Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

       Reeve didn’t expect a lot of things to happen in his new digital-life. He didn’t expect to lose The Hollow, he didn’t expect to become a digital clone in a digital simulation, and he didn’t expect to heal his relationships with Adam and Mira.

      …More than any of that noise though, Reeve didn’t expect to get a call tonight at 1:00 AM.

      Groggily, Reeve rubbed his eyes. The sand that formed from his oh-so-restful slumber was wiped away with the side of his fists. He wanted nothing more than to slam his head back onto his malleable pillow and call it a night once more.

      He could easily ignore whoever thought it was a good idea to contact him this damn late. But Reeve wasn’t one to keep his phone on silent for a reason. While he was a loner, he refused to be that type of inaccessible, unreachable friend in the case that someone he cared for needed his aid.

      Whoever was calling Reeve at whatever hour it was (it was definitely more than late enough according to Reeve’s flickering eyes), they had to be in some tough luck; he wasn’t going to ignore that obvious cry for help. He reached for the vibrating phone, and lazily slid it across his nightstand, towards himself. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light of the screen.

      Much to his shock, the person calling him was none other than “Pyro-Nerd”. AKA: Kai. Reeve would’ve much more expected “Johnny Karate” (Adam), “Ariel” (Mira), “Monster High Doll” (Vanessa), or even “Scooby Dope” (Skeet) to call him at this hour. 

      In that same vein, Reeve would’ve expected Kai to call Adam, Mira, Vanessa, or even Skeet for whatever problem Kai supposedly had. Him and Kai were simply way closer to those four than they were to each other. 

      Hell, even Skeet hung out with Kai more than with Reeve; he’s seen Skeet perform some wheelchair wheelies for Kai’s enjoyment.

      But here was Reeve’s phone, displaying the icon Reeve gave Kai’s contact: a picture of Kai with chopsticks for walrus teeth that he couldn’t help but sneak a pic at. Reeve let out a small sigh. Alright! This is odd but whatever! He tried to wave away his apprehension as he accepted the call, but he just couldn’t. He had a bad feeling about this. Something was very, very wrong if Kai was calling him out of the entire friend group at this hour.

      His dread was proven to be sound with the words that greeted him: “What I’m about to ask of you, you have to keep to yourself OK?” Kai’s tone sounded uncharacteristically low. His voice was slightly shaky, like he was trying to keep his emotions under control.

      It set off all sorts of alarms in Reeve’s worrying mind. “…Kai? What happened?”

      Reeve swore he heard a small choke from the phone, but Kai seemed determined to hide whatever his emotions consisted of at the moment. “I-I don’t want to talk about it right now OK?! That’s not what I called you for! I called you because I need your help!”

      “…Okay then?” Reeve hesitantly replied. The guy needed help with something, so Reeve would try to help. “What do you need?” It still irked him though, not knowing the full picture.

      Kai let out a breathy, relieved thank god , and answered Reeve’s burning question. “I’ll text you my address when I hang up. I need you to walk to my house…”

      Reeve blinked at Kai’s request. “Uhm…come again?”

      Kai didn’t repeat himself. He kept going, completely ignoring Reeve’s confusion. “…but only to the front of the gate. Don’t stand in front of it either. There are security cameras and it’ll look suspicious.” He detailed in hushed whispers. “Walk slowly in front of the gate instead, like you’re on a midnight stroll or something. I’ll call you once I see you through my window and give you more info.” 

      Reeve’s recently-awoken brain needed a bit of time to process Kai’s request. So when Kai paused for breath, Reeve was relieved for the opportunity to think…Then Kai resumed while Reeve was still processing. “I’d recommend wearing some sort of hoodie too to conceal your identity better…” Kai suggested. “…but if you’re going to do that, you have to tell me what color it is or I won’t—”

      “Woah woah woah hold the damn phone!” Kai’s request finally clicked in Reeve’s brain, and needless to say Reeve was more bewildered than he had ever been in his life. “Kai what exactly are you planning?!”

      “Like I said, I’ll give you more info when you reach the front of my gate! Just please…god please help me Reeve.” Kai’s voice broke. A sniffle pulled Reeve’s heart-strings. “I…I can’t…” Kai trailed off, leaving Reeve to contemplate his options.

      …Though in the end there really wasn’t an option. Call Reeve a fool, but he would not ignore a…somewhat friend’s cry for help, even if they were being difficult and purposely vague.

      “I…Alright. I’ll help you.” Reeve decided. He carefully peeled off his loc cap and shifted out of his bed, grabbing the purple hoodie he bought three years ago hanging loosely from his closet. It was way oversized back in his freshman year of high-school, but now the hoodie fit him perfectly. “I’ll be wearing a purple hoodie.”

      Kai let out a sigh of relief at the news. “Thank you so much. Alright, I’ll be waiting.” And just like that, Kai had hung up. Reeve’s phone beeped to alert him of this fact.

      It was 1:00 AM. It was dark and cold as hell outside right now. Yet here was Reeve: shutting the front door of his house behind him, barely warm in his old hoodie and taking his first steps to the address Kai had texted him.

      Tonight was going to be a night.

Chapter Text

       Kai’s house was farther from where Reeve lived than he originally thought. Google maps falsely informed him that it would only take forty to forty-five minutes to reach his destination. He was a fast stroller, so he assumed he’d be there by thirty minutes.

       It actually took a little more than an hour to get there. Kai’s neighborhood was hilly and its roads looped and twisted like curly ribbons; neither things were in favor of Reeve’s short legs. Speaking of his legs: the frigid wind nipped his bare knees to where each step was uncomfortable to take. God he should have put on some pants instead of his usual shorts. 

       Sure, Reeve could have just driven there, but where would he park the car? It would be pretty suspicious to just park a car in front of Kai’s gate; suspicion seemed to be the exact opposite of what Kai wanted.

       Why was he out here at 2:00 AM again? Oh yeah, because Kai needed his help. Reeve reminded himself of that in hopes of appeasing his rising frustration. 

       Luckily, his phone delightfully alerted him of his arrival to his destination. Sure enough, upon glancing to the side. There was the esteemed gate with the last name “Parnall” extravagantly etched on the top; a recent renovation that Kai mentioned a month ago at a burger place.

       Reeve, assuming his best “curious passerby” stance, looked beyond the bars of the gate and— Jesus Christ! Adam and Mira seriously weren’t joking when they said Kai was rich off his ass huh? Kai’s property was huge; the modernized mansion alone was the size of an olympic swimming pool. 

       A white gazebo rested in front of the main entrance, and a statue of Kai himself in a toga (That’s kind of weird) proudly stood among the freshly mown grass. Hedges were planted around the property, neatly trimmed. Reeve narrowed his eyes, searching for further detail beyond the gate. Wait…is that a helicopter?! An actual helicopter?!

       Reeve couldn’t stand still for too long; he had to keep moving as Kai instructed earlier. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted Kai his arrival before slowly trodding by Kai’s gate. He lowered his hoodie and observed each darkened window. There was one window that still held a dim light at this hour.

       It wasn’t long until that very window was pulled open. That was Kai’s room; there was no doubt in Reeve’s mind once he saw a familiar red-headed silhouette through the window. Kai jolted upon seeing him, and then disappeared further into the room.

       A few seconds later, Reeve’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled said phone out and answered Kai’s call. “Alright! you’re here.” That was the introduction Reeve was greeted with. Kai sounded much more energetic than he did earlier.

       Reeve shrugged, rubbing the eye-bags under his eyes. “Yeah. I’m here alright. So what next? What’s going on?”

       “You’ll see! Just…let me…finish this up.” Reeve heard the familiar clicking of a keyboard’s keys being abused. He didn’t know what Kai was doing on the other side of that phone, but it definitely had something to do with Kai’s “mechanical intuition” power. Most The Hollow players called it the handyman power, but it encompassed much more than fixing things. Reeve should know. He dappled in most of The Hollow’s powers provided during beta testing. 

       Honestly, the mechanical intuition power was one of Reeve’s favorites and used to be one of his go-tos, but he didn’t think it would fit the playstyle he and Skeet and Vanessa were going for with the Gen-5 map, so he didn’t pick it. Kai was lucky he got stuck with that power, although Reeve did like his telekinesis too.

       “Aaaaaaand…done!” Kai exclaimed, smashing one final button. Reeve raised an eyebrow at first, unsure of what exactly Kai did; his confusion was soon cleared when his ears picked up a sharp buzzing sound from above.

       Reeve twirled on his heels. His head swung in every direction for the source of the noise. He finally found it in one of the security cameras situated nearby Kai’s gate. The camera was smoking and emitted small volts of electricity; it wasn’t going to look out for any more trouble for the rest of the night.

       “They’re broken right? The security cameras?” Questioned Kai with anticipation from Reeve’s phone. 

       It took Reeve a few seconds to get over the shock and give an answer. “...Yeah.” He confirmed for Kai: the tech wizard on the other side of his phone. Excellent use of his power; Kai knew of mechanical intuition’s diverse utility as Reeve did.

       …Ah. Utility. Mechanics. Skeet would chuckle at that pun.

       “Yes!” Kai exclaimed joyfully. Kai fist pumped at that moment; Reeve could feel it in his bones. “Ok! Ok! Give me a bit to delete footage of the last ten minutes, then wait outside the gate! I’ll come get you!” Kai shortly hung up on Reeve.

       Letting out a sigh, Reeve leaned his back against the gate and waited impatiently. When was Kai going to explain the situation to him? He just wanted some damn answers already! Ugh, no, wait. He needs to keep his cool. Everything is fine; he’ll get his answers eventually, surely.

       Reeve tried to alleviate his stress by massaging his temples. You’re Reeve Barima! You can handle this! Those were words Reeve was sure Skeet would be saying to him right now. No doubt if Skeet still had working legs, he would have carried Reeve over here faster than a cheetah. Reeve should have called Skeet and wheeled him along anyways; Skeet usually had something amusing to say to lighten the mood—

       A metallic creak tore Reeve away from his thoughts. The gate opened inwards without any human assistance, which told Reeve that it was an electric gate. He then heard tires against the road. Reeve saw something black hurtling towards him. Was that…?

       …A limo! A limo from Kai’s mansion hurtling towards him! Reeve let out an involuntary shriek and hastened away from the moving vehicle. His judgement was poor, however, due to his sleep deprivation; he ran in a straight line away from the limo rather than move out of the damn way.

       Therefore when Reeve slammed his body against a brick fence on the other side of Kai’s road and was still in the limo’s way? Reeve thought he was actually going to die. He got to witness the whole theater show of his life and everything.

       Thank his luck, however, that the limo swerved out of the way in the nick of time. It screeched to a sudden halt, narrowly scraping against the brick fence. Reeve would live to see another day.

       Kai sure wouldn’t, though. Not when Reeve was done with him. Reeve glared at Kai with murderous intent as Kai: the reckless idiot, kicked the car door open and jumped out of the driver’s seat. He was warmly dressed; a colorblock jacket hugged his body and wooly gloves covered his fingers. “Oh my god! Are you ok?!” Kai panted. His panic was reasonable, considering he almost ran over a guy.

       Reeve raised an eyebrow; that was the stupidest question he had ever heard. “No! I’m not ok!” He loudly exclaimed. His hand pointed accusatorily at Kai. “My life literally flashed before my eyes! Do you even know how to drive?!”

       “Of course I don’t! I’m fourteen!” Kai answered, extending his arms out and presenting himself in all his freshman-year glory. Reeve’s anger rubbed Kai the wrong way, and now he was shouting with just as much volume. “That’s why I called you! You’re the only one in the group that has a driver’s license! I’m sorry I almost hit you, ok?!”

       Reeve’s adrenaline wore off. With a clearer state of mind he decided to cut Kai some slack. He let out a long, exaggerated sigh. “Alright. Alright, I forgive you. Jesus Christ man just slam the damn breaks next time. You’ll get major whiplash but at least you won’t risk crashing the lim…o…Oh.”

       And then it dawned on Reeve that Kai wanted him to drive a limo.

       A limo. “Kai, I don’t think I can drive—” 

       “I’m sure you can, Reeve. You’re great with cars!” Kai shrugged off Reeve’s protest. “You’re great at driving them, I mean. Unlike me; I don’t know why my handyman power includes the ability to fly a spaceship but not the ability to drive a car. That’s dumb! If I can repair a car I should be able to…” Kai went off on a tangent that Reeve partially listened to. Yeah, Reeve agreed; that was stupid. Then again, The Hollow’s superpowers weren’t exactly built for The Hollow Life. There were bound to be some incompatibilities.

       Kai paused in the middle of his rant. “…Sorry, getting sidetracked.” He refocused on the task at hand and shrugged his shoulders. “Driving a limo can’t be too different from driving a normal car, right?”

       Well, yes but also no. Planning your turns was much easier with a rectangular car than a car the length of a noodle. Reeve was a confident driver, but he had never driven a limo before and if he crashed one it could put his family in a lifetime of debt.

       Reeve knew there would be no point in explaining all of that to Kai, however; Kai wouldn’t understand the fears of the working class. So Reeve gave in to Kai’s wishes. Now he was sweating bullets as he started the engine and placed his hands on the fancy leather steering wheel. Don’t fail him now, drivers ed.

       He drove down the roads at 10 miles per hour under the 20-mile speed limit; Kai didn’t say he was in a hurry, so Reeve had time to acquaint himself with the luxury vehicle. The seats were plush and colored a vibrant red, and there were cup holders galore. Ooooooh god Reeve would be screwed if he dented this thing. “So, mind telling me what’s the destination of our 2:00 AM trip?” Reeve inquired Kai, who sat at the backmost seat with a large duffel bag on his lap. Huh, what was up with that bag?

       Kai, expecting this question, pushed the suspicious duffel bag to the side and crawled up to Reeve. He pulled out his phone and let Reeve glance at the chosen destination on google maps. 

