Narrator's P.O.V.
A few days had passed since Samuel had made the couples' board game as a gift for Kael. The man's apartment was filled with the comforting scent of fresh tomato sauce and seasonings. In front of the stove, he was finishing up a plate of spaghetti bolognese while arranging a fresh salad on the counter next to him. Simultaneously, Kael was slicing some tomatoes, bell peppers, and chopping lettuce leaves... doing everything with absolute tranquility.
Right behind him, sitting on one of the high kitchen stools, Samuel was in a world of his own, chattering away without stopping. Clearly, the boy had woken up with extra enthusiasm that day, pouring out onto the older man all the random knowledge he had acquired over the week.
"...and that's why low melatonin production in the body can cause really annoying sleep disorders," the boy explained, gesturing in the air as if delivering an academic lecture. "We need to disconnect from screens at least thirty minutes beforehand so the brain doesn't confuse artificial light with natural light and produces the hormone in a regulated way. I struggle a lot with sleeping, you know? That's why I always take melatonin at night, otherwise I simply can't sleep, even if I stay away from my phone."
Kael turned off the stove and let out a soft laugh, grabbing a pair of pasta tongs. He didn't need to turn around to respond.
"Funny you should say that, because when we're together, you pass out. You sleep like a rock for hours on end," he said simply.
Samuel went quiet for a brief moment. The sound of the tongs tapping against the glass plate filled the space before he replied, his voice losing a bit of its "lecture" tone and gaining a shy softness.
"Maybe it's because I feel really comfortable around you..." even without looking at him, the man knew by his tone of voice that Samuel was bashful as he said it.
Kael smiled broadly at the pot in front of him.
"You know, Sam, sometimes I forget you're only seventeen," Kael commented jokingly, scooping a generous portion of meat sauce and pouring it over the pasta. "You talk just like an eighty-year-old man worried about his rheumatism."
"Hey! I'm not going to be young forever, okay?" Samuel shot back, feigning indignation. "I need to build healthy habits starting now so I can have a good, healthy life, even when I'm a real old man!"
"I completely agree. And to have a good life and healthy habits..." the older man turned around, holding a steaming deep plate in one hand and a fork in the other. "...you need to eat well."
Seeing that the food was finally ready, Samuel promptly got up from the stool and reached for an empty plate on the drying rack, intending to serve himself. But before he could reach the pot, Kael intercepted the movement. He took the empty plate from Samuel's hands and, naturally, handed him the plate he had already prepared, generously topped with plenty of sauce and grated cheese.
Samuel blinked, confused, holding the warm plate.
"Huh... why are you giving me this one?"
"Because this is your plate. I had already plated it for you," Kael answered simply, turning back with the empty plate in hand to serve himself.
Samuel looked down at the food, then back at Kael. The boy's cheekbones flushed an evident shade of red. He lowered his gaze, suddenly deeply embarrassed by the gesture.
"Kael... you don't need to serve my food every time I come over," he murmured, his shyness overflowing in his voice. "I know how to serve myself, I don't want to give you extra work."
Kael stopped what he was doing. He looked at the boy, watching the shy pout form on his lips, and felt an immense surge of tenderness sweep over him.
"You're adorable, you know that?" he asked, his tone calm and affectionate. "And who said this is work? It's no sacrifice for me, Sam. I like doing this for you."
Samuel raised his brown eyes, meeting Kael's gaze. The younger boy's face lit up with a restrained smile that radiated genuine happiness.
"Thank you..." he whispered softly, holding the plate as if it were a treasure, then turned around and walked out of the kitchen toward the living room.
The man stood there, alone in the middle of the kitchen. The sound of the boy's receding footsteps filled the room with silence, but inside Kael's chest, the noise was deafening. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and smiled to himself.
Almost by instinct, the brown-skinned man brought his right hand to his chest. Beneath the fabric of his shirt, he felt his heart racing, pounding heavily against his ribs. It was an uncontrollable physical reaction. There, in the quiet of the kitchen, amidst the smell of tomato sauce and the memory of the boy's shy smile, Kael was struck by the absolute truth of it all.
