“I was definitely not made for the cold.” Tiago wrapped his arms around himself as they stepped through the knee-high snow.
“You mean Wisconsin isn’t a jaguar’s natural habitat?” Winter wasn’t Aiden’s favorite either, but he appreciated the beauty of the snow-covered woods. Most of the forest was sleeping, the hum of energy he’d gotten used to in the warmer months was now little more than a whisper.
“Heh. The wolves love this. And the werebear. They give me crap in Practical Senses about how useless my fur is.” Tiago’s breath fogged in the air. “You know what jaguar paws were really not made for? Running over snow.”
Aiden bit his lip, picturing Tiago in animal form as he floundered through the snow.
They reached their favorite clearing. Several snow angels dotted the area, most of them crossed with tracks both human and animal. They used to use the clearing for practicing their magical skills, but there hadn’t been much practicing over the past few months. Not with magic at least. Spots of packed snow showed where he and Tiago had rolled around on the ground.
“I know something that’ll warm you up.” Aiden reached for Tiago and pulled him into a kiss.
It was actually warmer tonight than it had been the past week, which was why they were out here. It had been too cold even with the lure of a romantic walk and a long make-out session.
Tiago wrapped his hands around Aiden’s waist, pressing them as close as their bulky coats would allow. Their tongues and lips slid against each other, and Aiden started to sweat a little inside his coat. Tiago made this little growly noise that always drove Aiden wild and nipped gently at his lower lip.
“Whoa.”
The voice cut through the night like shattering glass. Aiden stumbled away from Tiago in horror, turning to face the far end of the clearing.
Where Dylan was standing.
He saw us. Oh God, he caught us kissing. No, maybe just saw something but didn’t get a good look. We can explain it; we can convince him it was nothing.
But the shocked look on Dylan’s face said it all. His mouth hung open, eyes wide.
“Um, hi,” Tiago said.
Aiden couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. His chest tightened, heart going a million miles an hour.
Dylan closed his mouth, swallowed. “So, uh…”
It was all over. Dylan was going to be disgusted. Hate him. Never want to talk to him again.
“Please don’t hate me.” And as if things couldn’t get worse, Aiden’s eyes burned with tears.
Dylan blinked. “Why would I hate you?”
“Because you saw…” Aiden’s throat closed and the first tears left cool tracks down his cheeks. Tiago gripped his arm and Aiden stiffened, but what was the point? So he let Tiago pull him into a hug.
Snow crunched, and then Dylan was only a few feet away. “Dude. Is this why you didn’t want to get back together with Hanna?”
“No,” Aiden said against Tiago’s shoulder. “Well, maybe a little.” He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Clinging to Tiago, Aiden’s head tingled and he fought a wave of dizziness. It was hard to breathe, and when he drew a deep lungful of cold air, he choked on a sob.
“Hey, man.” Dylan’s voice, as soft as he’d ever heard it. “It’s okay. We’re cool.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. Aiden turned his head, watching Dylan out of one blurry eye. “Really?” He could barely dare to hope.
Dylan smiled, though it looked a little forced. “Yeah, really. It’s not… what I expected, but I’m not gonna freak out on you, okay?”
The little spark of hope in Aiden grew, as tender as a new leaf. He took half a step away from Tiago and his legs shook. “I-I need to sit down.” Sweat cooled all over his body and a whine rose in his ears. Aiden sagged, and Tiago guided him gently down to the snow.
Aiden blinked to clear the dark spots and tears from his eyes, looking over at Dylan, searching his expression. Dylan looked a little worried. Not like he was trying to hide his disgust. Except for the paranoid fear gnawing at him, Aiden had no reason to doubt what Dylan had said.
Tiago kept an arm around him, his boyfriend’s body an anchor of support. “You okay?”
“Had a little panic attack. It’s going away now.” Aiden’s voice shook. He focused on taking regular breaths and not frantic little sips of air.
Tiago kissed his damp forehead. “Okay.”
Something crossed Dylan’s face, a slight tightening around his eyes. Grossed out? Confused? “Um, sorry for making you freak out.”
“What are you doing out here?” Tiago asked. It sounded a bit demanding.
Dylan’s eyes tightened again, but this time it was an expression Aiden knew well—a flash of anger. But Dylan got it under control. “I thought it would be fun to sneak up on you guys. I thought you were practicing, not”—he waved a hand—“doing that.”
A hysterical giggle escaped Aiden, and Dylan smiled.
Tiago tightened his arm around Aiden. “So we’re all cool? ’Cause if not, I’m gonna have to kick your ass.”
Aiden tensed, but Dylan only laughed. “Relax, Cat Boy. I’m not a homophobe.” He shrugged, turning uncertain. “It might take a little getting used to. Were you really scared I’d freak out?”
Aiden nodded. Dylan was didn’t-hate-him okay, but was he really okay okay?