       Reeve saw coordinates instead of a street name. Apparently, they were heading to the middle of nowhere tonight.

       “There’s an abandoned asylum right here, in the middle of the woods.” Kai explained to an astonished Reeve. “Vanessa found it on one of her early morning flights and showed me a few pictures she took of it. We’re gonna go there.”

       …Kai had to be joking. “You’re telling me that you: Kai Parnall…” Reeve inhaled deeply and rubbed his temples as he came upon an intersection and made a slow, anxiety-inducing turn. “Kai I screamed bloody murder at the snap of a twig Parnall—”

       “Hey!” Kai squeaked defensively. He did not appreciate being called a coward.

       “Wants to go to the creepy abandoned asylum at 2:00 am.” Reeve shook his head, bewildered to the point of amusement. No! No way! Who was he driving right now? This wasn’t Kai!

       “I can handle it! I’m not as much of a wimp as you think I am!” Kai whined, clutching onto the top of Reeve’s seat.

       “Ok! Uh-huh! Sure!” Reeve wheezed. Everyone knew for a fact that Kai would whimper at the wind if it made a particularly spooky howl. “So pray, tell me Kai. Why do you want to go to an abandoned asylum in the middle of the woods at 2:00 am?”

       “Well…” Kai mumbled, unusually focused on the map on his phone. “…I’m moving there.”

       …Reeve slammed the breaks faster than he ever had in his life.

Chapter Text

       The limo’s sudden halt had Kai clutching the back of the seat next to Reeve. Kai gasped in shock and he, after recuperating and checking to make sure his phone didn’t break when he dropped it, faced and glared at Reeve. “Hey! What—”

       “You’re what?!” Reeve roared, his eyes narrowing at Kai. Reeve couldn’t believe what he just heard!

       Kai gulped. “I’m, uh, I’m moving there!” He repeated after finding the courage to speak again. “Leaving my parent’s place! forging my own path! You know?” Kai attempted to laugh things off, like what he was planning to do wasn’t that big of a deal.

       “You’re running away from home!” Reeve corrected, loudly, slamming his hand against the wheel. Did Kai actually properly think this through?! Did he think at all?! Did he have any idea how reckless and dangerous his so-called plan was?!

       “I’m not…! Well, um…” A defeated sigh escaped Kai’s throat. He clutched onto his arm and bit his lip. “Yeah, I am but you don’t need to worry about it! We’re in Hollow Life! I have fire powers for crying out loud! I can take care of myself—”

       “Alright then! Food! Water! How are you going to get those?” Reeve challenged Kai, his eyes refusing to wander away from Kai’s nervous grin. “If you’re so damn confident about this, show me how much you’ve thought this through!”

       Kai pointed at a river on the map displayed on his slightly cracked phone. “There’s a river near the asylum! I’m gonna refill the water bottles I brought with me in that duffel bag!” Kai pointed to the ugly army green duffel bag previously pushed aside; it was brimming with god knows what. “I brought tons of food and snacks too! When I run out, I’ll buy more! I have thousands in cash! I’m still loaded! It’ll last me a while!”

       Reeve face-palmed. “First off, you have no idea what’s in that river! You wanna know what kind of diseases you can get from drinking contaminated water?! Cholera! Dysentery! E. coli! The list goes on!” Reeve stuck a finger out for every illness he named. Then that hand closed into a fist and rested on the steering wheel. “Second off, what happens if you run out of that money?! What then?!”

       Kai’s gaze nervously shifted between Reeve and the floor of the limo. “That won’t happen—”

       “Answer my question, Kai!” Reeve demanded. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel again.

       Kai huffed and bit his cheek. “Then I’ll hunt for food! I’ll scavenge for berries and shoot down deer with a single fiery bullet from my finger!” He formed one of his hands into a pistol and ignited a flame at the tip of his pointing finger. “If I’m really desperate, I’ll get a job!”

       “Look me in the eyes and tell me you have the guts to shoot down a 200 lb buck for food, let alone have the skills to cook out the salmonella in the meat!” Reeve narrowed his eyes at Kai. When Kai refused to meet Reeve’s gaze in response, Reeve knew he won. “That’s what I thought! You’d probably be high on nightshade while you’re at it because you sure as hell ain't no boy scout like Adam with his ninety badges!”

       “I can learn!” Kai argued. His self-defense was rushed and shoddy. “I can—”

       Reeve didn’t let Kai get another word in, he kept going before Kai could finish. “Also, who’s going to hire you?! You're fourteen! Legally, no respectable business can actually get you a job! You'd have to work under-the-table and they’ll definitely exploit you using that!”

       Kai’s hands balled up into fists. His tight frown wobbled and tears brimmed his eyes. “I’m not stupid. I know what I’m doing! You don’t know anything!” He accused Reeve.

       Reeve, guilty for shouting tears out of Kai, lowered his tone significantly. “Listen, I’m sorry.” Reeve pulled Kai closer to himself and firmly held Kai by his shoulders. “I’m just trying to drill into your thick skull how in over your head you are. There’s a lot more concerns here: heating and air conditioning, electricity, sanitation. You’re gonna have to say goodbye to all of those too.” 

       Kai didn’t say anything. He just glared at his feet. Reeve took the opportunity to finish presenting his case. “You can’t just give up your pampered manor life to be homeless in the forest. Do you have any idea how much danger you’re putting yourself in?”  Reeve shook Kai by his shoulders. “Jesus Kai! use your brain and think about this! Your parents would be worried—”

       “My parents couldn’t care less about me!” Kai’s outburst startled Reeve so much that he leaned his body away from the red-head, raising his hands defensively in the air. The limo’s engine growled within the silence that followed.

       Tears streaked down Kai’s cheeks. “…I’m just a doll for them to control.” His voice broke with every word. He wiped his eyes with his wrists. “They don’t actually love me.” Kai sharply inhaled through his nose and shuffled to the back seat of the limo, seating himself and curling up into a ball.

       Reeve winced at Kai’s words. His hands clung onto the steering wheel with a tight grip. Reeve had an idea of what happened to Kai tonight. “Did you and your parents…?”

       “Fight?” Kai, his head buried into his knees, strained a chuckle. “Yeah. I’m not going to forgive them this time. What happened tonight, er, well, last night I guess…” He stumbled over words; dating events at 2:00 AM could be difficult. “…That was the last straw.”

       Reeve let out a small sigh. He stared at the street lights illuminating the darkened roads. Yikes. One big argument convinced Kai to run away from home? What kind of drama would cause such a split between parent and child? Reeve had heard that Kai’s mom and dad often fought, but he didn’t know Kai would get caught in the crossfire himself, on occasion 

       “You…” Reeve trailed off, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. Should he even ask? Was it any of his business? “You want to talk about it?” Could Reeve even help?

       “No.” Kai’s instant rejection caught Reeve off guard. He thought Kai would want to rant all about what happened between him and his parents. Then again, if that were the case, then Reeve would have heard all about it by now from Kai’s very mouth.

       Reeve didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to do at all. He obviously couldn’t drive Kai to the abandoned asylum like Kai wanted him too, but Reeve’s gut-feeling advised Reeve to not drive Kai back to his home either. After all, if Kai was willing to hack and break security cameras to escape undetected…God, now that Reeve thinks about it, Kai probably would’ve tried to drive the limo himself if Reeve had refused to help, wouldn’t he?

       But what else could Reeve do? Kai had nowhere else to go…and then, it hit Reeve then and there. There was only one thing he could do that would sit right with him. His foot carefully pressed against the gas pedal.

       Kai raised his head up like a deer in the headlights. The moving limo sent Kai into panic. “…Reeve? Reeve! Please don’t drive me back! Please!” He begged Reeve, hugging his knees closer to his chest. “Reeve! Please—”

       “I’m not ratting you out. Don’t worry.” Reeve reassured Kai. He had a boost in confidence while driving this limo; he was going a whole 18 miles-per-hour, now!

       Turn after turn, the sprawling country club was left behind for the denser, more populous neighborhoods in Hollow Life. Kai was deeply on edge by the time the limo parked inside a small garage. The limo barely fit; the tail was inches apart from the garage door.

       Kai was confused when Reeve opened the car door on his side, quietly beckoning for Kai to exit the vehicle with his things. They were stopping here? Why? This wasn’t a police station. This was a house, a house that wasn’t Kai’s. He decided to just do as he was told. Kai grabbed the straps of the duffel bag and pulled with all his might. Clumsily, he lugged the duffel bag out of the limo. 

       Reeve quickly grew frustrated with Kai dragging his heavy duffel bag across the floor, so Reeve stuck his hand out and carried the bag in the air with his telekinesis, lifting the burden from Kai. How…nice of Reeve?

       To the left of Kai, there was a wooden door. Reeve opened the door and him, the duffel bag, and then Kai entered the room on the other side. At Kai’s left was a green couch in front of a large box TV, which stood on top of a walnut-toned TV stand. There were two gaming consoles in the shelves of the stand, both Kai recognized as older models. 

       Further to the left, Kai saw a larger wooden door with a frosted glass panel. A welcome mat laid close by. Ah, that must be the front door. A couple pairs of shoes rested by the wall on the right. All of the shoes were sneakers of some sort.

       Kai focused back on the TV. There was a tall lamp next to it on the right with a slightly tilted red shade. Reeve flipped a light switch with his telekinesis, flickering the lamp on and revealing bright beige walls and a freshly-vacuumed burgundy carpet. Whatever this place was, to Kai, it wasn’t very fancy.

       Reeve dropped the duffel bag from the air onto the couch. “This is the living room.” Reeve explained to the nervous Kai, gesturing to their surroundings. Kai awkwardly shuffled to the couch, placing his hands on the armchair closest to the garage door. The texture of the couch was not plush like the ones back home. The material was ribbed and rough.

       Then Reeve pointed to what was now Kai’s left. “The kitchen is the doorway over here.” He further informed Kai. Kai definitely saw a kitchen in the shadows past that door frame. He couldn't make out many details due to how dark it was there. 

       Reeve kept going. “The laundry room is to your right by the lamp. It’s next to the bathroom.” He pointed past Kai, who whipped his head and narrowed his eyes at the doorway by the lamp, hiding its contents within its extreme darkness. 

       The doorway was near a corner, and following that corner to its other wall revealed a wooden door near the laundry room, like Reeve advertised. There was a sign hanging from the knob that said “Bathroom Available” On one side. Kai assumed the other side told the opposite story.

       “Alright, let me show you upstairs.” Reeve urged Kai to follow him up a set of stairs far to the right of the bathroom. Kai, hesitantly, followed Reeve up those crickets steps. Upon reaching the top, he found a small beige hallway of wooden doors to the left of him. There was one door at the right wall, a door at the opposing wall, and a door between the two at the end of the hall. 

       Reeve and Kai walked past the two doors on their sides, the right one having a “Do Not Disturb” sign, and opened the door at the end of the hall. A tiny bedroom with grey walls greeted Kai’s vision. 

       It was about as small as Kai’s personal bathroom, which Adam and Mira said was larger than a regular bathroom. Speaking of personal bathrooms, where was the personal bathroom for this bedroom? It doesn’t seem to have one. Huh, that was weird. Even Mira’s house had personal bathrooms.

       “This is the guest room. It can be yours for the time being.” Reeve concluded. Before Kai could even process the implications of that sentence, Reeve kept talking. “Sorry if it’s not up to your usual standards. My family isn’t loaded like yours. We make do with what we have. Anyways, I’ll carry your duffel bag up here so you can unpack your things and—”

       “Wait, what?” Kai slurred, interrupting Reeve and catching his attention. Kai stood in front of the guest bedroom and fidgeted in place, refusing to take a step inside until he understood what was actually going on. There’s no way. There is absolutely no way… “Reeve? Who’s…who’s house is this?”

       Reeve raised an eyebrow at Kai, like what Kai asked was the dumbest question he ever heard. “My house. Duh.” He answered what seemed to him to be an obvious fact.

       Pure silence filled the hallway. Kai and Reeve stared at each other, Kai with shock, and the other with puzzlement.

       Eventually, Kai broke the silence with a sniffle. “…Thank you.” He choked out. He shed a tear, and then another. Soon Kai was sobbing and wiping away his tears right in front of Reeve, who rushed to Kai's side. “Thank you so much!” Kai cried out.

       Reeve reached for Kai’s shoulder, but he stopped himself halfway. He retreated his hand, and rubbed his own arm. “This is only until my parents come back from their business trip in a few months.” He explained, staring off to the side. “You’ll have to figure out what you’re going to do before then.”

       Kai couldn’t care less about the time-limit, not in that moment. He was just relieved. He was relieved he didn’t have to go back home, for now. “Thank you.” He expressed his sincerity once again.

       “You’re fine, Kai.” Reeve huffed. He didn’t know what else to say to Kai; Reeve didn’t know Kai all that well. The two were barely bordering between distant companions and good acquaintances.

       “…Welcome home.” Was all Reeve could come up with. He strained a smile at the happily weeping Kai.

Chapter Text

      Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. That insistent, annoying sound from Kai’s phone awoke the red-head from his deep slumber. He growled in frustration not only at the echo of a bell, but from the sun’s blinding rays casted through a bedroom window. 

      Kai yanked the phone from the nearby nightstand. His eyes still blurry, he could barely see the color of the ceiling. A moment passed, and he noticed it was an unfamiliar warm grey instead of the usual tyrian purple of his bedroom.

      He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Kai’s eyes peered down at his phone screen, where dozens upon dozens of text notifications from his parents harshly reminded him of last night’s decision. Kai’s heart raced with instinctual fear.

      That fear was replaced with frustration as he scrolled through the mountains of texts piled up from the past few hours. Texts like “Tell us your location this instant!”, “You’re being disrespectful!”, and “We did not raise you like some hooligan!” It made Kai’s blood boil, especially with what happened the night before. Of course his parents weren’t sorry! They only thought of themselves and their public image!

