Work Text:
Tickets for Couple’s Cooking Class at XXXX on Feb 14, XXXX.
“What’s this?” Till asked, glancing at the two slips of paper Sua handed him.
“It says so right there.”
“A cooking class? For couples? What use would I have for that?” Till questioned.
Sua shrugged. “Don’t know. We had extra since Mizi bought two for us and I also bought two for us, so we thought you could use them. Snag a date, or something.”
“Or something,” Till mocked. “Here, take them back. I don’t want them.”
“Your loss,” said Sua, taking the tickets back. “We can have all the fun on our own,” she added, kissing Mizi on the cheek.
A year ago, Till would’ve been devastated to see Mizi and Sua’s displays of affection. But after the announcement of their relationship, he faced the inevitable realization that Mizi would never see him the way she saw Sua. Ever since then, he was slowly but surely getting over his decade-long crush.
“Maybe we could give them to Ivan instead of letting them go to waste,” Mizi suggested.
Till snorted. “Save your time. Ivan isn’t into romance like that.”
A bout of silence passed through them. Both girls stared at him blankly.
He blinked. “What?”
“What do you mean ‘Ivan isn’t into romance’?” asked Mizi, confused.
“I don’t know. It’s just not like his thing. He’s not interested in dating anyone so…” Till answered awkwardly. He didn’t know when the atmosphere got so tense.
“Ivan is so into romance. He has a whole collection of romance books,” Sua said.
“No, he doesn’t,” Till immediately refuted.
“Yes, he does,” Sua asserted. “Maybe you haven’t reached our level of friendship yet.”
Till bristled. “No, you haven’t reached our level of friendship. We’re best friends.”
“Didn’t you call him a leech the other day?”
“Yes, but-”
“Okay, let’s not fight,” Mizi interrupted, placating them. “I don’t know if Ivan has a romance book collection or not, but I thought maybe giving him the tickets would give him the chance to ask out… well, you know…” she trailed off.
“His mind-boggling, head-over-heels crush?” Sua supplied.
“Yep!” Mizi nodded enthusiastically. “That one.”
“Stop messing around. Ivan doesn’t have a crush,” Till said.
“He never told you? That’s a shame,” Sua responded sarcastically.
“I’m serious! He doesn’t,” he said, irritated. As a second thought, he added, “...If he did, he would’ve told me.”
“Would he, though?”
“Of course! We’re best friends!”
“You keep saying that, but you don’t even know about his romance book collection. All talk, no proof.”
Till huffed and turned to her girlfriend. “Mizi, you can’t believe what Sua is telling you. It’s all lies! Ivan doesn’t have a crush.”
“Oh… well, uh,” Mizi started, “Sua wasn’t the one who told me about it.”
“Okay. So who did?” Till asked. He was already imagining hunting them down for spreading such inane rumors.
“Ivan did.”
“IVAN?” Till screeched. “Ivan himself told you that?” he asked for clarification.
Mizi nodded.
“Told you so,” Sua sing-songed.
He ignored her, still engrossed in his new revelation. Mizi wasn’t a liar. It must’ve been true. Which hurt. A lot.
“What- when- how?” Till exclaimed, stumbling over his words. He took a breath. “When did he tell you?”
“A few months ago?” she said, unsure. “I can’t recall exactly when.”
Okay, Till thought. Maybe Ivan forgot to mention it. Maybe it isn’t a big deal, and he got over it quickly. This is fine.
“Only a few months ago? I’ve known since high school,” Sua said proudly.
Just like that, Till’s world shattered again.
“He’s had the same crush since high school?” he said, voice cracking against his will.
“Yep,” said Sua.
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“But… he would’ve mentioned it to me at least once, right? If it’s been going on for that long?” he asked, a tad distressed.
Sua shrugged. Mizi’s eyes darted away.
That was his answer.
“Okay. If he doesn’t want to tell me, fine! But you two know, so spill,” Till demanded.
“As if.”
“Sorry, he told me not to.”
Till frowned. “He told you not to tell anyone or to not tell me?”
Mizi looked like a deer caught in headlights. “Well, uh… you see…”
Sua answered for her. “We’re not betraying Ivan’s trust just because you want to know. If you’re desperate, go ask him.”
“I’m not going to do anything when I find out,” Till protested. “I’ll even act like I don’t know a thing! It’s not like it’s a big deal anyway. It’s just a crush.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why do you want to know so bad?” Sua countered.