Fuck, he thought, his hand gripping the fabric of his shirt. I like this boy so damn much.
(...)
Night had fallen, and for the second time that week, they were getting ready to go out. As usual, Samuel finished getting ready far earlier than expected. Dressed and wearing perfume, the boy realized it was still too early to rush the older man, who was still taking his time since they had plenty to spare.
To kill time, he threw himself onto Kael's bed, grabbed the remote control, and opened YouTube on the TV. After scrolling through a few random suggestions, his eyes lit up when he found a Winx Club movie. He pressed play without thinking twice, settling comfortably against the pillows.
While the colorful, nostalgic theme song played in the bedroom, Kael continued his meticulous ritual in the bathroom. Ávila's preparation for a night out was almost a ceremony: he put on a black shirt, adjusting the fit in the mirror, and moved on to his accessories, carefully placing rings and chains on his body with precision. Next came a layer of moisturizer, spread calmly over his skin, finalized with strategic spritzes of his signature perfume. It was a vanity that belonged to him, a moment solely his own.
When he was finally ready, Kael walked into the bedroom. He stopped midway, sitting on the edge of the bed as he saw the TV screen displaying fairies flying amidst explosions of glitter.
"What are you watching, kid?" Kael asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
Samuel didn't even look at him; his eyes were glued to the screen.
"Winx Club," he answered, pointing at the TV. "I found the full movie on YouTube. Did you know there was a movie? I'd never seen it!"
Kael shook his head, laughing at the randomness of it, but instead of grabbing his keys and calling the boy to the door, he walked around the bed and snuggled in beside Samuel. At first, it was only supposed to be until a scene finished, but the truth was that the man ended up getting genuinely interested in the story. He crossed his legs and leaned against the headboard, his eyes fixed on the TV.
A few minutes passed, and Samuel glanced at his phone clock, his eyes widening slightly. He hadn't realized they had been there for so long, and his planned departure time had already passed.
"Kael, aren't we going to be late? It's past the time we were supposed to leave," the younger boy pointed out, a hint of worry in his voice.
Kael shifted his gaze from the TV to the boy. He smiled—a lazy, completely unbothered smile—and shrugged.
"It's not a problem. Let the movie finish."
Samuel stared at him for a few seconds, a shy smile breaking on his lips. The boy simply accepted it, settling comfortably against the older man...
(...)
When they arrived at the plaza where their friends had agreed to meet, the couple was surprised to find it packed. The sound of overlapping conversations, muffled music coming from portable speakers spread around, and the clinking of glass bottles set the tone for the night out. It was the perfect hangout spot, where dozens of people gathered to drink on any given Friday night.
As soon as Kael and Samuel approached the circle where their group of friends stood, the reactions were immediate. Everyone cheered (as usual), happy to finally see them there, since they were clearly the only two missing for the group to be complete.
"Finally! I thought you guys were going to bail on us again!" Verônica exclaimed, raising her plastic cup in an ironic toast.
"For God's sake, you guys live right around the corner!" Dani complained, crossing her arms, while Rapha nodded along, already a bit tipsy. Kael smiled as he noticed she said "you guys live," as if he and Samuel were already living together. It was one of his secret desires, he had to admit. "We've been waiting for you for almost an hour and a half!"
Samuel shrank his shoulders a bit, putting his hands behind his back, feeling a little self-conscious. He felt his face warm up, a surge of guilt hitting him. In the boy's mind, the delay was entirely his fault and because of the movie they were watching, even though he hadn't asked Kael to stay with him until the end. He opened his mouth, ready to stutter out an apology and take the blame.
But Kael was faster.
The older man wrapped his arm around Samuel's shoulders, pulling him close with natural ease, and shot a witty, playful look at his friends.
"I know we're handsome and popular, my friends. We are the life of your party," Kael began, his tone soft and theatrical. "We had an extremely important unforeseen issue to handle back at my place. It was a matter of life or death, demanded a lot of our concentration, if you catch my drift."
Raphael rolled his eyes, but ended up laughing. Cloe and Lucas immediately began teasing, insinuating that it was a "different kind" of important issue.