      Without a second thought, he tsked and blocked his mom and dad’s numbers. That was when he finally noticed the time: 9 o’clock. He wouldn’t usually wake up this early, but his body wasn’t used to his new environment: Reeve’s house.

      Kai stuffed his thankfully silent phone in his jean pocket. He didn’t even bother to change into his pajamas last night. He had been too exhausted at the time. He took a moment to observe his surroundings. The guest bedroom had already devolved into Kai’s brand of chaos. All of Kai’s clothes were piled up on one spot of the bed, which had been disturbed by Kai last night no doubt while he shifted in his sleep. Some of the clean clothes fell to the rugged carpet floor.

      As for the duffel bag Kai brought with him, that was thrown in a corner of the room, open and still stuffed with all sorts of junk: toiletries and snacks, his laptop, video games and their accompanied consoles, cash, and some miscellaneous items.

      Kai sighed and slid off the guest bed. He reached for the window curtains and closed them, dimming the room and relieving his eyes. Then he gathered the courage to open the bedroom door and slowly descend the creaking stairs. 

      Every groan the worn steps choked when under Kai’s feet worsened his anxiety; and he was already anxious just being in Reeve’s house. The sights and smells weren’t anything like his mansion. This didn’t feel like home. Kai almost felt like he was trespassing even though he wasn’t.

      He made it though. He made it to the finish line: the end of the stairs. Kai found the living room in all its barebones glory. The box TV was flashing an assortment of colors. In front of that screen was Reeve himself, still in his pajamas and button-mashing his PlayBase controller like his life depended on winning his second round of Fatal Kombat.

      Kai watched in uncomfortable silence for a while; witnessing Reeve’s main (Keras, an immortal artificial construct with glowing eyes), kick and punch Max Briggs (a cybernetically enhanced soldier) to dust. The opponent hardly had the time to make a move. Reeve predictably won the fight with a rather high score.

      That was so cool! Kai admired Reeve’s talent silently to himself. Then his stomach rumbled, and Kai’s enthusiasm was immediately killed by hunger. Although Kai had food upstairs, it was all junk food he stole from his kitchen in a haste, so none of it would be particularly filling. 

      He wanted to ask Reeve if there was anything to eat in the kitchen, but he couldn’t find the confidence to actually ask. Therefore, Kai stood at the foot of the stairs with words stuck in his throat. Until, that is, when Reeve lowered his controller and faced Kai. Reeve acknowledging Kai’s presence startled Kai half to death. He jumped and squeaked, burying himself further into the wall.

      Reeve blinked and tilted his head at Kai’s reaction. “You’ve been standing there for a few minutes now. You need something?” He tapped his thumb against the game controller.

      Kai blushed, realizing Reeve knew he had been watching the whole time. “H-how did you—”

      “I heard you come down the stairs.” Reeve answered Kai’s question before he even finished it. “They creak louder than a haunted house.” He chuckled at his own comment.

      Kai bit his lip and played with his shirt sleeves. He wished he had a distraction for the anxiety coursing in his veins. “…I…I was wondering if there’s anything I can eat here?”

      Reeve frowned at this question. Kai was worried he might have upset Reeve, but Reeve seemed more puzzled than anything with how he addressed Kai’s question. “…Why don’t you just cook whatever food you brought with you?” He prodded.

      Kai sucked a heap full of breath in. “…It’s all just snacks.” Kai sighed out. He thinned his lips and stared intently at the oh-so-interesting floor.

      “…So you don’t actually have food.” Reeve deadpanned. His eyelids lowered and his frown deepened. Kai could feel the disappointment radiating off of Reeve. Whether it was due to Kai’s poor preparations, or him just lying to Reeve; Kai didn’t know.

      Either way, Kai huffed and nodded his head in defeat. Reeve in response tsked and furrowed his eyebrows at the character selection screen, thinking. After a few moments he faced Kai once more. “I ate the last of leftovers last night. I can make you something if you want?”

      Although Kai’s growling stomach wasn’t against the idea, Kai was. “You don’t have to!“ Cooking for Kai was a job reserved for his butler, Davis. Kai wouldn’t want to inconvenience someone with minimal culinary training; he had tastes, very specific tastes. “I can try to whip up something for myself—”

      “You know what? Sit down on the couch.” Reeve concluded, turning off his PlayBase and his TV. “I’m making you pancakes. You probably don’t know how to cook. You have a butler for that stuff, right?”

      “Yeah but…I don’t know if you could make something that I’d eat.” Kai shrugged his shoulders and stared off to the side, scratching his head. “I don’t think you’re bad at cooking or anything! But I’m kind of particular about my food.”

      Reeve raised an eyebrow at Kai as he walked past Kai, towards the kitchen. “This ain't a picky eater household. You eat what’s on your plate.” He said firmly to Kai with a flat tone and opened one of the cupboards; grabbing the pancake mix and cooking spray. “Besides, you can’t go wrong with pancakes.”

      Kai couldn’t help but agree with Reeve. “I guess you can’t.” He shuffled towards the kitchen entrance, taking in the small,green-toned kitchen. “Unless the pancakes are too brown, or too light, or there’s too much syrup, or too little. Um, are you sure I can’t try to cook instead? I know how I like my pancakes.” He reached his hands out for the ingredients at a distance. “Don’t add too much milk please—“

      “Easy there firecracker. See if you can put your faith in me.” He poured the pancake ingredients into a mixing bowl and stirred the mixture in his arms. He pointed the batter-dipped spoon at Kai. “Besides, I’m not risking a house fire by putting you in charge of the kitchen.”

      Kai slowly smirked at Reeve’s response “Um, hello! I could set your house on fire without touching a single pan!” He exclaimed with falsely-placed pride, igniting a small flame in his hands.

      Reeve wasn’t that impressed. “Put that out please? I don’t trust those butter-fingers of yours.” Following Reeve’s words, a spark flew out of Kai’s fiery hand and landed on the living room carpet. It was hot enough to kindle a tiny flame. Kai, in a state of panic, stomped the flame out. 

      When he was done, Kai frowned at the eye-twitching Reeve, who had finished mixing the pancake batter. “Are you saying I’m clumsy?” Kai accused, trying his best to pretend the accident never happened.

      “Obviously.” Reeve responded, pouring the batter onto the griddle and pulling out a spatula from one of the counter drawers. He didn’t elaborate further, and the brief answer stabbed at Kai’s pride.

      Kai crossed his arms, leaned against the side of the doorway, and huffed. “…Why are you always so mean to me?” He whined.

      Reeve, flipping one of the pancakes, froze. He turned his head to witness the dejected redhead leaning against the doorway. This happened a lot with the people Reeve wasn’t very close with. He knew he could come off as cold and spiteful to strangers and acquaintances, but he wasn’t any of those things, he cared about people a lot. He cared too much, unfortunately.

      Kai was more sensitive than the average person. Adam, Mira and Vanessa reminded Reeve of that every time he made an unintentionally offhand comment.

      Reeve needed to be more self-aware, for Kai’s sake. “…Hey, I’m sorry.” He spoke softer, trying to remove the gruffness in his voice. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. This is just kind of how I am. Trust me; if I didn’t like you, you would know.”

      “I know.” Kai spat out. He briefly glared at Reeve before focusing his eyes on his feet. He refused to look at Reeve’s face. “I haven’t forgotten how much of a jerk you were to me before Hollow Life.”

      Reeve’s eyes widened as the memories of the desert and the ice castle came rushing back. He had nearly forgotten about it all! One of the most distinctive events he could recall was nearly smashing Kai to the ground with a giant cactus, just to prove his superiority.

      Jesus Christ. Reeve never apologized for that. “God. I’m so sorry about…everything I did to you back then!” Reeve passionately exclaimed. He clutched his forehead and shook his head; he was disgusted with his old self and his destructive insecurities. “I was in a bad place at the time, but that didn’t mean I had the right to take it out on you. All of us, well, except Vanessa, were scared and confused during that game, and I was only thinking about myself.”

      Kai was surprised by Reeve’s genuine apology. He gazed at the sincere telekinetic with a slightly gaping mouth. Reeve continued. “Look, I know we had kind of a rough start but I really do want to be your friend.” He admitted with a small smile on his face. “I think you’re a cool guy. A bit of a doofus, but a cool guy nonetheless.” 

      Reeve’s compliment shocked Kai to his core. His face flushed, flattered by Reeve’s words. Maybe…Maybe Reeve wasn’t as much of a jerk as Kai thought. Not that he still hated the guy. He knew Reeve could be cool, as Reeve was friends with Adam and Mira. Kai just…never fully let go of the past.

      But considering Reeve finally apologized for what he did, Kai was more willing to let Reeve in. “I…You’re…” Kai was at a loss for words. “Uh, thank you.”

      Reeve’s awkward smile was replaced by a joyful grin. “…No problem.”

      “…Um, Reeve? I don’t think pancakes are supposed to smoke like that.” Kai pointed out the noxious, grey steam coming from the simmering pan. Reeve, upon noticing his cooking error, cursed under his breath and flipped the pancakes. They were burnt to a crisp.

      Kai noted Reeve’s defeated expression as he reached for the temperature knob of the griddle. He was giving up, or perhaps he was going to clean the surface of the griddle and start a new batch.

      But Kai protested, grabbing Reeve’s arm in haste before he could turn off the griddle. “I’ll still eat it! It’s fine!” He tried to convince Reeve with a strained smile. “It’s uh…it’s like you said, right? I eat what’s on my plate in this house.”

      Reeve’s eyes bulged out of his head at Kai’s suggestion. “…You?” He pointed at the doofus, and then pointed to the pancakes straight from hell’s kitchen. “Eat these?”

      Kai, glancing once more at the ruined pancakes, swallowed his fear and reluctantly nodded. “Yep! I will!” He wanted to gag at the mere thought of putting the flat charcoal in his mouth, but Reeve put time and effort into the abominations, and wasting food wasn’t his favorite thing to do.

      Reeve shook his head in disbelief; but turned the griddle back on. “You goddamn heathen.” He hissed in disgust.

      This time, Kai could see past Reeve’s aggression. He found the worry hidden in Reeve’s tone. “Says the guy who bites candy canes…come on, I’ll be fine, Reeve!” He playfully assured the telekinetic. Deep inside, Kai hoped to whatever digital god that was out there that he would survive his god-awful breakfast.

Chapter Text

     “Oh, um. Good morning? Sorry, I forgot to say that earlier.” Kai’s awkward morning greeting earned a small chuckle out of Reeve. He could tell that Kai was regretting his decision to eat the burnt pancakes. He chewed slowly with increasing discomfort on Reeve’s couch and watched Reeve finish another fight in Fatal Kombat. Once again, Reeve was the winner.

      “I warned you about those pancakes.” Reeve wasn’t normally one to say he told someone so, but he could make an exception for the stubborn redhead by his side.

      “What are you talking about?!” Kai shouted defensively, scarfing down another big bite, and shivering in disgust. “They taste…great!” He tearfully choked out.

      Reeve only rolled his eyes, and switched his opponent on the character selection screen. He was just about to start a new round with his main and The Jester—

      Ding dong. Both Reeve and Kai tensed up at the doorbell’s call. They stared at each other for five seconds, and then eyed the door distrustfully.

      “…Go to the stairs.” Reeve urged Kai. For once, Kai did not protest out of a spirit of rebellion or false bravado. He did what he was told; he set his dish on the couch and tip-toed speedily towards the stairs as Reeve cautiously approached his front door.

      Reeve peaked through the peephole of the door to see who it was. He sighed in relief when he saw Adam and Mira in front of the door, waiting to be invited inside. 

      Reeve forgot that today was a Sunday. Sundays were competition days. Him, Adam and Mira would be playing against each other in Fatal Kombat. Whoever got the most wins got to pick where they were going to eat for the afternoon. “It’s just Adam and Mira.” Reeve whispered to Kai with his thumbs up.

      Kai, however, was not as joyful at the news as Reeve thought he would be. “So?!” He harshly whispered back, splaying his arms out and presenting himself to Reeve. “Don’t you think me being in your house would be a bit suspicious?!”

      “You don’t want them to know?!” Reeve motioned his hands frantically at the door. The Doorbell rang once more. Crap!

      “No! Not yet anyways! You know how they would react to my situation! I can’t deal with that right now!” Kai stomped his foot and exclaimed. “I’m going upstairs! Tell me when they’re gone!” 

      Before Reeve could say any more, Kai raced up the stairs and disappeared. Thinking on it further, Kai had a point; Adam and Mira were the mom friends of the group. They’d have a lot to say about Kai running away so recklessly.

      The third doorbell tolled. Reeve knew he couldn’t keep Mira and Adam waiting for much longer. He opened the door with a strained, friendly smile. “Hey guys! How’ve you two been?” He greeted Mira and Adam, who were decked in their usual aesthetics. Mira wore a pink and cyan jacket with her pale green top, while Adam wore a simple checkered T-shirt under a grey button up.

      “Hey Reeve! We’ve been doing great!” Mira answered back; giving Reeve a friendly hug and entering the house. “How’ve you been?”

      “Fine as usual.” Reeve shrugged with a lazy smirk. He hoped the bags under his eyes weren’t too noticeable. “A bit tired though. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

      “Really?” Exclaimed Adam, who came up from behind Reeve and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “What kept you up last night?”

      Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum went Reeve’s heart. The warmth from Adam’s arm heated Reeve’s face. “Ah…Nothing was really uh…bothering me last night. I just couldn’t sleep.”

      “You sure?” Adam prodded. His smile faltered as Reeve began to shift away.

      “Really, I’m fine!” Reeve reassured Adam once more and freed himself from Adam’s touch. Something about Adam’s affection had been bothering him lately. Geez, can he get a grip on himself? “Now let’s play some Fatal Kombat! I’ve polished my fighting strategy and there’s no way I’m losing!” He gloated, hoping the distraction with ease his thumping heart.