Till did not have a good answer for that.
“Hello,” a voice purred in his ear, “what are we talking about?”
Till startled as the person pulled away. A mop of blond hair entered his vision.
“Luka, stop scaring the poor kid,” Sua said in disapproval.
“I’m not a poor kid!”
“My bad, I just wanted to join this conversation. What were you saying?” Luka asked, taking a seat, leaning forward, and placing his head on his hand.
“We were talking about Ivan’s crush,” Mizi provided helpfully.
“Oh, that!” said Luka, snapping his fingers. “What brought this on?”
“We were thinking of giving him our extra tickets to a couple’s cooking class, but Till is adamant that Ivan is not interested enough in romance for it,” Sua answered.
“Woah, dial it back,” Till said, intervening in the conversation. He turned to Luka. “You know who Ivan’s crush is?”
“Obviously,” he answered, flipping his hair. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“Ivan told you before he told me?” Till said in disbelief. Luka was a known gossip. How could Ivan trust him over Till?
“Oh, he didn’t tell me. But he’s not subtle about it at all, so he didn’t need to.”
“Then who is it?” Till asked.
Luka gave him a weird look. “If you don’t already know, I’m not telling you. It’s more fun this way.”
Still, Till was undeterred. “Do I know her?”
A pause washed over them. Then, suddenly, the other three burst into laughter.
“Has anyone ever told you,” Luka asked between fits of giggles, “that you’re hilarious?”
“No…”
Even Mizi seemed to be struggling to hold it in, as she held one hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter.
Sua was outright belly laughing with tears springing to the corners of her eyes.
Till was confused. Very much so.
“What’s up with them?” someone said from behind him.
Till whirled around to see Hyuna, hands shoved in her pockets with a bored expression.
“I don’t know,” he said, glancing back at them to see their laughter dissolved to whispers and murmurs among the three of them. Looking back to Hyuna, Till, despite dreading the answer, asked, “Did you know that Ivan has a crush?”
Hyuna’s eyebrows shot up. “Of course,” she responded, then paused. “Wait, you know?”
Till felt oddly wary. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked with more bite than he intended.
“Nothing. I just didn’t think Ivan would tell you,” she replied nonchalantly.
Ouch. Till felt that sting in his gut.
‘Best friends’ really meant nothing, huh?
Frustratingly, tears stung his eyes. He blinked them away. He refused to cry for that bastard.
“He didn’t tell me,” Till let out through gritted teeth. “That’s the problem.”
Hyuna appeared mildly shocked but covered it up well. “Huh,” she said in lieu of a response.
A few seconds passed before Till’s patience ran out. “Well?”
“Hm?” came Hyuna’s disinterested acknowledgment.
“Who is it?”
“Can’t say.”
“Can anybody tell me who it is?” screeched Till, swiveling to face the group.
“Nope.”
“Sorry.”
“Tough luck.”
“You’re on your own, buddy.”
“All of you suck,” Till said, sulking.
“I don’t know about that,” Luka said thoughtfully, “I’m usually the one getting suc-”
Hyuna clapped a hand over his mouth.
“It’s nice to know that I’m being taken seriously,” Till said sarcastically, shooting a look at Luka.
Luka, unable to respond, merely shrugged.
“All of your problems could be solved if you just asked Ivan,” Sua pointed out.
“I can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Till said, racking his brain for an excuse, “Ivan is… Ivan.”
Hyuna snorted. “Astute observation.”
“Shut up! I’m just saying it’s hard to get him to open up about these things.”
“Well, you better start thinking quickly because he’s coming over here.”
Till whipped around and saw Ivan, all happy and not at all guilty for his betrayal of their friendship, approaching the group. He wanted to punch that smile off his infuriating face.
“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear,” Luka muttered from behind Hyuna’s hand as Ivan arrived at their congregation.
“Hey! How are you all doing?” Ivan greeted, unaware of the tension emanating from Till.
“We’re good,” Sua answered. The rest of the group nodded.
“Speak for yourself,” Till grouched, eyes never leaving Ivan.
“Hm?” Ivan said, looking at Till and noticing his mood. “Is something wrong?” he asked in concern.
He tried to lift Till’s chin, being the touchy bastard he was, but Till slapped his hand away before it could reach him.
