Aden was feverish with excitement. Logan’s quiet nod of approval to his offer set off fireworks that blinded his own rationale, his earlier words being suffocated under the weight of renewed possibilities. Unfortunately, the hospital chose to keep Logan another night, deciding professional hands would be better suited to change his dressings over the next 24 hours, maybe even 48 depending on how tomorrow went.

Logan requested politely (albeit, with a stiffness that only thinly veiled his animosity) that Aden leave his address and disappear for the duration of Logan’s stay. Aden had returned that stiffness with a quick agreement and chose that moment to make a respectfully quick departure. Logan clearly didn’t feel comfortable while he was around, and Aden likely wouldn’t have left if he dawdled any longer.

Upon arriving home, Aden took a heavy seat on his chair, letting it rock him back and forth. He pulled out his phone, his finger hovering over his father’s phone number. He let his finger fall, but immediately hung up before the dial tone could even whisper through the speakers. Instead, he called Henry.

“Oi, got an update for me yet?” came the groggy voice on the other end. “Gettin’ tired of smoking by myself.”

Aden scoffed, though he felt more fondness than annoyance with his friend. “You should really lay off the smoking, Henry. And, before you say anything,” Aden quickly tacked on, “I agree that I should, too. But that’s not important right now.”

“Then why even bring it up,” Henry grumbled, quiet enough Aden felt like it was okay to steamroll over his words with little guilt.

“He agreed to stay with me. Not for long, but he actually agreed,” Aden said, though he couldn’t help the damper clouding his tone. “But, uh, I do have a favor.”

“Aye?”

“Logan…understandably still doesn’t trust me. But…” Aden troubled his lip briefly, “apparently you two have crossed paths before. You helped him out of some kind of situation was what he said.”

Henry’s end went entirely silent. Then, “That was ‘im?” Henry asked, horrified.

Oh. Henry hadn’t known.

“I never asked the lad his name, I just dropped him at the rehab center. Never even checked in…fuck’s sake.”

“Henry, Henry,” Aden quickly recovered, “it’s okay. He explained how much it meant to him, and he-he trusts you. That’s what’s important, and that’s why I needed a favor.”

Henry let out a sharp breath as he attempted to discard his panic. “Aye.”

“Logan doesn’t trust me, but he admitted that he knew and trusted you,” saying that made Aden shiver with discomfort. “I know we planned on replacing the flooring over the break because exams are gonna kick our ass, but do you think we could maybe have it done by Christmas?”

Henry laughed and then sucked in a quick breath. “That’s-it’d be difficult. I won’t drag you about, it’ll be really hard to complete it that quickly. I don’t even have the materials yet.”

Well, that was a bummer. Aden thought maybe Logan would appreciate the idea of being gifted Aden’s absence enough to entertain giving him another chance. But Aden could work with additional time, too.

“But,” Henry continued, “we can certainly hurry along the process and get it done as quickly as possible. Still…you sure ‘bout that? You really ready to give ‘im up just like that?”

“Oh, I’m not giving up,” Aden said bluntly, standing to his feet before he sought out his glasses. As soon as they were secured over the bridge of his nose, he switched his call to them and left his phone to charge on the coffee table. “I thought he’d appreciate the sentiment.”

“Ah. Enticement.”

“Sure,” Aden agreed with an indifferent shrug, heading to the bedroom. It was as he left it several days ago, all crisp edges of his primly made bed and an uncluttered floor that differed greatly from that of the living room. “Or I just plan on using natural charisma, honesty, and hard work to make him feel comfortable before we finish that flooring.”

“Any ideas where he’s even gonna sleep?”

“Just in the bedroom. It’s closed off and I barely sleep in there, anyways. Been falling asleep on the couch a lot lately.”

“Aye. You’ve been falling a bit behind this semester. More so than usual, anyway.”

Aden winced. “Yeah…I think part of it had to do with how close Logan had gotten. The nightmares got worse, and so did the headaches. And that’s not even to mention those like…hallucinations.” He scowled.

Henry paused a moment. “I don’t think that’s all, Aden.”

And Aden knew it was true. The paramedic aspect of a first responder only made him think of his forced early college days at that far away university that nearly suffocated him before his sister vouched for his desire to pursue fire-fighting instead. So many years, wasted. If he’d remembered any of it, maybe it would have been more valuable now. But he didn’t, and that annoyed him.

“Another feeling?”

“Aye. To be respected, not mocked,” Henry replied smoothly with a suppressed chuckle.

Aden laughed, checking the room one last time to ensure its tidiness. The next beast was the miasmic filth of the living room.

“It’s not even that bad,” Henry insisted after Aden’s loud grumbling. “You’re just a lil’ neat-freak.”

Aden frowned as he gathered the clothes strewn across the carpet. “Sure, Henry. Believe what you want, doesn’t mean it has any truth to it.” It did. Aden had a thing about clutter; every misplaced item a scratch he could only itch by returning it to its designated spot.

“So? When’s the lad movin’ in?” Henry prodded.

Aden shrugged. “Don’t know for sure yet,” he answered, throwing his clothing into the washer. “Doctors wanted him to stay there for a little longer, but they didn’t specify a time.”

“Hm. Well, lemme know when he gets discharged. I…uh…owe ‘im an apology,” Henry swallowed hard.