      His wish was granted, but not for long “Oh yeah? Hahaha! I’ve been practicing a bit myself! Let’s see what you got!” Adam challenged. Adam’s chuckle did something to Reeve, and now his heart was beating twice as fast, and was it just him or did the sound of Adam’s laughter make him absurdly happy?

      Regardless of whatever was going on with Reeve, he smiled wide, accepting the duel eagerly. Reeve loved playing games with Adam. Winning or losing, it didn’t really matter to him as much anymore. What mattered the most was that he was doing it with Adam.

      “Have fun fighting for second place, you two!” Mira taunted, one of the controllers already in Their hands. “Because I’m going to win this round! Reeve! You and me…first…” Mira trailed off. They inspected the slice of burnt pancake on the abandoned plate lying on the couch. “Oh wow. That pancake looks a little…?” Mira was squeamish just looking at it. Reeve could tell by how scrunched up Their face was.

      Adam raised an eyebrow and walked over to see what Mira was talking about. He winced at the disaster pancakes. “Jeeeez! that looks…delicious.” His sarcasm was blatant.

      Reeve’s mind ran in circles. He tried to think of some kind of excuse for the ungodly pancake concoction as his best friends eyed the said concoction, and then turned to him for an explanation.

      Then Reeve found the excuse he was looking for. “I was too lazy to make a better batch, so I sucked it up and ate it.” Reeve blurted out. That seemed understandable enough? Cooking was a process, and sometimes you just want to give up and eat what you have…not that Reeve would ever, ever do that; he was too uptight with his cooking.

      Mira and Adam recognized that fact, because they didn’t seem to buy Reeve’s explanation. Mira raised an eyebrow at his obvious lie. “Reeve, we all know you're kind of a perfectionist when it comes to cooking. You wouldn’t eat this if you were paid in cold hard cash!”

      Adam agreed with Mira, based on the nodding. Then his attention was stolen by something else in the house. Reeve followed their gaze, only to notice with dread the black Timberland boots resting by the garage door. Black Timberland boots that definitely weren’t his own.

      “Reeve, are you hiding something from us?” Adam wondered, tapping Mira’s shoulder and pointing at the clue he noticed. “…Or someone?” He specified his question, a teasing smirk on his face.

      “Are you…are you serious? Of course not!“ Reeve was so taken aback by the accusation that he coughed for breath. “I’m the lone wolf of the trio! We all know that!” The very idea of dating anyone, let alone Kai of all people, took a few years out of Reeve’s digital life. No way! Not in a million…!

      …But upon imagining the scenario of him and his fictional significant other doing lovey-dovey things (which usually made Reeve roll his eyes in annoyance), that significant other was replaced with Adam, an Adam that was laughing and holding his hand. Reeve quickly shook off the daydream. Stupid intrusive thought! Go away!

      “Come on Reeve! There’s no need to be embarrassed!” Mira tried to wave Reeve’s tension away. It wasn’t working as well as she hoped, because Reeve was still flabbergasted by the very suggestion. Nevertheless, Mira continued. “I mean, I find it sort of weird considering we’re the only people in Hollow Life that are self-aware, but me and Adam totally support you two and understand if you need alone time! We can always come over some other day!”

      Reeve waved his hands wildly in denial. “Hold on! I’m not—”

      “So they’re hiding upstairs right?” Adam speculated, turning his head towards the stairway. “You should totally Introduce us to them sometime!” 

      Mira nodded eagerly. They too wished to see Reeve’s rumored secret lover. “Yeah Reeve! At the very least tell us what they look like!” Mira added.

      “Guys!” Reeve erupted, stomping his foot at Mira and Adam’s teasing. “I’m not dating him! I brought him to my house last night because he’s having trouble at home.” He confessed to half the truth. “And he really doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now, so back off!”

      Adam and Mira winced at Reeve’s bark, and glanced at each other. Their lively mood was thoroughly dampened. “Oh. We’re uh, sorry Reeve. Did he tell you what happened?” Mira wondered, although she did so hesitantly. She knew that whatever was going on with this mysterious stranger was none of her business.

      Reeve shrugged his shoulders, and crossed his arms. “All I know is that he got into a fight with his parents. He won’t give me details.” He sighed and shook his head.

      Adam crossed his arms. His stiff frown communicated to Reeve that he was irked by the news, unlike the more sympathetic Mira. “…Wait, so you’re harboring a runaway minor?” Adam’s statement confused Mira at first, but upon processing it, she sucked in a heap full of air and winced at Reeve. Adam continued. “…Reeve, you know you could get in trouble for that, right?”

      …Oh fudge. He didn’t think things through, did he? 

      God, he even has a stolen vehicle in his garage! While Reeve internally panicked over his actions, Mira shook her head at Reeve. “Based on the paling skin I’m assuming you acted on instinct first and logic second.” Astute observation, Mira, but judgement won’t solve the problem!

      Adam’s shoe tapped against the floor. He decided to give his two cents on the situation. “Look, Reeve. Your gut is usually right. If it told you that getting him away from his parents was a good idea, then you probably did the right thing.” He walked up to Reeve and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just be careful, ok? If you’re not the one that gets in trouble, what with you being a minor too, then your parents might get in trouble. This is their house. I’m not a lawyer so I don’t know what will happen but...yeah.”

      Reeve bit his lip, and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I will. Uh, thanks guys.”

      Adam’s smile struck Reeve’s heart once more; He felt a longing when their hand left his shoulder. “No problem Reeve. That’s what friends are for!”

      Reeve’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and his lips parted at a sudden realization. Friends. Adam referring to Reeve as a friend…stun in an odd way. There was a part of him that longed for something more than friendship with Adam. Something more…intimate.

      That was the moment Reeve knew. He had a crush on Adam. Oh no. Oh god no. Not his best friend—

      “Anyways, I think me and Adam should probably get going.” Mira pointed her thumb at the front door. Her conclusion surprised Reeve greatly. Why leave so soon?

      Adam agreed with Mira, much to Reeve’s dismay. “Yeah. Me and Mira don’t want to bother you while you deal with your runaway friend.” Adam scratched the back of his neck and eyed Reeve apologetically. “You fine with that?” He asked for confirmation.

      “Yeah…it’s fine.” Reeve muttered. He was a tad depressed that he drove his friends away by revealing to them what had happened, but it was understandable of them to want to stay out of Reeve’s way. They certainly wouldn’t want to be dragged into the whole harboring a runaway mess. “There’s a lot him and I have to talk about anyways.”

      Reeve watched Adam and Mira wave goodbye as they left through the front door and crossed over his yard. Once she shut the door, he leaned his head against it and sighed. Hopefully he could hang out with his best friends some other time. Maybe they could watch Netflix together in a week? When things died down?

      …An image of him and Adam cuddling and watching movies together invaded Reeve’s mind. He tried to shove the image away. No! Don’t daydream like a lovesick fool! Out of everyone in this digital world, why did he have to fall for his best friend? God, he was so screwed.

      Reeve really didn’t want to dwell on his crush for Adam right now. There were more important things to do. He shook off the floaty feeling in his chest, grabbed Kai’s unfinished plate of pancakes, and walked up the stairs to Kai’s room.

Chapter Text

      “They’re gone now.” Reeve rocked his fist against the guest bedroom door, which was now Kai’s bedroom. “You can come out.”

      Reeve heard shuffling from inside the room. The door creaked wide open, revealing Kai and his bedroom in all their disheveled glory. “That was quick?” Kai croaked. He kept glancing from side to side, avoiding Reeve’s gaze. “What happened?”

      “They know someone else lives in my house and that they ran away from their home.” Reeve confessed. Kai’s skin noticeably paled at the news. Reeve elaborated to counsel the poor boy’s nerves. “But they don’t know it’s you! Don’t worry! The cat isn’t out of the box yet.”

      The muscles in Kai’s shoulders relaxed, but Reeve could tell he was still on edge. “Reeve, it’s not going to be long until Mira and Adam connect the dots!” Kai’s body twitched. He hugged the ruffled pillow he had dragged with him. “My parents have Miles’s phone number! They’ll call him to ask where I went and w-when he brings it up to Mira she’ll just know and then she’ll tell them where I am and I’ll have to g-go back—”

      “Hey! Hey.” Reeve softly pulled Kai out of his rambling state. He placed his hands on Kai’s shoulders and squeezed them assuringly. “Don’t dwell on things that may or may not happen. Let’s just focus on the now. We need to talk—”

      “You’re kicking me out?”

      “What? No! Kai, why would I do that to you?! You have nowhere else to go!” Reeve was almost insulted that Kai would think that lowly of him.

      Kai shrunk under Reeve and shrugged his shoulders. “B-but I’ve been inconveniencing you and—”

      “I don’t see you as an inconvenience! If I did, you wouldn’t be staying here!” Reeve reasoned to Kai. He frowned at the tears brimming Kai’s puffy eyes. Did he cry while Reeve was downstairs with Adam and Mira? “…Hey. Hey. It’s ok.” He muttered, pulling Kai closer. “You’re going to be ok. You’re safe here. Come on, let’s sit down on the bed.”

      Kai buried his face into his pillow. His body shook as he tried his best not to cry in front of Reeve, who quickly ushered him to the guest bed. The two sat down on the mattress, criss-cross applesauce and facing each other. As Reeve set down Kai’s unholy pancakes to the side, Kai composed himself and nodded at Reeve, signaling he was ready to talk.

      “So by definition I’m harboring a runaway.” Reeve cut straight to the chase. He noted the tension in Kai’s posture worsened; Kai already didn’t like this conversation. Nevertheless, Reeve had to continue. “Which I could go to jail for…maybe. I don’t know if the law applies to minors harboring other minors, but one scenario is I get detained for a few days with a warning. The other scenario is that my parents are held responsible and fined due to me harboring you in property they own.” 

      Reeve bit his lip; he much preferred the former than the latter if he was being honest. His family made enough to afford the occasional luxury here and there, but they wouldn’t be able to handle court fees. “It hasn’t been 24 hours since you’ve left your home, but once that’s up, you think your parents will call the police?”

      “Definitely.” Kai confirmed in a low, creaking voice. He needed some water after this discussion. “They have connections.”

      Well shoot. “…Alright. That means you’ll need a disguise for when you’re out of the house.” Reeve determined. “How public do you think your parents will be about the whole thing?”

      “It’ll be on national television if they had their way.” Kai shrugged his shoulders once again. “Hoodies and covid-masks it is I guess.”

      Reeve shook his head. “You’ll stand out like a sore thumb with a covid-mask, though.” Covid-masks went out of style decades ago. They didn’t die with the pandemic that created them. They survived as a fashion statement for a long time afterwards. All trends die eventually however, and now only the vintage hipsters and the punk anime-freaks wore them…well, that and criminals looking to keep their identity a secret. “Unless we have you dressed up like some e-boy…no, you’d still stand out like a sore thumb.” Reeve shook his head and sighed.

      “I can just…stay inside?” Kai suggested. The way he stared up at Reeve so meekly was pitiful. Reeve had never seen Kai like this before; he was dramatic, sure, but never this distraught.

      That’s exactly why isolating Kai in the house wouldn’t work. Kai was clearly not mentally healthy right now; he needed that fresh air. “Dude, that won’t be good for you. You need to go outside every once and a while or you’ll go stir-crazy.” Reeve cast the idea aside, much to Kai’s dismay. “That and the others will get suspicious if they don’t see you for a while.”

      “Pretty sure they’d consider me dressing up like Billie Eilish to be kind of suspicious too.” Kai countered. He hugged his pillow tighter and rocked back and forth on the bed. “There’s nothing we can do to avoid this, Reeve, at least with our friends. They’re going to figure it out eventually…Likely tomorrow when my parents cry their eyes out dramatically on television, pretending to pray for my return like they actually care.”

      Kai spat out that last part with venom. Reeve winced at Kai’s sudden thorniness. Whatever happened between Kai and his parents bothered Kai greatly, it seemed. It filled his veins with boiling rage. 

      “Hey, uh…” Reeve was hesitant to ask Kai about what happened. Last time he did so, Kai was firmly against telling Reeve. Nevertheless, Reeve persisted. “You want to talk—”

      “It doesn’t matter what happened, Reeve!” Kai snapped, glaring at Reeve defensively. “All you need to know is that my parents are bigoted jerks…and it took me fourteen years to finally get fed up with it.”

      Reeve bit his lip; another attempt at gathering information: failed. “Alright then, but like, if you ever feel the need to vent about anything. I’m here.”

      Kai glanced at Reeve, who’s sincere smile made his heart skip a beat. He nodded and rubbed his wet, flushed cheeks. “Y-yeah. Thanks…”

      Awkward silence filled the room. That is, until Reeve picked the conversation back up. “Ok, there's something else we need to talk about.” There was another pressing matter that needed their attention: food. Food for Kai specifically. “What do you like to eat?”

      Kai raised an eyebrow at Reeve’s question. “Why are you asking?”

      “I’m going to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I’m running out of some stuff and I figured I’d also buy some ingredients to make things you like.” Reeve was running out of ingredients for his own food, too. He’d be killing two birds with one stone tomorrow morning.

      Kai would have protested, saying that Reeve didn’t need to cook for him. Reeve wasn’t his butler. He wasn’t getting paid to take care of Kai. Reeve was being more than generous letting him stay in their house.

      But since Reeve was the only one that could cook, and the only one that could safely walk outside without suspicion, Kai supposed Reeve did have a responsibility to help him with his basic needs. It still didn’t sit right with him, though. Kai was already a burden back at home. He would be even more of a burden on Reeve.

      …Hell, What was Kai even doing here? Maybe…maybe he should go back? Wait, No! No way! He wasn’t going to give up that easily! He wouldn’t be a burden on Reeve as long as he contributed to the house in some way, right?