“Traitors don’t get to ask me that.”
Ivan wore a shocked expression. “Am I the traitor?”
“Yes, obviously!” Till snapped.
Confusion painted across Ivan’s face. “What did I do?”
“You know exactly what you did.”
“I don’t,” Ivan said, panic flaring visibly. “Is it because I hid your pencil? I put it under your pillow, but I was sure you’d find it by now! Or was it because I switched your shampoo for glue last week? I thought I apologized for that! And I swear I haven’t touched your guitar… I learned my lesson from last time…” he trailed off.
“No, no… what?” said Till, lost. “That’s irrelevant. I’m not talking about that.”
“...oh,” Ivan said hesitantly. “What did you mean then?”
“I meant that you’re a fucking traitor!” Till yelled, anger returning in full force. His fingers itched with adrenaline. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He could handle this civilly. “Why didn’t you tell me about your crush?”
As soon as the words hit him, Ivan stood shocked still, color draining rapidly from his face. He wasn’t moving or blinking, and Till wasn’t sure if he was even breathing. His mouth was parted open and his eyes were blown wide, capturing his paralyzed state. If Till didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought that he’d broken the news of someone’s death.
Till, despite all his dismay for Ivan, had never seen him look so scared. Uncertainty crept into his mind—did Till really need to know who Ivan liked?
The thought left as soon as it came. Of course Till needed to know! Best friends didn’t keep secrets from each other—heck, he told Ivan about his crush on Mizi back in high school, albeit after lots of pestering, so it was only fair if Till got to know Ivan’s crush too!
He pushed on. “Do you not trust me?” Till demanded.
“No! No, I just,” assured Ivan, panicked, rubbing the back of his neck, “didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He wouldn’t meet Till’s eyes.
“I wouldn’t be uncomfortable! We’re best friends!” Till declared.
Ivan fidgeted. “Sorry. I should’ve told you before,” he said. If possible, he looked even more miserable.
“Okay, you can fix this,” Till said. “Tell me now.”
At that, Ivan looked confused. “Tell you what?”
“Tell me who your crush is.”
Ivan froze. “...You didn’t know,” he said, horrified.
“No, but everyone else knows,” said Till, gesturing to their friends, all of whom were watching them with bated breath. “So tell me.”
“Well, you see, I…”
Till raised a brow.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” Till challenged.
Ivan remained silent. It only made Till’s anger explode.
“Fuck. You. How dare you tell everyone but me? I thought I was your best friend, but apparently not. Go be besties with Luka for all I care! I don’t want to see your lying ass again,” Till seethed.
“What did I do?” Luka chimed in.
“Shut up!” Till snapped.
“Till, you don’t mean that…” Ivan pleaded.
“Yes, I do,” he said, stalking away. “And don’t follow me,” Till added when he heard Ivan’s footsteps behind him. He turned around and shot him one last glare before leaving with the faintest of tears clouding his eyes.
----------
“So dramatic,” Luka whined. “Very entertaining though. Ten out of ten experience.”
Ivan, who had for the most part forgotten their audience, glared at him. He then directed a heated stare over the rest of them, who were glancing away in guilt and awkwardness.
“What did you tell him?” he demanded.
Nobody spoke.
“The only thing I asked you all to do was not tell him,” Ivan emphasized in bewilderment. “And you all told him.”
Sua raised her hands in surrender. “We didn’t tell him everything,” she reasoned.
“But enough to get me into this mess,” Ivan retorted. “You’re ruining my chance with him.”
Sua snorted. “What chance?”
Ivan stiffened.
Luka whistled. “Cold-hearted.”
“Be nice,” Hyuna scolded, smacking Luka on the head.
“Ow! Don’t look at me! Sua started it!” Luka protested, pointing at Sua.
Sua stuck her tongue out at him.
Meanwhile, Ivan was going through a crisis.
“Are you okay?” Mizi asked, worried.
“No,” Ivan said blankly. “Till hates me.”
“He doesn’t hate you,” Mizi reassured. “He’s just upset right now.”
“It’s my fault he’s upset,” Ivan said, shaken. He didn’t mind making Till frustrated, annoyed, or downright pissed off. But genuinely upset? Ivan’s stomach dropped when he saw tears gather in the corners of Till’s eyes when he left.
Mizi didn’t seem to know what to say to that.