Dylan scooted a little closer and put a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “You’re still my friend no matter what, okay?”
Aiden swallowed against a lump in his throat, but it was the good kind. His eyes stung a little. “Thanks.”
“I was actually jealous of all the time you were spending together.” Dylan snorted. “Turns out you were making out the whole time. No offense, but like, I’m fine with not being part of that.”
The comment got Tiago to chuckle. “Sure you don’t want to join us? You’re pretty hot.”
Dylan flushed bright red. “Uhh…”
“I know, I know. It’s mean to tease the straight boy.” Tiago kissed Aiden’s temple again.
It felt like Tiago was marking his territory, or rubbing it in. And Aiden found that didn’t bother him. What did bother him was the cold snow dampening his pants. “We should get up.”
“Yeah, my ass is freezing.” Tiago helped Aiden up, and they brushed as much snow as they could off their pants.
“I’ll let you get back to… whatever,” Dylan said. “See you tomorrow.”
Giving them privacy or making a retreat?
* * *
The next evening when Dylan picked up Aiden for school, Aiden gave him a shy smile but wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. Sliding into his seat, he huddled in on himself. It probably wasn’t from the cold.
Dylan didn’t want to see Aiden any differently, but he did. It was a big thing to learn about someone. He didn’t want to hurt Aiden’s feelings, but Dylan had so many questions eating at him.
“So you’re gay.” Dylan wanted to smack himself for that awesome opening line.
“No. I still like girls,” Aiden mumbled.
Dylan pondered that for a moment. “So you like girls and guys?”
“Yeah.” Aiden stared out the window.
“Okay.”
They rode in silence for a while. He could practically feel the wall around Aiden, as if he’d cast a barrier spell. Finding Aiden making out with Tiago had been a shock, but like he’d told Aiden, he wasn’t going to freak out about it. It wasn’t a big deal.
Except it was a big deal. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
That got Aiden’s attention. He looked over at Dylan. “I was afraid of how you’d react. What you’d think of me. I didn’t want it to ruin our friendship.”
Dylan gripped the steering wheel and took the next turn a little too hard, anger rising. “You think I’m the kind of asshole that would… would dump you because of that?”
“I didn’t know. Even if there was a tiny chance, I didn’t want to risk it.”
“Well, I’m not, okay? And I’m pissed you wouldn’t trust me with this.”
Aiden sank lower in his seat. “Sorry.”
He looked so pathetic Dylan felt like a jerk for yelling at him. “Guess we can’t go back in time and change things, and I know now, so that’s that.” They pulled up to a stoplight. “I meant what I said. I’m cool with the… you liking guys thing.”
“Thanks.” Aiden looked like he was trying to sink into his coat.
Dylan smacked him. “Hey, knock that off. I’m happy for you, dude.” And he was. A little jealous too. Being dumped by Hanna still stung.
The comment got a little smile out of Aiden.
“So how long have you and Tiago been…” Making out? Dating? “Together?” That was the other part of the shock. Not just his best friend, but his other closest friend too. Dating each other practically under Dylan’s nose.
And Tiago was such a tough guy. No, no. Dylan scolded himself for that line of thinking.
“Since right after you killed the dark fae.” Aiden sat up a little, and his smile brightened. “He actually asked me out in the hospital.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Kind of a life is short thing, you know?”
“So he just asked you out and you said yes?”
“Of course I said yes.” Aiden glanced over. His smile was shy again, but it was a kind of happy shy. “I had a crush on him from the first day I saw him.”
Dylan made another turn, and they were almost at school. “This whole time, and you never said anything to me?”
“I told you—”
Dylan sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” He’d rather have happy Aiden than mopey Aiden. “Did you have a crush on me?” The question popped out before he could stop himself.
The choked sound Aiden made and the way his cheeks turned bright red were answer enough.
Dylan’s mouth dropped open. But instead of being uncomfortable, he was actually… flattered. “Holy shit, you think I’m hot.”
“I-I did. I mean, you are. But it’s not—” Aiden held up his hands as if to fend him off.
Dylan threw back his head and laughed.
The parking lot was mostly full, so Dylan had to search for a space at the far end. When he pulled between a pickup truck and a beat-up Honda, Aiden turned to him.
“Please don’t tell anyone.” The fear was back in his eyes.
“Of course not.” Dylan tried not to get mad that Aiden would even ask that. “You know I can keep a secret.” A reminder to both of them of what they shared.
Aiden nodded and got out. They walked together for a bit through the cold parking lot. “Thank you for being okay with this.”
Dylan told himself it wasn’t worth holding on to his anger. It hurt that Aiden felt like he’d needed to hide this, but being mad at him only made things worse. He wanted Aiden to be comfortable around him. To trust him the next time something like this came up. “No problem.” He patted Aiden on the shoulder.