Aden’s brows furrowed. “You don’t blame yourself, do you? Henry, you didn’t do anything; this is literally all my fault.”

Henry coughed to clear his throat. “Ah, yeah. Sure. Well, um…I’ll let you get back to it then.”

Aden frowned at his friend’s dodgy behavior but knew commenting on it was a useless. He shrugged and wished his friend the best before Henry hurried off the phone.

That was weird, he thought to himself, bringing up a playlist and settling his headphones over his ears.

After everything was put back into perfect order, Aden took a swift break before deciding he’d try to make his 4 o’clock class. And, for once, he was on time.

Henry noticed Aden’s humming energy as soon as he entered the lecture hall. “Someone’s high on something and it isn’t drugs,” he said with a knowing chuckle.

Aden didn’t care. “It helps that the nightmares kind of let up when he resurfaced. It’s nice getting sleep for once.”

“Didn’t think that was the case when he was goin’ through those withdrawals,” Henry frowned at the memory. Aden had called him, desperate to get his hands on methadone.

“I might not have gotten much sleep because of how much he needed me, but it gave me a lot of strength knowing he trusted me enough to rely on me,” Aden admitted, his voice lowering as the professor came in. “Almost like I had to be strong, no matter what.”

Henry only hummed an inaudible response as the petite woman began droning on about emergency triage stations.

“‘Spose you don’t wanna hang out with dear ole Henry now that you got the lad back, eh?” Henry sighed with a smirk as they left the academy. “I guess I better get used to it now, being put on the back burner. A-a third wheel is it?”

Aden shook his head. “Shut up…but, uh, yeah. That’s kind of exactly what I was thinking.”

Henry’s azure eyes went round and his brows jumped in genuine surprise. “‘Scuse me?”

“You heard me. I said what I said.”

“I wish it weren’t so.”

“It is.”

“You’re an ass.”

Aden shrugged. “You knew what you were getting yourself into when you befriended the outcast of the Kellington family. I never claimed to be some squeaky clean choir boy that holds his temper and I certainly never claimed to be anything other than the neighborhood asshole.”

Henry rolled his eyes. “I literally can’t with you right now. Fuck off.”

Aden no longer found any shock at Henry’s quick-exit strategy and merely veered away from his friend and toward his car parked in the very back of the parking lot. An easy sigh left his lips as the two spots on either side of his sweet little car remained empty. He climbed in and lost himself in thought as the city passed with a neon blur. The earliest Logan would be released would be tomorrow morning so it wasn’t like he should be expecting much.

Understanding that logic didn’t make the idea of waiting any easier to digest.

By the time Aden pulled into his parking spot, the sun had fully set and dusk had darkened the world around him. Soft amber lit the doors of each apartment, though dark spots here and there indicated burned out bulbs that needed to be changed. Aden’s worked just fine, better, even, than some of his neighbors.

And in that brighter light, Logan’s dark eyes turned towards him. “Hey,” he greeted with a stiff, timid wave. “I told you, I don’t like hospitals so…I left.”

Aden took a moment to allow his brain to catch up with the scene unfolding before him. Logan’s bandaging was certainly new with the demonstrated strength of the professionally dressed wounds, but each bandage was already blooming with fresh blood and puss. He really should have stayed as much as Aden hadn’t liked the idea earlier.

“I’m not sure I can…” Aden looked at the dressings and then into Logan’s pleading eyes. Fear lingered there, a haunted expression that drew a frustrated sigh. “I can’t promise it’ll feel good, I never finished pre-made—”

“Wait, wha—”

“—but I’ll do what I can,” Aden interrupted, entirely unwilling to delve into the past. “Surely some of that shit is still rattling around in here.” He unlocked and opened his door, the rattling of the old hinges making Logan flinch.

With a grunt, Aden managed to clear the way and flip on the entryway light. The softer yellow glow of this light still managed to illuminate the entirety of the freshly cleaned apartment. Aden felt sudden relief that he’d chosen to do so before he left for his class.

“Wow,” Logan remarked softly. “A lot tidier than I remember.”

Aden nodded. “Physical clutter leads to mental clutter, and I can’t have anymore of that.”

Logan answered with silence as Aden led him to the eastern side of the apartment where the room was. Upon opening the door, Logan let out a confused huff.

“I am not sleeping in your room,” he insisted with only slightly less venom than he’d spat at the hospital.

“I don’t sleep in here,” Aden responded, stepping into the room. “Been sleeping on the couch since the semester started.”

“Why?”

“Cause now I’m at the point where I’m taking all the classes I dreaded taking in the first place. If I study in bed, I always end up asleep before I’ve finished. Anyway,” Aden abruptly changed the subject. Talking about the medical side of first responders would inevitably lead to the years he wasted in pre-med. “I emptied out the top three drawers in that dresser for your belongings, but you have essentially a full closet too,” he explained, pointing to the folding doors that opened into a decent sized closet. “I only have a few nice pieces of clothing hanging up; the rest is yours.”

Logan nodded warily and Aden didn’t wait for any sense of awkwardness to settle before turning back to the door.

“I’ll leave you to settle in, then. Didn’t really have plans for dinner so I’ll order a few pizzas.”

“Thank you…”

The words were spoken so quietly, Aden presumed they weren’t meant for him to hear so he pushed through the door and shut it behind him as though he’d never heard.

Cold Starlight