“I didn’t ruin a chance. I never had that. I ruined our friendship,” Ivan whispered brokenly.
“I want to ruin our friendship,” Luka interrupted, singing. “We should be lovers inst-”
“LUKA!” Hyuna and Mizi shouted at the same time. “Can you be serious for once?” Hyuna said.
Luka pretended to think for a moment. “Nah, I’ll pass.”
Ivan made a sound like he was dying.
Mizi patted his back.
“I kind of feel bad now,” Sua admitted.
“Weak,” Luka responded. “I don’t. It’s not like it’s a hard situation to fix.”
Ivan’s head snapped to Luka. “How?”
Luka shrugged. “Easy. Just lie.”
Ivan shook his head. “He would never believe me.”
“Just say you have a crush on Hyuna,” Luka said offhandedly. “Everyone has a crush on her.”
“Pretty sure that’s just you,” Sua said.
Hyuna remained unfazed.
Ivan ignored them. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t lie to him about this.” He paused. “Also, everyone knows I’m gay.”
Mizi and Sua looked at each other, on the brink of another laughing fit. Mizi was the first to break with a small snort, which led to Sua losing it.
Ivan looked between Luka and Hyuna, puzzled. “Am I missing something?”
“Well,” Luka, with an amused smile on his face, answered, “not everyone is aware of your sexuality, it seems.”
“...Please tell me Till doesn’t think I’m straight.”
“Ah, well then I suppose I shall speak no further.”
“And he finally shuts up,” said Hyuna, impressed. “Nice going, Ivan!
Ivan groaned into his hands. “This is the worst,” he said, sulking.
“Maybe it’s a sign you should get over him,” Hyuna suggested.
“Hah! That’s never going to happen,” Sua said, butting in. “I mean you’re talking to King Yaoi the Third-”
“Stop-”
“-a collector, consumer, and connoisseur-”
“No-”
“-of BL!” Sua finished.
“I thought we agreed to drop the nickname,” Ivan grumbled.
“Sorry,” Sua said, not sorry at all. “It’s too iconic.”
“Drop the recs, Ivan,” Luka called out.
“You do not want to know what he reads. Trust me,” said Sua, involuntarily shuddering.
“I don’t kinkshame,” Luka replied, defensive.
“Maybe you should,” Sua said. “Ivan deserves to be shamed.”
“I don’t think it’s possible for him to feel more shame,” said Hyuna, eyeing Ivan, hunched over in defeat. “Look at him.”
“I think you should tell Till the truth,” Mizi suggested, nudging Ivan. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“What she really means,” Sua corrected, “is that you can’t go down from here.”
“Or that you can’t go down on him from here,” Luka added.
“You’re at rock bottom,” Hyuna confirmed.
Ivan gave her an incredulous look. “And whose fault is that?” he bit out.
“Yours,” Sua answered without missing a beat. “And maybe a bit of ours,” she amended. “Either way, Mizi is right. It’s either lying or telling the truth, and you don’t want to lie, so…”
“It’s overdue you told him,” Hyuna added. “It’s been what? Forever?”
“I’m setting myself up for rejection,” Ivan mumbled in misery.
“Don’t assume rejection,” Mizi said with a frown.
“Statistically speaking, it is the most likely outcome,” Luka stated plainly.
“Since when did you become a math expert?” Sua said, elbowing him. “Let her speak.”
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss him,” Mizi advised, continuing to speak to Ivan and ignoring the other two’s squabble. “I think Till likes you more than you give him credit for.”
Ivan huffed humorlessly. “I think I would know if he liked me,” he replied. After all, he had spent the last decade of his life infatuated with him.
“I may not know him as well as you do,” Mizi admitted, “but, I mean, why else would he feel hurt that you didn’t tell him about your crush?”
Ivan disregarded her implication.
“Tell him,” Mizi urged. “Tell him, and at least you’ll know.”
Their gazes met in mutual understanding. Mizi had a hard, but gentle look in her eyes—a look that told Ivan that she was being genuine.
A puff of breath passed Ivan’s lips. He knew he was at a loss. “I guess I have to, huh?” he conceded quietly.
He had been delaying this moment for years. It was only inevitable something like this would happen where he had no better choice.
“We’ll be rooting for you,” said Hyuna, clapping him on the back.
“Don’t mess it up!” Luka encouraged cheerfully.
“But if you do mess up, we’ll stage an intervention,” Sua chirped.