      Yeah. With newfound determination, he explained his tastes to Reeve. “I uh, I like a lot of bread-based dishes. Especially French toast and grilled cheese. Un, make sure the texture of the bread is golden brown. I don’t want it to be too light or too dark. I can eat steak, but it has to be medium-well…” 

      Kai rambled on and on, emphasizing how he liked each dish to be made. Reeve mentally noted each specification. He wasn’t sure if he could satisfy all of Kai’s requirements, especially since Kai mentioned dishes that Reeve had never even heard of, but Reeve was a confident cook. He could expand Kai’s palette.

      “I also like mac & cheese; that’s the only dish you can’t go wrong with.” Kai licked his lips at the mere thought of enjoying some cheesy goodness. “Oh, and of course I like pancakes and waffles, but they need to be fluffy. I love sweets, especially donuts! but I’ll only eat the donuts at Holy Donuts. That’s, uh…That’s it.” Kai concluded.

      Reeve nodded his head, relieved that Kai was finally done. “Alright. I’ll keep note of all that, but don’t be surprised if you’re forced to try something new. I’m not made of money and I don’t run a five star restaurant.” Reeve slid off the bed and made his way to the bedroom door. “Finish your pancakes and then bring the dishes downstairs…or you can scrape that junk into the garbage. Either way works as long as I wash the dishes before the syrup hardens on the plate.”

      “Wait!” Kai jumped off the bed and scrambled to his duffel bag. Reeve waited by the door with his hands on his hips as Kai dug his hands around the duffel bag. 

      Kai eventually pulled out a fat wad of cash, which he slapped onto Reeve’s hands. “For the groceries, since you’re buying stuff for me.” Kai gave Reeve an earnest smile. “And some extra so you can get whatever you want, you know, since you’re letting me stay here.”

      Reeve mentally counted the money in his hands over and over again. 2,000 dollars. 2,000 freaking dollars. This was half the living money his parents sent him each month when they were on their business trips; more than half of that check was often spent on the rent and bills.

      With this amount of cash in his hands, Reeve could have money leftover for the end of the month to get…god he could get the newest gaming console…!

      …Then Reeve realized the implications of being handed this money, and he grimaced. He was poor, but he wasn’t a charity case, damn it! Who did Kai think he was?! The homeless man a few blocks down?!

      No! No, He needed to calm down and remember what Mira’s been teaching him on meditation Mondays: don’t jump to conclusions. What did Kai actually mean by this? “…Why are you giving me this much money? Isn’t this a lot?” He pointed at the cash, suppressing his initial anger.

      “I mean, like I said? Because you’re letting me stay here?” Kai awkwardly chuckled. He saw Reeve’s rage in those deep brown eyes, and it immediately destroyed all of his confidence. “Poor people pay rent, right? I figured since I live with you, I should help pay for it? I mean…I don’t want to be a burden.”

      The millisecond Reeve heard the word “burden” leave Kai’s mouth, all anger immediately dissolved within him. Reeve absolutely couldn’t accept this generosity now. Not only would it damage his pride, but it would also reinforce the guilt that Kai had for staying with Reeve.

      Reeve wanted to crush that guilt fast. “Kai, this is your money.” He gave the wad of cash back to its owner: Kai’s hands. “I’m not some “pauper” as you rich people might say who can barely pay for basic necessities. I have enough money to support both of us. Don’t worry about it.” Reeve curled Kai’s fingers around the money. “You use this only to buy what you want, ok? I’ll handle the rest.”

      Kai was devastated by Reeve’s rejection. His vision swam around the room as he bit his lip in shame. “I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you! I just thought that…that since you’re letting me stay here, I—”

      “It’s ok. I know it wasn’t your intention to offend me.” Reeve assured Kai. “Listen, you’re living with me now, and I’m not going to just let you starve. We're a two member household for now, so I’m gonna look out for you now, ok?”

      Kai blinked at Reeve’s promise. Suddenly, his anxiety was gone. He felt…calm, like everything was going to be ok as long as he stared into Reeve’s smiling eyes. This feeling, it was the same feeling he felt around Adam, Mira, Vanessa, and Skeet. Kai felt safe and secure.

      That was the moment Reeve “leveled up” in Kai’s eyes, relationship wise. “…Thank you.” Kai smiled softly. “You’re a good friend.”

      Reeve’s eyes widened at Kai’s words, and then he practically beamed at Kai “Yeah! Friends!” Reeve chuckled, wrapping his arm around Kai’s shoulder and giving them a gentle noogie. Kai was startled by Reeve’s affection, but he wasn’t uncomfortable. If Miles was doing this to Kai? That would be a different story. 

      Reeve was more gentle than Miles. Reeve used to be…a lot of things to Kai, and now he was officially Kai’s friend. Kai couldn’t be happier!

Chapter Text

      “What do you mean I can’t go to elementary school anymore?” A young and small Kai of the age of six clutched onto the bottom of his striped shirt. He had to tilt his head far up to see the two adults towering before him: his mom and dad. Their shadows engulfed him in darkness.

      “All those other children are a bad influence on you, Kaiser!” Exclaimed Kai’s father. Kai’s dad was a loud example of peak masculinity. Mr. Parnall was tall and lithe, yet strong man with a posh and powerful voice. His goatee and mustache was sharp and meticulously groomed to perfection. He was tireless, working day and night at the hostel company he inherited from his side of the family.

      “Indeed! You used to be such a doll, but now…now look at you! You’re covered in dirt and filth! We didn’t raise a barn child!” Whined out Kai’s mother. Kai’s mom was a woman of beauty, and Kai supposedly looked just like her, except for the blue eyes and the pitch black hair she styled into a fancy bun. Mrs. Parnall was always stylishly dressed in the latest trends from the most expensive brands. She regularly boasted her status as a rich woman at the occasional ballroom parties she hosted in the family mansion.

      Both of his parents seemed like such radiant figures, and here was little Kai covered head to toe in mud. The new friends in his elementary school dragged him to the damper parts of the playground to stomp around in.

      They all shrieked gleefully and giggled delightfully. It was the funnest time Kai ever had as a kid, so why were his parents mad at him? Was it because he dirtied his clothes? He could be more careful next time?

      “And the muddy clothes aren’t even the central issue!” Added Kai’s dad. He shook his head and tsked at his young son. “You are a Parnall! Parnalls don’t run around and screech like barbarians! Parnalls are sophisticated! Smart! Well-mannered!” Mr. Parnell gripped Kai by his arm and dragged away from the front of his elementary school. “As long as you’re my son, you will not be interacting with these…hooligans! You’re worth more than that!”

      Kai tried to escape from his dad’s grasp crying for the friends still waiting for their families to pick them up. They watched his plight in horror. They had little power to save Kai. 

      No! Kai wanted to go back to school! There were so many fun things to learn with everyone else! So many adventures to have! So many memories to make! But Kai was shoved into the limo next to his mother; who vigorously whipped away his tears with her long painted nails. She accidently scratched him multiple times. “Don’t you dare cry.” His mother rebuked with a huff. “You’re a boy. Boys don’t cry.”

      He glanced at his father, who sat in the front seat next to Davis. Mom was right. Kai had never seen his dad cry, so he sucked it up. Kai bit his lip tightly and held in his sobs. He clung onto his mom, who did little to comfort her son. She was too busy texting her latest affair on her phone.

      “We will hire the finest tutor for you.” Kai’s father determined, His cold, green eyes focused on the road ahead. “They’ll give you the finest education. Not that it’s hard to beat anything a minimum wage grade school teacher could give you.”

      “And isolate him from society? Heavens no!” Mrs. Parnall shook her head. She didn’t like her husband’s decision. “He needs a well-renowned private school! He can make connections! And most importantly, he’ll be out of our hair!” She tried to pry Kai away from her body.

      Mr. Parnall did not appreciate his wife’s input. Usually, he never asked for it. “You’re the one that birthed him.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Take some damn responsibility and mother him like you’re supposed to. I for one am doing my part: I will provide him with the education he needs, and I don’t need you getting in my way.”

      “Why you…!” Mrs. Parnall practically screamed at her husband as she berated him for his disrespectful behavior. Oh no, Kai’s parents were fighting again! 

      As the war within the limo raged on, the car windows were consumed by a thick darkness. His parents' voices drowned out the car engine. Kai clung tighter to his mom out of fear. He closed his eyes tight as a black goo seeped from the top of the car windows. 

      But then Kai was shoved away by his mom. “Ugh! You’re so clingy! What’s with you?!” Her voice echoed. She shifted her frustration onto her young son, glaring at him like he was a bug trying to climb up her leg.

      Kai blinked and found himself not in the limo, but within a black void. He was no longer staring at his mom, but at Adam, then Mira, then Vanessa, then Reeve, then Skeet, then Adam again. Each one replaced another by the second in a never-ending loop.

      They all looked disgusted to see him, like he was a worm on the side of the road. The voice of his mother and his friends mixed together as they shouted, “Why can’t you leave me alone! I never even wanted you!”

      Kai’s eyes flew open. He gasped, finally free from his nightmare. But unlike usual, he wasn’t greeted with a darkened ceiling of Tyrian purple. It was the warm grey of Kai’s new bedroom. He lifted himself up by his elbows and grabbed his phone from the nightstand, checking the time. It was 2 AM.

      Kai often had nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night. His butler Davis had an entire routine for easing Kai back to sleep in the aftermath of one. If Kai had a nightmare about something normal, like a spooky ghost, or Mable, he would have been screaming for his butler in the aftermath. 

      But when he had nightmares like the one he just had: nightmares of the past, Kai never felt afraid. He just felt bad about himself. He’d keep these nightmares to himself, usually. He never wanted to talk about them with Davis.

      Kai curled himself into a tight ball. He wasn’t sure what prompted a dream like that. Despite the stress of running away, Kai had a fun afternoon with Reeve yesterday. They played Wario Kart together on his switch using the TV, and talking about the stuff they liked. 

      Maybe it was because he ran away. That would make sense. Kai let out a sigh and shifted under the covers. Kai’s old bedroom was perfectly heated to suit his sensitive skin, but his new bedroom was so cold. The thin blankets could only do so much to cover and comfort him. It will be difficult to go back to sleep at this rate…

      …Against Kai’s better judgement, he slid out of his bed and tiptoed out of his bedroom. He snuck down the small upstairs hallway, searching for the door to Reeve’s room. He knew he shouldn’t bother Reeve. He really shouldn’t. But he…He just had a nightmare that really hit him in the insecurities! All he needed was a bit of reassurance! That was all! Then he’d go back into his room!

      …Man, he was such a baby. Some guy he was.

      Kai finally stood in front of Reeve’s bedroom door. There was a retro-styled “restricted area” poster pinned to the upper half of the door. It was like the universe itself was telling Kai to back off.

      Nevertheless, Kai hovered his hand over Reeve’s bedroom doorknob. He quickly pulled it back, realizing he should probably knock first. Barging into Reeve’s room without warning would be weird, even if they were friends now. His knuckles rapped against Reeve’s bedroom door. “Reeve?” Kai called out quietly. 

      No response. Kai’s anxiety worsened with each passing second. He knocked on the door again. “Hey, I’m sorry if you’re asleep, but I—”

      The door clicked and creaked open, and there was Reeve: dressed in a black robe and red gingham pants. He wore some type of cap that covered his locs. Kai had never seen anything like it before. “…You ok?” Reeve asked drowsily. He slowly blinked at Kai, waiting somewhat patiently for a response as he tapped his fingernails against the doorway. 

      Kai expected Reeve to be A cranky waker, but Reeve was more or less calm…or maybe he was trying really hard to be patient with Kai. Kai couldn’t tell. “I, uh…No?” Kai admitted, keeping his voice as low as possible.

      He was so quiet that Reeve didn’t hear him. “What?” Reeve leaned his body against the doorframe.

      “No. I’m not ok.” Kai repeated a bit louder than before. “I, um. I-I had a nightmare.”

      Reeve’s eyes softened. “Oh, uh…” He glanced side to side, unsure of what to do, especially so late at night. “You…need anything?”

      “Well I…! I don’t really need anything per say!” Kai hurriedly explained. He bit his lip and stared intently at the oh-so-interesting floor. Why was he doing this? He should just go back to his room and suck it up like he usually does. “It’s just my room is cold and I…I was k-kind of shaken up by it, so I, uh. I just…” Kai glanced up at Reeve, and then lowered his head even further. “…Can I have a hug?” He meekly requested.

      Kai didn’t dare look up to see Reeve’s reaction. For a while, he was met with pure silence. His sweat dripped to the carpet floor. Slowly, he backed away, This was a mistake! He was going to dash back to the guest bedroom now! “I’m sorry. It’s stupid. Haha. I’ll just go back—“

      And then Kai was pulled into a warm, soft embrace, an embrace that took Kai a few seconds to process. His face was firmly planted in the crook of Reeve’s neck. The black boy’s body smelled of sweat and a faded hint of a vanilla scented cologne Kai had never smelled before; it was a really nice smell.

      Reeve didn’t know what came over him. He wasn’t much of a hugger unless it was with Adam or Mira, but Kai asked Reeve for a hug so pitifully that Reeve felt an intense urge to fulfill that wish, just to cheer him up. It was like seeing an injured puppy; Reeve couldn’t just ignore an injured puppy. “Hey, it’s ok.” Reeve whispered reassurances close to Kai’s ear. 

      Kai shivered. Reeve’s low voice was so pleasing and calming and…he felt really weird, like his body was as light as a cloud. Reeve cupped Kai’s face and lifted it up. “It must have been scary, right?” His dark eyes held no judgement. They didn’t tell Kai that he was a loser, they simply acknowledged his struggle.