"Important issue, right..." Verônica grumbled, taking another sip. "At least you guys made it."
Samuel, relieved at not being called out and amused by the clever, bogus excuse Kael made up for a fairy movie, turned his face to look at the older man. A wide, knowing smile broke through the boy's shyness.
Kael, noticing Samuel's grateful and adorable look, simply winked at him and blew a kiss in the air, feigning innocence, before turning to greet the rest of the crew. People seemed genuinely excited to see that Kael was finally there, and in that moment, Samuel realized why the older man was so deeply cherished by everyone.
Indeed, the night was just beginning, but for the two of them, the best part had already happened while they were together on that bed...
(...)
A few hours had passed, and everyone in the group—thanks to the alcohol—was considerably livelier. Kael was leaning against a low wall, cup in hand, watching Samuel in the middle of the dance circle with their friends. The younger boy was trying to follow the steps of a pop choreography, visibly lost, messing up the timing and bursting into laughter at his own lack of rhythm, even if he wasn't lagging too far behind. The man couldn't take his eyes off him. There was something contagious about the pure way Samuel surrendered to the moment, without the slightest care for anyone's judgment. A calm, inevitable smile rested on Kael's face.
He smiled as he saw Pabllyo try to hand a drink to Novaes, only for the boy to promptly refuse it. Kael knew Samuel didn't like drinking alcohol, mostly because he was an absolute lightweight. Last time didn't go so well, so the boy made the choice to decline. Funny how I'm memorizing all his habits, he thought.
Realizing the boy was completely safe and entertained, Kael decided to take the opportunity to use the restroom. He turned and began walking toward the slope leading down to the lower street. He hadn't taken ten steps when he felt Pedro falling into step beside him. He chuckled, knowing exactly who it was without even looking.
"So?" Pedro struck up the conversation, his tone calm beneath the background noise of the party. "How are you feeling, man? For real."
Kael looked at his friend and shrugged, a genuine lightness in his demeanor.
"I'm great. Seriously, I've been really happy," he replied.
Pedro gave a faint smile, nodding his head.
"I can tell. You're different, Ávila. You're glowing, smiling for no reason... Every time Samuel is around, it's like you light up, like you have an extra shine. I'm really happy for you, man, truly."
Kael let out a short sigh, his gaze wandering for a moment into the dim streetlights.
"I love being with him, Pedro," he admitted, his voice dropping an octave, stripped of any armor. Kael always allowed himself to be vulnerable when it came to his relationships with people he cared about. "I love listening to him chatter about the most random things in the world, I love spending time with him, I love absolutely everything about it. I feel infinitely happier by his side."
Pedro slowed his pace, eyeing Kael out of the corner of his eye before dropping the question hanging in the air:
"And are you going to take this further? I mean... commit to a real relationship? Because it's crystal clear that's what he wants," he probed.
Kael stopped dead in his tracks. Pedro's words felt like they weighed a ton in the night air. A long silence settled between the two, cut only by the muffled sound of the crowds in the background. Kael looked down at his own shoes before looking his friend in the eye.
"I don't know," he answered, his voice heavy with a painful uncertainty. "You know how hard it would be to have a functional relationship with Samuel. He's seventeen, man. He doesn't have his freedom, his life is completely tied down, his responsibilities... There are so many little everyday things that would keep us from truly working out. It works the way it is right now, for now. But I'm scared."
He paused, swallowing hard.
"I'm terrified of taking that step, having it fail, and ending up hurting him. Especially because... because I'm already completely in love with him. I would kill myself if I hurt Samuel, man. He's way too precious; just the thought of it destroys me."
Silence reigned once more. Pedro stared at Kael for a few seconds, observing the raw vulnerability stamped across his friend's face. A small, knowing, almost ironic smile tugged at Pedro's lips.
"It's funny hearing you say all this now," Pedro commented, crossing his arms, "like you're only just realizing it right this second."
Kael let out a low, humorless laugh, shaking his head at his friend's affectionate teasing.
"No... I already knew..." he smiled, resuming his walk beside his friend.