Ivan’s mouth pulled into the beginnings of a smile. “Thanks, guys.”
He checked his phone. A weather notification popped up, saying that it would rain soon. He didn’t have Till’s location, but he needed to find him, ideally before the downpour.
“Wait!” Mizi exclaimed as Ivan started to move to find Till. “Before you go, take these.” She held out two slips of paper. “You might need them,” she added with a wink.
Ivan took them, gave her a questioning look, to which she smiled innocently, and then took off. He slipped the papers into his pocket. He didn’t know what they were, but he didn’t need to know. His mind had one track, and one track only.
He had a guy to get.
----------
Cold raindrops dripped down Till’s face.
Just my luck, Till thought sourly.
As if his day couldn’t get any worse, he narrowly missed the bus he planned to take to get home. Due to the poor weather, the next bus was delayed. Till had been waiting twenty minutes in the bitter downpour because the bus stop was conveniently broken.
He cursed himself for not checking the weather app. Had he known it would rain, he would’ve brought an umbrella.
After his upsetting discovery, he wanted to go home and scream into a pillow. However, the world was cruel, so he was stuck with his pitiful thoughts trapped inside his brain, as his cheeks, fingers, and toes became numb from the raw wind.
I hate him, Till thought, clenching his fists. I hate him so much. He is dead to me.
Had Till misread the closeness of their friendship? Had he done something to warrant Ivan’s secretive behavior over the past decade? Had he broken Ivan’s trust?
Had Ivan ever trusted him in the first place?
The thought stung. So did the tears in his eyes. They fell without his permission, mixing with the raindrops on his face.
It wasn’t just the distrust that hurt Till. He was bothered by the situation—by the sheer possibility that Ivan would get with a random girl. It was nonsense. He wasn’t quite sure why the notion irritated him so much. Maybe it was because Till wanted a girlfriend too.
He pulled out his phone to check the bus schedule. 1 min, it read as its estimated time of arrival. A particularly large raindrop splashed on his face. He was glad to be out of the storm soon.
Just then, he heard someone’s heavy breathing getting louder and louder as if coming near the bus stop. Till turned to the side to see a familiar mop of jet-black hair, soaking wet, next to him.
“Till,” Ivan said as if breathing in his name. “Till.”
“Ivan,” said Till with a stilted voice, struggling to keep his tone flat.
“Till, I-” Ivan gulped. “I need to… you deserve… I don’t…” he forced out, floundering for words.
The bus Till had been waiting for stopped next to them. The doors opened.
“This is my ride,” Till said, avoiding eye contact and taking a step back.
“Wait! Please, I, uh,” said Ivan, panicked. Unexpectedly, his eyes lit up briefly, and he fumbled for something in his pocket. Then, he shoved a hand to Till’s chest.
Till moved his hand to his chest as Ivan drew back. He felt a small piece of paper brush against his fingertips. He held up the slip to read it.
He looked back up at Ivan. “Why did you give me this? I told Sua I didn’t want it.” Till glanced up at the open bus door with an impatient bus driver waiting for his boarding. “I have to go.”
Till turned away, only to find that a hand clutched the fabric of his sleeve. That hand was Ivan’s.
“Go with me,” Ivan said, meeting Till’s eyes with determination.
“What?”
“Go with me,” Ivan repeated, casting a glance toward the tickets.
Till remained lost. He deliberated for a split second before turning to the bus driver and gesturing for him to go on with him. The doors closed, and the bus left.
Till, still perplexed, looked back at Ivan. “Go with you…? I don’t-”
“You understand,” Ivan interrupted, already predicting his response.
“Did you read what it says?” Till asked impassively. “Because you should take… that person,” he said vaguely.
“Till,” Ivan said, voice edging on a plea. “That person… You’re the only person I would take.”
“But you…” Till said, trailing off. But Ivan had a crush. A long-standing crush. Everyone said so, and he doubted everyone was lying.
You’re the only person I would take, Ivan had said.
The only person.
The only.
Only.
Suddenly his double vision cleared up and he saw one, clear image.
“It’s me,” Till mumbled, staring at the ticket in his hand as the word Couple jumped out at him. “It’s me,” he repeated, dazed.
Ivan shifted. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
Till looked up at Ivan, who was visibly nervous. “How long?” he asked, ignoring his question.