      The world felt like it froze for a moment. Kai couldn’t stop staring into those eyes, those eyes that somehow made all of Kai’s worries just…melt away. How could Reeve do that? It must be some kind of magic, because Kai felt like a spell had been cast on him. “Kind of? It wasn’t really terrifying, it was just…” Kai dug his fingers into Reeve’s robe. “It was sad.”

      Kai was pulled out of his trance when he realized just how physically close he was to Reeve. His body was pressed against Reeve’s warm chest, and…Oh geez. Maybe this was a bit too intimate? Was this normal? Did Reeve not realize how weird this probably looked? Were Reeve and Adam this touchy feely with each other?

      But it didn’t feel bad. It felt…good. Gah! What was Kai supposed to do?! His parents would kill him if they caught him like this with another guy!

      “…Hey, you alright?” Reeve prodded, earning the tiniest squeak from Kai. He shifted around in Reeve’s arms. Reeve glanced downwards, noting that Kai’s hands were barely touching his chest. “Oh! um..! Sorry!” He pulled himself away from Kai. The hug ended then and there. “Did I make you uncomfortable?” Reeve was so embarrassed! Kai and him were friends, sure, but they hadn’t established a “bromance” like Reeve did with Adam! Reeve should have approached the hug differently!

      “Ye…n…I don’t, uh…It wasn’t…I don’t know?” Kai fiddled with his fingers, his cheeks flushed a bright red. Reeve was equally flustered. The two teenagers stared at anything but each other.

      Reeve cleared his throat, there was only one way to solve this predicament: change the subject. “I uh. I think there’s a sleeping bag in my parent’s closet. You can sleep in my room if you don’t want to be alone for the night?” Reeve suggested, scratching an itchy spot on the upper part of his arm.

      Kai caught on to Reeve’s intentions “Thanks! Uh, I’d like that. Is your room warm?” Yes, he’d love to pretend that whatever just happened didn’t happen!

      Reeve chuckled awkwardly and made his way to his parent’s empty bedroom. “Yeah, it is. I’ll pull out the old heater as well. You can plug it into one of the outlets in your bedroom.”

Chapter Text

      Reeve’s eyes slowly flickered open to the deep blue ceiling of his bedroom. He watched the white speckles that were supposed to mimic stars dance around his blurry vision, before finally settling to their places.

      His mouth was dry, his eyes were crusty, and his loc cap was more than uncomfortable on his head. It was morning now, time to get up and make himself fresh for the day. He had a grocery trip to make after all. 

      Reeve rolled out of his bed, planting his feet on the rugged carpet. He yawned and shimmied over to his closet…and nearly tripped over something large splayed on the ground. He groaned and looked down to see what obstructed his path—

      Holy crap that was Kai in a sleeping bag! What was he doing here?! 

      Reeve internally panicked for a total of three seconds. Then he remembered that A(. Kai lived with him now, and B(. Kai had a nightmare last night and decided to sleep in his room.

      The redhead shuffled inside the sleeping bag. Reeve studied Kai’s unconscious figure: his red hair and his freckles. He looked so peaceful as he snoozed on the floor; it was a huge contrast from the stuttering mess he was last night.

      Kai slowly opened his eyes. Those same bright brown eyes bulged out of his head when he saw Reeve standing over him. He yelped and rolled away from Reeve towards the closet, which led to him slamming his body against wood and plaster. “Ow!”

      “‘Morning.” Reeve greeted Kai and his poor decisions. “You slept good?”

      “Mmph. Yeah.“ Kai answered while his face was pressed against the closet door. He rolled back over to Reeve and shimmied out of the sleeping bag. “Your room is so comfy. It’s easy to sleep in here, even in a sleeping bag.” The star-spangled ceiling, the photo hanging strips pinned on the cream walls, and the faint scent of cocoa butter. Everything about Reeve’s room spelled the word cozy.

      Reeve smiled, pleased by Kai’s compliment. “Thanks. Now uh…” He pointed at Kai, and then at the door. “I need to get my clothes ready and take a shower, so…”

      “…Oh! Yeah.” Kai pushed himself up and scampered to the bedroom door. He paused and looked over his shoulder before leaving Reeve’s room. “See you downstairs?”

      “Yep. Don’t mess with anything.” Reeve half-joked. Kai snorted and walked out the door. Reeve listened to the thump thump thump of Kai descending down the stairs, then dug around his closet for an outfit to wear. 

      Once Reeve settled on a black and red t-shirt, some green cargo shorts, and white socks, he bundled the clothing into a ball to carry under his arm and left his room. He reached the bottom of the stairs and found Kai still in his pajamas, sitting in front of the box TV and fiddling with the remote. He must be trying to figure out how to watch the TV channels.

      Reeve left Kai to his devices and entered the bathroom, where he tossed his robe, pants, and loc cap on the sink counter and quickly washed himself until his skin felt smooth and clean. Then he dressed himself in the clothing he picked out, oiled his scalp, and left the bathroom refreshed and ready for the day.

      The scene Reeve last saw in the living room was largely the same. Kai still sat in front of the TV, but this time the TV screen was displaying the local news, not a black screen.

      Unfortunately for both Reeve and Kai. The local news was touching on a story that was all too familiar to the both of them. “Breaking news! Billionaire son Kai Parnall has been reported missing!” Exclaimed the news reporter while an image of Kai in a fancy red tuxedo flashed across the screen. “All security cameras around the premises of the Parnall winter estate mysteriously broke at around 2:27 AM, which is the speculated time that Kai Parnall disappeared.”

      Reeve slowly walked over and placed his hands on the back of the couch, watching the news lady do her job with increasing restlessness. Kai, seated on the couch, was as still as an alert cat. His eyes were wide and focused on the screen. A growing ball of anxiety consumed his chest.

      “The parents of the boy: Edric and Katrina Parnall, own many hostels across and beyond the country. Both them and the police suspect that their son has been kidnapped as a protest against their financial wealth.” The women on the news infodumped. She tapped the papers in her hands against her desk. “Here’s a message from the famous couple themselves.”

      A video of Kai’s parents played on live television. Reeve noted two things very quickly. First of all: Kai looked a lot like his mom. The resemblance was almost uncanny: same blue eyes, same pointed nose, same full cheeks. All that Kai got from his dad were freckles and red hair.

      The second thing Reeve noticed was the immediate bad voodoo he got from seeing the billionaire couple’s faces. Reeve’s camera never lied, physically and metaphorically. He had a sixth sense for bad news, and Kai’s parents screamed bad news. Reeve felt even more justified in letting Kai stay with him.

      “Son? If you’re seeing this? Please hold on for as long as you can!” Kai’s mom sniffled. She was practically bawling her eyes out at the news of her son’s disappearance. 

      Something about it was so…fake, though. Kai’s dad felt just as fake too, but in a different way. He stood by his wife, stoic and tall. He didn’t even touch her. “We’re doing everything we can to bring you home safe and sound. Not a single police officer will sleep a wink until you’re brought back to us. Don’t give up, son. We believe in you.” The man spoke firmly.

      Kai tsked at his dad’s words. A few seconds later, the TV suddenly turned off. Reeve grunted and rushed to the box TV, inspecting every inch and corner of the object. He almost thought the old thing finally broke, but then he saw the remote in Kai’s hand. “Yeah right. You’ve never believed in me.” Kai mumbled under his breath.

      Reeve sighed in relief, glad his only source of entertainment did not break on him. “Warn me next time you do that. This thing is old.” He chided, pushing himself off of the floor. As much as Kai’s comment about his dad concerned Reeve, he wasn’t going to bother Kai about it. He knew nothing would come of it. “…So, the whole wide digital world knows you’re gone, now.” He focused on more pressing matters. 

      “Mmh. I should definitely stay inside for the first week.” Kai curled up and hugged his knees, rocking back and forth on the couch. “Oh god, do you think the others—“

      Ringringringring! Ringringringring! Reeve and Kai heard a phone ring upstairs. Reeve instantly knew it was his phone because of the ringtone: he was a fan of the classics.

      Reeve and Kai looked at each other, then upstairs, then at each other again. Both had a sneaking suspicion of who might be calling. “…I uh…I should get that.” Reeve muttered, rushing up the stairs to grab his phone from his nightstand.

      Before Reeve could rush back down the stairs, he accidently knocked over his instant camera. Reeve winced even though his floor was made of carpet, and cradled the precious device in his arms. He impulsively decided to bring his camera with him. Who knows, maybe when he left for groceries, he’d find a view to snap a pic at.

      Once Reeve was downstairs with his instant camera looped around his neck, he answered the call and put it on speaker phone. He didn’t even bother to check who called him. The voice on the other end of the phone was very recognizable to both Reeve and Kai. “Hey Reeve!” Mira’s voice was unnaturally chipper. “So remember when you told us about that boy you were housing?”

      Kai covered his mouth and burrowed himself as far into the couch as he possibly could. A faint whimper left his throat. Reeve bit his lip and scratched his scalp. “…Yeah! I remember. Uh, It’s kind of early in the morning to be asking about this, don’t you think—”

      “Have you seen the news, Reeve?” Mira didn’t let Reeve finish. There was a subtle strain to her voice that warned Reeve that he should probably not push her buttons. A cough That followed her question alerted Reeve that wherever Mira was, she wasn’t alone. Adam had to have been with her.

      “I uuuuh…Yeah. Man, I sure am worried about Kai.” Reeve cleared his throat and breathed through his mouth. “Are we going to look for him or what—“

      “Reeve we know damn well that Kai is in your house right now. It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.” Adam shoved himself into the conversation, acting as the bad cop to Mira’s good cop regime. “Is he in the room with you?”

      A much louder whine came from the Kai ball on the couch. Reeve pursed his lips and turned to eye the pitiful boy. “The jigs up, Kai.”

      Kai groan like he was being stabbed, and without breaking up his position, he reached out and grabbed the phone from Reeve’s hand. “Please don’t be mad!”

      “We’re not mad!” Adam shouted angrily. Reeve snorted at the oxymoron while Adam aggressively explained that he was totally not mad. “We’re just…we’re just disappointed!”

      “That’s even worse!” Kai sniffled. His hand weakly flopped onto the couch and laid Reeve’s phone above his head. “You don’t understand! I had to get out of there! My parents, they—“

      “Oh no no no! We aren’t disappointed that you ran away!” Mira corrected Kai’s assumption, and disciplined Adam for good measure based on the faint Adam-sounding yelp the phone picked up. “We’re just disappointed that you didn’t tell us you did this! We’re your friends, Kai. We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us about these things!”

      Kai finally unballed himself and flopped onto his stomach. “I thought you guys would send me back…”

      Mira fervently denied Kai’s accusation. “Of course not! If you’re desperate enough to run away, then whatever’s going on at home can’t be a safe environment for you right now. You’ve told us enough about your parents.”

      Mira consoled Kai, Reeve was once again stricken by how much more Adam and Mira knew Kai than he himself did. Sure, Reeve knew the basics about Kai: what foods and video games he liked, but he still didn’t really know Kai yet.

      And here was Adam and Mira, speaking as if they perfectly understood why Kai would run away. Reeve was still clueless about the whole situation. All he really knew for a fact was that Kai and his parents had some sort of fallout. That was it.

      It still frustrated Reeve that he was in the dark about this whole mess, but he would be patient and wait for Kai to feel comfortable with him to tell him more. In the meantime, Reeve will just watch the conversation in front of him unfold. 

      “Did you pack the essentials? Toothbrush and toothpaste? Clothes? Food?” Mira went down the list of “things a runaway teenager needs”. Ever the caring one, Mira was. They were clearly concerned for Kai’s wellbeing.

      “Um, I brought my dental stuff and my clothes. No food food though, just snacks.” Kai answered Mira’s questions tiredly. The emotional roller coaster of seeing his parents on TV to being found out, then being told that he had no reason to keep his runaway a secret to some of his closest friends no doubt exhausted him. “B-but um, Reeve’s been cooking things for me! So I’m still eating!”

      “What about body wash, shampoo, and conditioner?”

      “…Um, I brought a bar of soap?”

      Mira sighed on the other end of the line. Adam, now in a calmer state of mind, nudged himself back into the conversation. “I have an extra bottle of shampoo and conditioner in my bathroom. I can give it to Kai once we head on over.”

      Now was the time for Reeve to butt in. “Now hold on a minute. Head on over where?” Reeve placed his hands on his hips. “Because you’re not heading on over here. I got errands to run.”

      “I still have the key to your house, you know.” Adam confessed, which surprised Reeve greatly. He figured Adam would have thrown that thing out after their falling out. Reeve gave Adam and Mira each a copy of his house key for emergencies, or just to come over whenever. Things were different back then. Reeve’s parents weren’t as busy, so the house wasn’t unattended for half of the time.

      But times have changed… “And? You still haven’t asked me for permission.” …And Reeve had someone to protect right now. He wasn’t risking it, not in his neighborhood. “I’m sorry, but impromptu visits are closed until Kai leaves. I’m not putting him in danger because someone else might forget to lock a door or something.”

      Kai looked at Reeve, his mouth slightly agape. Meanwhile, Adam and Mira whispered to each other, no doubt Mira was trying to convince Adam that he wasn’t being unfair to either of them. His house, his rules. 

      “Reeve.” Mira finally addressed her best friend. Reeve could imagine her hands clasped together as she made her request. “Can me and Adam and the others come over and keep Kai company while you run your errands?”

      That was more like it. “Yes.” Reeve paused, then realized a certain implication. “Wait, the others? You mean Skeet and Vanessa?”

      “Yeah. I texted Vanessa and Skeet about this. They want to come with. Is…that ok?”

      “I…Mira, I don’t know.” Reeve scratched thr side of his arm. “That’s a lot of people. You guys aren’t staying for dinner, are you? Because I don’t think I have the energy to cook a big meal tonight—“

      ”Some of us can help!” Mira reassured. “You don’t have to do all of that by yourself. If even that’s too much, we can totally leave before dinner.”

