped on his backside and gave it a firm squeeze.

“I always wondered if my fingers left marks on your ass after we said goodbye.”

“As much as mine left them on your back.”

Rick had no idea when he had stopped being embarrassed and started flirting back, but there was no turning back now.

“It’s a shame I couldn't keep them longer.”

Before he could even realize it, a light laugh escaped the older man.

Teo couldn’t believe it. He had finally succeeded.

Rick had been tense whenever he was in his presence, and Teo hadn't known how to react—whether to avoid him or try to make him relax. He told stupid jokes, changed the subject whenever he saw the older man was uneasy, and did everything to make him feel welcome in this house, even though Teo didn't always feel that way himself. Now, hearing him finally laugh, he knew all his effort had been worth it.

“You have a nice smile.”

As soon as Teo said it, Rick hid his teeth behind his lips, and instead of a full smile, he gave him one that was a bit more intimate and, therefore, better. It showed he enjoyed not only Teo’s sense of humor but him as a person.

“You like giving me compliments.”

It wasn’t a real reproach, since that would have had to bother the older man first.

“I just like pointing out the truth.”

“You like stroking my ego,” Rick corrected him. However, he quickly realized that his words played directly into Teo’s hands for another remark.

“I’d be stroking something else, but we’d have to be home alone longer for that.”

“Another time.”

Before Teo could answer, the older man decided to silence him in the most effective way he knew. After all, little time meant few opportunities for kissing, so he decided to save further words for later.

…

“What changed?” Amelia asked as they lay in bed together just two days before New Year’s Eve. “I mean in your arguments, because not long ago you were convinced you couldn't be together, and now I’m providing an alibi every time you want to be alone.”

Rick didn't have an answer ready right away.

“I’m not saying I’m blaming you for anything. Quite the opposite,” Amelia spoke up when he didn’t. “You look happy with him, and I remember very well how crushed you were after that weekend with him years ago. You were mopping for two weeks afterward. I almost felt like putting out a missing persons report for your lost half.”

“He is not my other half.” Rick felt the need to point that out immediately, before he could talk himself into believing it too. He already couldn't get Teo out of his thoughts and felt how he was slowly but surely carving a space in his heart.

“Call him whatever you want, he seems right for you.”

Rick felt it too, but he still didn’t dare say it out loud.

Years ago, he could pretend that Teo was his ideal partner, judging from a single encounter, one night together, and assuming he’d never meet him again. He could hold onto the idea that he was his soulmate and it just wasn't meant to be. But now…

“He’s your Christmas miracle… or maybe your gift?”

He really had to start answering sooner, as it seemed everyone around him was able to react much more promptly than he was. He blamed Teo for always keeping him trapped in his own thoughts.

“He drives me crazy.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

Rick remembered Teo's invitation to spend the night in his room and said: “In a good way, definitely a good way.”

“Enough for your relationship to survive the holidays?”

Amelia’s question pushed him into a dilemma he hadn’t yet confronted himself. He’d been so stressed about whether to risk starting something with him during these eleven days he was here that he hadn’t even begun to consider the future.

Now, hearing his red-haired friend say it out loud, he froze and felt exposed to something he wasn’t ready for.

“I don’t know,” he admitted honestly.

“Would you want to?”

“I don't know,” he uttered automatically, but after thinking about it more, he knew which option he leaned toward more. After all, he hadn't wanted to leave him three years ago either, even though he knew that wasn't how one-night stands worked.

Teo had changed something in him back then, and his blue eyes still lingered on the edge of his mind, eventually driving him to the point where he couldn't take it anymore and told his family the truth about himself, even though he suspected what their reaction would be.

Now he was cut off from his family, but he still had great friends, and for some reason, fate had decided to throw the man of his dreams back into his arms. 

Maybe it would be foolish to let him slip away.