Milo told himself it was accidental.

The second time he went back to that café.

And the third.

By the fourth, even he didn’t believe it anymore.

“Okay,” his friend said flatly, watching him stir his drink for the tenth time without actually drinking it, “so we’re just going to pretend you’re not waiting for him?”

“I’m not waiting,” Milo muttered.

“You’re literally facing the door.”

“I like the light.”

“The sun is behind you.”

“…shut up.”

The bell above the café door chimed.

Milo’s head snapped up before he could stop himself.

And there he was.

Kai.

Same soft hoodie. Same quiet presence. Same eyes that—Milo still refused to think about too hard.

Kai paused when he spotted him.

Then—he smiled.

That same small, warm smile.

Milo felt it in his chest. Immediate. Unfair.

“…oh my god,” his friend whispered, “you’re blushing.”

“I am not—”

“You are.”

“Shut up.”

But Milo could feel it. The heat creeping up his cheeks, the way his ears burned as Kai started walking toward him instead of the counter.

Toward him.

“Hey,” Kai said.

“Hey,” Milo answered, way too quickly.

They both paused.

And then—awkwardly—laughed at the same time.

Milo rubbed the back of his neck. “You come here a lot?”

Kai tilted his head slightly, amused. “You asked me that yesterday.”

“…did I?”

“Yeah.”

“…okay, well. I stand by it.”

Kai laughed softly, and it did something stupid to Milo’s heart.

“I do,” Kai said. “Come here a lot, I mean.”

“Cool. Me too.”

“You’ve been here four days in a row.”

Milo froze.

“…have I?”

Kai’s smile turned just a little teasing. “Yeah.”

“…wow. That’s—crazy. What are the odds.”

“Very low,” Kai said, clearly not believing him at all.

Milo huffed a quiet laugh, glancing down at his cup just to avoid eye contact.

Big mistake.

Because now he was hyper-aware of everything—how close Kai was standing, the way his sleeve brushed lightly against Milo’s arm, the faint scent of his shampoo—

“Can I sit?” Kai asked.

Milo looked up immediately. “Yeah. Yeah, of course.”

Kai slid into the seat across from him.

And just like that, it felt… easy.

Too easy.

They talked.

About nothing, really.

Music. Bad movies. That one teacher Milo hated. The fact that Kai had never tried energy drinks and refused to, which Milo found both insane and weirdly endearing.

Every now and then, their eyes would meet.

And every single time—

One of them would look away first.

Usually Milo.

Usually with a blush.

At some point, Kai laughed at something Milo said—really laughed, head tipping back slightly, eyes crinkling—and Milo just…

Stared.

Again.

Kai noticed this time.

“…what?” he asked softly.

Milo blinked, snapping out of it. “Nothing.”

“You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like that.”

Milo’s face heated instantly. “I am not—”

“You are.”

“I just—” he stopped, exhaling sharply. “…you’re distracting, okay?”

Kai went very still.

“…distracting?” he repeated.

Milo immediately regretted everything. “That sounded weird. I didn’t mean—well, I did mean—but not like—”

Kai smiled.

Slow.

Soft.

And just a little bit shy.

“No,” he said quietly. “I think I get what you meant.”

And now he was blushing.

Milo noticed.

Of course he did.

And something in his chest flipped.

“Oh,” Milo said, barely above a whisper.

“Oh,” Kai echoed.

Silence settled between them again—but this time, it wasn’t awkward.

It was full.

Warm.

Like something was growing there, quietly, without either of them quite knowing what to do about it yet.

Milo traced the rim of his cup with his finger. “…so, uh.”

“Yeah?” Kai leaned in slightly.

“Are you—busy later?”

Kai didn’t even pretend to think about it.

“No.”

Milo smiled.

And this time—

He didn’t look away.

“Cool,” he said. “Me neither.”

Kai’s blush deepened just a little.

“…yeah,” he murmured.

Neither of them mentioned how obvious it was.

They didn’t have to.

—

That night, Milo lay in bed staring at his ceiling, replaying every second.

The smiles.

The laughs.

The way Kai said his name.

It made no sense.

He barely knew him.

And yet—

“…what is wrong with me,” Milo whispered, pressing his hands over his face, smiling anyway.

Because for the first time in a long time—

This didn’t feel complicated.

It just felt… good.

—

Across the city, Kai sat on his floor, back against his bed, phone in his hand.

Milo’s contact open.

He hadn’t texted yet.

Didn’t know what to say.

Didn’t know how to act like this was normal.

Because it wasn’t.

Not for him.

Not when he knew something Milo didn’t.

Kai swallowed, thumb hovering over the screen.

And then, slowly—

He typed.

hey :)

He stared at it for a long second.

Then hit send.

A few seconds later, his phone buzzed.

hey

Kai smiled.

Soft.

Real.

“…this is a bad idea,” he murmured.

But he didn’t stop smiling.

Not even a little.