      Reeve sighed. He supposed there was no harm with a big friendly get together. “Alright. All of you can stop by and stay for dinner.” He smiled at Mira’s cheers. 

      Mira informed Kai that everyone would stop by soon, and then hung up on Kai with parting words. Kai was still staring at Reeve with that dumbfounded look on his face by the time the phone call ended. 

      Reeve raised an eyebrow at Kai, silently asking him what was up. Kai blushed at Reeve’s stare and looked away. He was simply astounded that Reeve was that concerned for his well being! 

      Wouldn’t anybody feel how Kai felt? Reeve was just so nice…like, actually nice. Not fake nice. “I…Thank you for looking out for me.” Kai nervously smiled in Reeve’s direction. 

      Reeve felt instant warmth when he saw that dimpled grin. At that moment, Reeve remembered that he had a camera around his neck. He grabbed the device and quickly took a photo of Kai’s smile without a second thought. Kai winced at the flashing light of the camera. “Ah! Why did you do that?” Kai rubbed his eyes. Reeve took out the photo he just took and watched the image of Kai fade into the paper.

      He shrugged his shoulders. “I just wanted to.” He explained, showing off the photo he just took of Kai. “I mean, look at this? How is this sight not worthy of being commemorated?”

      Kai blinked at Reeve’s compliment. It immediately left him a flustered mess. “Ahahahaha…! Um, I…Th-thank you?” He giggled and rubbed his flushed cheeks, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. What was this feeling? It was like…it was like when he first met Vanessa, but different somehow. It was weird.

Chapter Text

      There are two kinds of people: those who hate grocery shopping and those who love it. Reeve was the secret third option known as “does not care, just wants food.”

      Reeve had picked a good haul of meats, dairy, grains, and spices to cook with. He paid for his collection with the family debit card and rolled his shopping cart down the parking lot. The flora-less area was relatively free of people, at least people paying attention to him, so Reeve floated the bags of groceries into his hoodless red car and pushed the cart away with his telekinesis.

      Well, that was a productive trip. Reeve sighed blissfully as he entered the comfort of his car and started the engine. He did what he needed to do, and all before 1 PM no less! He got things done and over with quicker than a cat in the alleyway.

      Now to go home and greet all his friends. Skeet, the first to roll by Reeve’s house (He lived only a block or two away from Reeve and also had a key to his house), made sure to update Reeve on which friends arrived at which times and what they were all doing with Kai. 

      Ding! Reeve presses his knee against the steering wheel and pulls up his phone to take a quick peek at Skeet’s most recent text. According to Skeet: Kai was being spoiled rotten by Mira and Vanessa, while Adam was playing a video game in Reeve’s gaming console for everyone to watch.

      Reeve pressed the record button. “Glad you guys are having fun. I’m heading on home now, so I’ll join you guys in a bit.” He chuckled at the end of his message and sent it Skeet's way. He wondered what kind of game Adam was playing. Did he bring one of his own?

      A scene of Adam and Reeve playing video games flashed in Reeve’s head. Adam leaned against Reeve’s shoulder. He laughed at the level that Reeve just lost before wrapping his arms around Reeve and pressing his lips against Reeve’s cheek. “You gave it your best shot.” Adam spoke into his ear. “Let me have a go.”

      Reeve shook his head and pulled himself out of the fantasy. He clutched the steering wheel with one hand and rubbed his flushed cheeks with the other hand. He hated the way his heart fluttered when his imagination went wild like that. 

      Damn. What was he going to do with this crush he had? Shoving it away won’t work forever. But telling Adam that he had a crush on him wouldn’t be wise either. There’s no way Adam would reciprocate Reeve’s feelings. Him confessing might ruin a relationship they both invested so much in repairing.

      So what was the solution? Was there even a solution? Was Reeve doomed to suffer either way? Reeve was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he narrowly missed his house.

      Reeve cursed under his breath and backed up, then rolled his car into the driveway. Normally he’d park his beloved Cadillac in his garage but, well, the garage was occupied by Kai’s limo at the moment.

      He just hoped a bird wasn’t going to poop on his car anytime soon. Reeve got out of his car, grabbed some of the grocery bags in the back, and knocked on his house door.

      Predictably, Mira was the one to answer the door. Reeve could see the small gathering of his friends behind her. “Reeve! You’re back!” She briefly hugged Reeve, then noticed the grocery bag in his hands. “Do you need help bringing the groceries in?”

      Reeve shrugged his shoulders. “If you want to help, you can.” He walked past Mira and greeted the others gathered around the couch. “How’s everyone doing?”

      Kai was engrossed in a conversation with Vanessa about the game mechanics of the RPG Adam played when he heard Reeve’s voice. He jumped up from the couch and grinned. “Reeve!” He rushed to Reeve and wrapped his arms tight around Reeve’s chest. “I’m so glad you’re back!”

      Reeve smiled wide at Kai. He freed his left hand from a grocery bag and ruffled Kai’s hair. “I wasn’t going to be gone for long.” He exclaimed.

      Kai held on to Reeve for just a bit longer. In fact, he hugged Reeve tighter for just a moment. Reeve smelled like a fall-themed candle, and his body was so firm; it made Kai feel safe and…something else that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

      …Then Kai realized how weird he was acting and let go of Reeve. “Ehehe…” He giggled nervously, scanning the room for any sign of judgment from his other friends. Vanessa and Skeet (who was snacking on a cheese stick from the kitchen) didn’t seem to notice Kai’s indulgence, and Adam was too busy slaying goblins in a cave to pay attention to Reeve and Kai’s reunion. Good, Kai was safe. “So what kind of food did you get?”

      “Eh. The typical stuff I usually get, plus things you’ll like. Hope you like frozen waffles.” He carried his groceries to the kitchen and set them on the counters. Then fistbumped Skeet on his way out. “Nice to see ya man.”

      “Nice to see you too.” Skeet smirked. They rolled their wheelchair out of the kitchen and positioned themself next to the couch. They waited for both Mira and Reeve to return and unload the rest of the groceries before they continued their conversation with Reeve. “How’ve you been holding up since your parents left for that business trip?”

      Reeve wiped his hands together and sat down on the couch next to Kai and Vanessa. “Alright.” He didn’t have much to say about his parent’s absence. His parents' business trips were a fact of life now.

      “You know, the fact that your parents are gone like half of the time is kind of weird.” Vanessa commented. She intently watched Adam play The Scrolls of Old: Desolation. His character was busy lockpicking a chest. “You’re only sixteen years old, after all.”

      “Going to be seventeen this year.” Reeve glared at Vanessa. He didn’t like whatever Vanessa might be implying. Reeve wasn’t twelve; he could take care of himself just fine. “I don’t think it’s weird at all. I’m old enough to learn how to take care of myself.” 

      While Reeve defended himself. Mira shut the front door, placed the last grocery bag on the counter, and quickly seated herself on the floor next to Skeet. Skeet smiled at Mira and offered his hand, which she shyly took. He rubbed her hand with his thumb while the conversation unfolded in front of them. 

      “I don’t think it’s weird either.” Kai nodded in agreement with Reeve, watching Vanessa float above the couch. “My parents aren’t at home much, and it doesn’t affect me.” Kai fiddled with his thumbs and focused back onto Adam’s video game playing. “I kind of prefer not to be around them, to be honest. Hahaha…” He laughed awkwardly.

      Reeve’s lips parted at Kai’s comment. Is that why Kai never asked Reeve about his parents absence? Most people who learned about Reeve’s home life always expressed concern for himself. 

      Disregarding that, Reeve was plain worried about what Kai said at the end there. Vanessa seemed to be equally as concerned, by how she was literally hovering over Kai now. “Is that why you ran away? Couldn’t stand the neglect?”

      Kai’s strained smile fell off his face. “…Please stop asking me why I did what I did.” Kai bit his lip and looked away, his eyes narrowing at the ground. 

      Reeve assumed this wasn’t the first time Kai had been bothered by such questions, based on Adam’s reaction to Kai’s plea. He paused his game and looked at Kai. “Dude, we can’t help you if you don’t give us the full picture.” Adam pleaded for Kai to open up in his own dysfunctional way. “Just tell us.”

      “I don’t. Wanna. Talk about it!” Kai crossed his arms stubbornly and huffed at Adam’s insistence. Reeve gave Adam a look. He hoped Adam would understand that he needed to go easy on Kai.

      But Adam was never one to pay attention to Kai’s emotions, nor heed anyones warnings in the heat of the moment. “Why though?! What are you afraid of?” Adam kept pressuring Kai. When Kai gave Adam no answer, and instead scooched closer to Reeve, Adam’s face scrunched up. “…Was it over something stupid?”

      Kai froze. He gaped at Adam’s question, then clenched his teeth and teared up. “…What?” He croaked

      “Was it over something stupid? Is that why you don’t want to tell us?” Adam explained his logic to the emotional redhead. “Because if that’s the case, you don’t need to be afraid to tell us. We’re not going to think any less of you Kai.”

     Kai barely heard the rest of Adam’s words. All he heard was that horrid question in his head on repeat. Was it over something stupid? Kai was so assured in his choice before Adam asked that question.

     Did he overreact? It’s not like his parents would have actually done what they threatened to do, right? Did he…Is he wasting everyone’s time? Is he wasting Reeve’s time?

     Everyone was glaring daggers at Adam as he continued. Besides Kai, he was busy burrowing himself into Reeve’s shirt. “We can figure this out. We can talk to the police and send you home. We can talk to your parents—“

      “Adam!” Mira roared. She pulled Adam by his ear, forcing a yelp out of his throat. “What is wrong with you?!”

      “What?!” Adam raised his hands up defensively. “I’m just trying to—“

      “Kai doesn’t owe you an explanation for why he did what he did.” Mira pressed her finger against Adam’s chest. “He doesn’t need to prove to you that his choice was valid.”

      Adam grunted, balling up his fists. “That wasn’t what I— …Ugh! Just forget it!” Adam stood up and marched over to the garage. He slammed the door behind him, which startled Kai so much that he screamed into Reeve’s shirt.

      Reeve, who had been rubbing Kai’s back the whole time, held him closer when he heard Kai scream. “You good?”

      Kai nodded his head and pulled himself away from Reeve. He rubbed away the tears in his eyes. “Y-yeah. I don’t like it when people slam doors.”

      “He shouldn’t have done that.” Vanessa tsked. She crossed her arms and glared at the door to the garage. “He knows better than to slam doors when you’re around.”

      Mira sighed and shook her head. “He doesn’t do that on purpose. I think he just really wants to help, but doesn’t know how, and it’s making him upset.” Mira stood up from the ground and let go of Skeet’s hand. “I’ll go talk to him—“

      “Let me.” Reeve stood up from the couch and shoved his hands in his pockets. “I can get on his level.” Mira was about to protest, but Reeve raised his hand, signaling Mira to refrain from arguing with him. “You don’t always have to be the mediator, Mira.” He was firm in his stance. “Those times have passed. You can let go now.” 

      Mira’s face scrunched up; They were definitely anxious about not being involved, but Skeet soon coaxed them to sit back down. “Let him do his thing, babe.” He played with their long dyed hair, which brought out a small smile on their lips.

      Reeve was about to make his way over to Adam, but then Kai grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. Kai quietly gazed into Reeve’s dark eyes, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips parted. He didn’t want Reeve to leave again. A gnawing, irrational fear of Reeve never returning had bothered Kai for the duration of Reeve’s grocery shopping. He just got back! Why did he have to go away already?!

      But Kai knew he was being too clingy, so he let go of Reeve’s shirt and stared at his feet. Reeve noted Kai’s vulnerability. “…Hey. It’ll be fine.” Reeve ruffled Kai’s hair again and walked to the garage. “I’ll make him apologize on his hands and knees if I can.”

      Kai watched Reeve enter the garage. He sighed and fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. When he glanced at Skeet. The blonde had this weird knowing look in those bright green eyes of his. “Um? Hello?”

      “You’ve gotten real close to Reeve in the past couple of days, huh?” Skeet’s smirk was a little sleazy. He wiggled his eyebrows as Mira, who only tilted her head in confusion. She didn’t know what Skeet was getting at.

      Kai didn’t either. “…Yeah! We’re friends now.” Kai exclaimed. Thinking about his friendship with Reeve made him all fuzzy inside…It also brought out a sense of longing that he didn’t understand. Again, it felt like when he first met Vanessa.

      …Did he…have a crush on Reeve? No! No. He didn’t. He couldn’t. Reeve was a guy…Not that Kai had anything against gay people! He thought Adam was cool!

      But Kai couldn’t be gay. He couldn’t, or else his dad would call him a sissy. Kai just really really liked Reeve! As a friend! That was it! He wondered how his good friend Reeve was doing with Adam in that garage…

      Inside the garage, Reeve sat down next to Adam on the concrete flooring, against the wall. Adam’s face was buried deep in his hands. “I don’t get people, man.” He moaned.

      Reeve pat Adam’s back sympathetically. “I know. I know it’s hard for you to understand anyone’s emotions.” He reminisced on the Adam he first met in primary school. That Adam was the biggest mess with the most emo haircut one could imagine. When he was twelve, he got diagnosed with ODD after multiple school conduct violations. Mira managed to put up with that behavior; Reeve wasn’t sure how.

      A few years later, Adam calmed down. But certain undeniable symptoms remained the same, such as failing to empathize with people, impulsivity, and the occasional explosive behavior: all signs of a future ASPD diagnosis. “I just…I want to help him! I can’t stand seeing him in this situation.” Adam shook his head and banged it against the wall. He winced, then sighed. “I don’t understand why he’s being so emotional about everything I say! Why can’t he see my effort?!”

      “Adam. He didn’t ask for your help.” Reeve calmly explained to his best friend. “This isn’t a situation that anyone needs to immediately fix. This is a very vulnerable moment in Kai’s life; all he wants from you is your support, not your solutions.”