“Since you jumped in to defend Mizi from those bullies when they took her glasses.”
Till’s eyes nearly bulged. “That was in middle school,” he said in disbelief.
“It was,” Ivan affirmed.
Till’s brain struggled to catch up to this new information. “Why? How?”
Ivan tilted his head, unsure of what Till meant.
Till took a breath to align his thoughts. “Why me?” he asked, quieter than before.
A small, barely noticeable, genuine smile appeared on Ivan’s face. “You’re the most passionate person I know. You’re courageous, kind, and… so full of life. I never knew I could feel this way until I saw you,” he said fondly, eyes glazing over as if remembering the moment they met. “It couldn’t be anyone else. It’s always been you.”
Till was rendered speechless. He didn’t notice when his mouth parted in shock. He closed it with a click.
For years, he never noticed Ivan’s affection. It was whiplash—going from believing that Ivan wasn’t interested in love to hearing Ivan confess his feelings for him. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He hadn’t considered this possibility.
Ivan was his best friend. He wasn’t sure if he wanted that to change. Of course, he didn’t want to see Ivan with someone else—only because it would be weird, no other reason. But everything was uncertain. He had no ground to stand on since his world was flipped upside down.
He didn’t love Ivan, at least not in the way Ivan loved him. But was it wrong for him to want to try?
Ivan stared at him, awaiting his response. Drops of rain clung to his eyelashes and water ran down his face. His eyes held something akin to melancholy.
Till made up his mind, then and there.
He shoved the ticket into Ivan’s chest.
Ivan’s expression crumpled.
“Take it back,” Till mumbled, looking away.
Ivan grabbed the ticket at his chest. He said nothing.
“...If we’re going to do this, you need to plan a better date,” Till continued.
He looked back at a shocked Ivan. His crestfallen expression morphed into one of abounding hope.
“Is this real?” Ivan murmured, touching his own face as if to gauge reality.
“Uh, I’m pretty sure it is,” Till replied awkwardly.
Ivan’s eyes shined. He took a step toward Till.
Till didn’t step back.
He placed a hand on Till’s cheek, cupping it. Till blinked up at Ivan and his unwavering gaze.
“Can I?” Ivan asked hesitantly, almost afraid to ruin the moment.
Till gave the faintest of nods before Ivan leaned in and captured his lips.
The first thing that registered in Till’s mind was that Ivan’s lips were soft. His hand slid from Till’s cheek to the nape of his neck. Till could feel Ivan’s snaggletooth brush against the corner of his mouth. The rain beat down upon them, but he didn’t care. A tingly feeling spread through Till’s body. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it felt pleasant.
Ivan started to pull away, and it was then that Till realized that he had been frozen like a statue. Without thinking, Till reached toward Ivan’s neck with both hands and pulled him back so that their lips recollided. He hadn’t ever kissed anyone, so he wasn’t sure what to do, but Till tried to reciprocate. He experimented with moving his lips slowly and gently.
Ivan responded enthusiastically, pressing closer to Till. He held him close as if this was his last chance to be next to him.
The kiss itself only lasted a few seconds and ended with them parting. Till was all too aware of the raindrops sliding over his skin and grazing his reddened lips. He snuck a glance at Ivan, who looked amazed, blinking like he was trying to make sure he wasn’t an illusion.
A bout of silence passed between them as both of them contemplated how to proceed in this new, unfamiliar territory.
After a few beats, Till, awkward and rash, blurted out, “That was… cool.”
Immediately, he immediately groaned internally. What a way to make things more awkward, he thought. Why am I being weird about this?
However, rather than seeing Till’s own judgment reflected in Ivan’s eyes, he saw a pure form of tenderness he had never seen from Ivan before. His eyes crinkled in the corners, revealing years upon years of unnoticed love. He didn’t just look at Till like he was his world but like he was his universe and everything beyond it.
“Very cool,” Ivan replied simply, smile widening.
Till couldn’t be sure if he was mocking him or not.
Ivan looked at the empty space where the bus had been a few minutes ago. “Do you… want to stay at my place today? The storm is getting bad, and it’s closer than yours,” he reasoned.
Till looked at Ivan’s hopeful eyes, holding his gaze. He felt like he was seeing him for the first time. Their relationship was redefining itself in front of his eyes, and Till was curious about where it could go.
A smile escaped onto Till’s lips. “I’d like that.”