      “But…I don’t know how to be there. I get on a logical level why he’s so upset, but I can’t feel it with him.” Adam surfed his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want him to think I don’t care, because I do. I think I do? More than I care about strangers, which is not a lot. I just…I feel like this is the only way I can properly show it.”

      Reeve shook his head and squeezed Adam’s shoulder. “You don’t need to have empathy to be a good friend. You think you're a bad person again, don’t you?”

      “Yeah…” Adam glanced at Reeve, a pained frown on his face. “I was a bad person a couple years ago. Then I got better and…I’m afraid to fall back into it, my older habits. Like, do you have any idea how much I want to bash Kai’s parents‘ skulls with a baseball bat right now?!” He smacked his fist against his hand, gnashing and breathing through his teeth. “I just want to know what they did to him so I know whether I’d be justified in wanting to do that or not.

      Reeve snorted at Adam’s confession. “I think you have every right to want to kill Kai’s parents. From what little I know about them? I might want to break some kneecaps too. But we both have self control…” Reeve grabbed Adam’s hand and squeezed it. “…And we both can channel our inner rage in ways that don’t hurt anybody.”

      “Yeah…like playing video games.” Adam’s frown slowly flipped upside down.

      “Exactly. And you know, it doesn’t take much to be there for someone.” Reeve shrugged his shoulders. “All you gotta do is listen, and be a shoulder to cry on, and a foundation to stand on. And I know you’re strong enough to be a foundation, Adam.” Reeve studied Adam’s face: his thin lips, and his thick eyebrows. Those sharp eyes, a warm brown. He lost himself in those eyes, and he squeezed Adam’s hand. “I still remember all the times you stood up for me.”

      Adam chuckled, knowing exactly what Reeve was talking about. “I can’t stand seeing other people go through what I went through with Gavin. No one deserves to be bullied…That’s why I care so much about what’s going on with Kai, you know? I see so much of my younger self in him.” He stared at the garage’s ceiling light. “I just wish I could get rid of it, whatever Kai’s going through.”

      “Well you can’t…but what you can do is come back inside and apologize to Kai.” Reeve let go of Adam’s hand and pointed his thumb at the door to the living room.

      “I guess I should. Now that my brain is back, I don’t know why I said what I said to him. Me and my damn mouth.” Adam stood up from the floor and brushed the dust off his knees. Then he offered his hand to Reeve. “Thanks. For talking to me, I mean.”

      Reeve grabbed Adam’s hand and let Adam help him onto his feet. He shivered at Adam’s touch. He hoped the shade in the garage hid the faint blush on his cheeks. “No problem. That’s uh, that’s what friends are for dude.”

      Adam’s sincere smile struck Reeve’s heart like a Cupid arrow. Adam’s attention proceeded to fall away from Reeve. He studied the limo in Reeve’s garage. “What are you going to do with that thing?” He pointed his thumb at the stolen vehicle.

      “I have no idea.” Reeve scratched his scalp, his lips thinning as he was reminded of the limo’s existence.

      “…You could always get Kai to dismantle the thing.” Adam suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

      Oh. Now that was an idea. Reeve might just ask Kai to do that some time. “Yeah. Guess I could.”

Chapter Text

      “This mac’n’cheese is so good; I might die again.” Skeet swallowed a heap full of Reeve’s baked mac’n’cheese, sparsely spiced with paprika. He practically melted in his wheelchair from the taste alone.

      Mira nudged Skeet with her elbow. “Don’t joke about that. It’s not funny.” She lightly pouted at her boyfriend and swallowed a bite of her own mac’n’cheese. “…It is amazing, though.”

      Skeet chuckled and kissed Mira’s cheek, then quietly apologized to them. Meanwhile, Kai sat in his chair, staring distrustfully at the mac’n’cheese on his plate. He eyed the server of the dish, Reeve, with a small frown. “Um?”

      “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but try it. I promise you’ll like it.” Reeve placed a hand on Kai’s shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, then he left Kai’s side to serve Vanessa and Adam their food. All six of them were seated around a small table in the kitchen. Reeve had to pull out two extra chairs for Vanessa and himself, which made the kitchen very cramped.

      But being so tight knit brought out a sense of comradery that Kai enjoyed. Everyone was chatting a storm in this small kitchen as the scent of melted cheese wafted around the room. Kai had to admit, Reeve’s version of mac’n’cheese smelled good.

      Kai grabbed his fork and dug into the food on his plate. He brought it to his mouth and chewed the cheesy paprika noodles. The delicious taste melted in Kai’s mouth. “So good…!” He moaned. This might even be better than the mac’n’cheese Davis makes for him!

      “Woah! Kai? Trying something new?” Vanessa’s eyes widened at Kai’s bravery, and then poked Reeve’s cheek as he sat down to eat himself. “How did you convince him?”

      Reeve batted Vanessa’s hand away, then poked at her forehead in retaliation. “It’s called being a good cook.” He deadpanned. Everyone laughed at Reeve’s answer. 

      Kai ate small bites, his gaze shifting between each of his friends. Kai’s eyes lingered on Adam, and he recalled the apology he had received from Adam a couple hours ago.

      He remembered Adam getting down on his knees. “Hey.” Adam sat in front of Kai, who hugged himself on the couch. “I’m sorry that I kept pressuring you. I said some pretty insensitive things. I know you’re going through a lot, and I know I wasn’t exactly helping.” Adam clasped his hands together and smiled awkwardly at Kai. “It’s really hard for me to understand what you’re going through, but I want to be a shoulder for you to cry on, not someone you avoid being vulnerable with. Can you forgive me?”

      Kai…wasn’t sure how to react to Adam’s sincerity. There was a part of him that did forgive Adam, but there was a crueler side of him that was sick and tired of Adam devaluing his feelings, and wanted to make Adam suffer for it. This wasn’t the first time Adam screwed up, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last, at least in Kai’s opinion.

      But Kai had learned to be forgiving. If he wasn’t forgiving, he wouldn’t have anybody to lean on. “Yeah. I forgive you.” And the best thing about that lie was that there was no telling if it was actually a lie or not. Even Kai couldn’t tell. His opinions on people often swayed with his emotions.

      …He was dramatic, you see. Just like his mom. Just like his damn mom.

      Kai returned to the present. He ate a larger piece of his cheesy meal, and listened to the conversation at hand. “I still think you should have killed that orc back in Sheydinhal.” Vanessa argued, referring to Adam’s earlier playthrough of the RPG.

      “I’m not going to kill an innocent civilian just to join the assasination guild or whatever..” Adam argued with Vanessa, pressing his finger against the table. “That’s not the kind of person I am.”

      “Not anymore.” Reeve muttered. He smirked mischievously at the unamused Adam, who simply rolled his eyes at his best friend’s reminder. The old Adam probably would have murdered any NPC that looked at him slightly funny.

      Vanessa wasn’t too thrilled with Adam’s decision, however. “But the Silent Brotherhood questline is the best in the game!” She exclaimed, folding her arms over her chest. “Besides, you don’t have to play your character as if they were yourself! It’s a character!”

      Kai didn’t contribute much to the conversation. He barely had the opportunity to butt in, and when he did he restrained his urge to infodump about Scrolls of Old lore for five minutes straight, and instead handed a simple comment or two.

      He just wasn’t…good at talking. Normally that knowledge wouldn't stop Kai from yapping his heart out, but today he was particularly sensitive. In Kai's eyes: every time he talked people either made fun of him, looked at him weird, or just ignored him. Kai’s friends were a bit different, yeah. But…they did those things too, sometimes. Especially Adam. Vanessa and Mira were the least offensive, but they also babied him.

      Skeet and Reeve were the two in Kai’s friend group that actually treated him like he wasn’t a stupid kid. And Reeve? Reeve was…he was amazing.

      A wobbly smile spread on Kai’s lips as he watched Reeve converse with the others. His eyes traced the outline of Reeve’s full lips, then studied his thick locs, then gazed into his deeply dark eyes. His skin was dark like the pine cones Kai used to collect in the winter, and god, Reeve smelled so good when Kai hugged him.

      Kai bit his lip and pressed his chin against the palm of his hands…Then he realized what he was doing and immediately averted his gaze. No! He can’t be having those thoughts! Stupid stupid stupid! “Uh, I-I need to go to the bathroom.” Kai stood up from his seat and rushed to the living room bathroom. He ignored his friends' questions and shut the door behind him.

      Now that Kai was alone, he pressed his back against the bathroom door and slid down to his knees. His heart thumped against his chest as images of Reeve’s face flashed in his mind. He rubbed the shoulder that Reeve squeezed, and momentarily wished that Reeve could squeeze his whole body.

      No! No! He’s not supposed to feel this way about a guy! What did this even mean?! Kai liked girls! He had a crush on both Mira and Vanessa in the past! How could he switch teams, just like that?!

      Kai hid his face in his hands and whimpered, panic surging through his body. He could see it now: his dad’s reaction. He could imagine the tiled floors of the dining room. Kai sat in the middle of the long dining table and confessed his attraction. 

      “No son of mine will be a fairy!” His dad’s voice boomed. The man’s strong fingers dug into Kai’s arm. “If you want to debase yourself and act like a little girl, you can do that on the streets! You’re no son of mine anymore!” Kai was dragged out of the mansion and thrown out of the house, his cheek scraping against the concrete path. 

      He screamed for his dad to come back, but the mansion doors were locked forever. Kai was nothing to his family now. He was discarded, abandoned, useless—

      “Kai?” Reeve’s voice pulled Kai out of his vivid imagination. He was still in the bathroom, his cheeks wet with tears. Reeve called for Kai’s attention once more, “Hey Kai? Are you ok? It’s been a few minutes.”

      “Uh…” Kai dried his cheeks and tried to suppress his sniffles. “I’m fine.” He lied. Kai felt bad for being dishonest with Reeve, but he would rather play The Hollow by himself three times over than tell Reeve about his current struggle.

      Reeve did not immediately respond. There was a window of about ten seconds where Kai anxiously awaited Reeve’s response. Then Reeve finally broke that silence. “I’m calling bullshit on that.” He bluntly rejected Kai’s claim. 

      Kai was sweating bullets now, and he was trying really hard not to cry again. “Look” Reeve’s voice softened as he addressed the panicky Kai. “You don’t have to tell me what’s going on, but I’m here for you. I just want to remind you of that.”

      ”…Ok.” Kai croaked. The tension in his shoulders relaxed, and he rubbed his fingers against the wood of the door. He was aching to hold Reeve’s hand right now…oh god. There was no denying it was there? Kai had a crush on Reeve! Oh god…! “Um. Could you just give me a moment?”

      “Yeah. Of course.” Reeve didn’t pressure Kai like Adam did. That was what made Reeve so great: he was actually somewhat patient with Kai. “Uh, ya might want to leave that bathroom soon, though. Vanessa needs to pee before she leaves.”

      The others were leaving? Already? Well…it was pretty late, Kai supposed. “Yeah. I’ll be out in a jiffy.” He awkwardly finger gunned at the door. He heard Reeve shuffle away from the door, giving Kai his privacy.

      Kai sighed and pushed himself off the floor. He found the mirror cabinet above the bathroom sink and studied his reflection. Kai looked like a mess; he was still wearing his pajamas, his hair was flying in different directions, his eyes were red from all the crying for the past couple of days, and he could smell his body odor; he hasn’t showered since he arrived at Reeve’s house.

      Besides the whole having a crush on a guy thing, which was a disaster in and of itself, Kai had a crush on Reeve of all people. When Kai looked in the mirror, he didn’t see someone worthy of being Reeve’s boyfriend. He just saw a scared, pathetic kid.

      Kai couldn’t tell Reeve about this; Reeve was way out of Kai’s league anyways. Why ruin the best friendship he’s ever had with dumb feelings that would never be reciprocated? They’d go away eventually, right? And then Kai can meet a cute girl and he can finally prove that he’s not a sissy or a little boy, but a man that deserves respect and consideration.

      Now filled with resolve, Kai opened the door and left the bathroom. He saw Adam, Mira, Vanessa, and Skeet getting ready to leave. “Hey guys…” He weakly waved at his digital companions.

      Vanessa rushed over to Kai first. “Hey! You were in there for a while. You ok?” Mira followed closely behind Vanessa, asking a similar question. Kai assured them both that he was fine and that he just had a lot on his mind. They didn’t completely buy it, and commented on his red cheeks, but they eventually left Kai alone. Mira returned to Skeet’s side while Vanessa flew to the bathroom.

      Then everyone left in pairs. Adam and Mira were the first to go. Then Vanessa and Skeet followed. Reeve and Kai waved them goodbye; Reeve on the couch and Kai standing by the TV.

      When the two were finally alone, Reeve’s attention was all on Kai. “Your eyes are red. You were crying in there, weren’t you?”

      Kai fiddled with his fingers and shrugged, avoiding Reeve’s gaze. “I just…I have a lot of things on my mind.”

      “No one said anything that hurt you, right?” Reeve’s brows furrowed with concern, but there was a protective growl to his voice. “While we were talking at the table? Because if someone did I’ll—“

      “No! No.” Kai hurriedly waved away that assumption, then rubbed his arm. “No one made me feel bad. I just started thinking about things. Things I’m…struggling to handle.”

      Reeve expressed his understanding with a nod, but his frown deepened. Reeve was worried, Kai could tell. “Ok. Just, if you need someone to talk to. Again, I—“

      “I know! You’re here! Geez…” Kai crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his feet. Why was Reeve so damn nice to him anyways? Should Kai trust such kindness? It felt too good to be true. 

      Stupid Reeve. Kai’s face wrinkled as tears threatened to drip down his cheeks.“…I’m gonna go back to my room.” He mumbled, rushing up the stairs before Reeve could protest. Stupid Reeve and his stupid pretty face, and his stupid kindness. Now Kai was gay, and he didn’t know how to make it stop!