Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ollie was so tired of the city. It seemed to want to eat him up and spit him back out every day. With its endless traffic, millions of people scurrying from place to place, ever-present background noise, and lights that seemed to drown out anything else – Ollie was exhausted. It wasn’t a place for a sane human to live, let alone a person trying to write an entirely new novel from scratch. It was ridiculous the way Ollie loathed this place. He had no friends, nothing keeping him here, and yet he never left.

Until, one day, he decided he had to. It was no longer a question or something to consider, he had to get out. It was almost impulsive – he was writing, words coming to him slowly, and the next thing he knew he was on the search for somewhere new to live. He found a vacation cabin in a tiny mountain town near the Italian alps and he quite literally begged the person who owned it to let him sign a lease as soon as possible. The man, George, reluctantly agreed, telling him he could have the cabin ready within the week.

Ollie got to work packing his things. It was an easy if not slightly monotonous task, throwing things in boxes and taping them up. He played music loudly and got the job done. He went down to his leasing office and told them he had to move out and he’d like to break his lease. It was an argument, of course Ollie had expected this, but eventually they agreed on the grounds that they got to keep Ollie’s deposit. Ollie didn’t care – he had plenty of money in his bank account regardless. He was a best-selling author, for God’s sake. 

Then, he loaded his relatively small number of items and set off to Italy. He barely even looked behind him in the mirror as he left.

When Ollie pulled up to his new cabin, he was entirely charmed. It was completely made out of wood or at least that’s how it appeared to him. Twinkling white lights hung from the roof, apparently someone had decorated for Christmas. Snow covered the ground, reflecting the bright sunlight viciously. Sprawling mountains towered over Ollie in every direction as far as the eye could see, the only thing impeding his view of them was the countless trees that surrounded his cabin. And, the best part, it was quiet. The snow seemed to silence everything around him and when he stepped out of the car, he let out a loud sigh of satisfaction.

"Hello,” a man greeted, stepping out of his cabin. He offered his hand to Ollie. “I’m George, we spoke over text?”

Ollie shook his hand. “Oh, yes. Hello. Wow, sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be from the UK,” Ollie said before he could think any better of it. 

“Yeah, nobody here ever is,” George said with a laugh. “Come on in, I’ll show you around.” 

Inside of the cabin, it was cozy, exactly like the pictures. The two couches sat on opposite sides of the room, angled at a way that faced them toward the wood-burning fireplace. Ollie would rather kill himself than admit he’s never started a fire before, so he didn’t. The floors matched the wood of the walls and the living room was big enough to not feel suffocating but small enough for it to still feel like a home. His bedroom was just a medium-sized room with a bed. It connected to the bathroom and George explained some safety precautions to take during the colder nights. 

“So, that’s basically it for the cabin. As far as the town goes, there are only about three hundred of us who live here year-round. Other than that, it’s mainly tourists. There’s a waffle place, a cafe, and a sort of all-in-one convenience store that has most things you might need. For anything special, unfortunately, you will have to go into the next town over. Lando and Oscar – they own the store – will take special orders if you ask nicely and in advance. Just, don’t count on it. I’d recommend putting some chains on your tires and getting some wood ready for the fireplace.”

Ollie nodded along to the slew of information. George finished by saying, “oh, and, since you’re a new resident, you’re probably going to be a hot topic. Sorry, but when there’s only three hundred people on a mountain, gossip spreads quickly.”

Ollie laughed. George did not. Ollie blinked. “Oh, you’re being serious.”

“Deadly serious, mate. I’m surprised Max isn’t up here taking pictures of you for his boyfriend yet.” 

“Who- who is Max?” Ollie asked, glancing around, suddenly trying to see if any digital cameras are flashing at him. 

“Ah, you’ll meet him soon enough,” George said, patting Ollie on the shoulder. “Any other questions?”

Ollie had so many questions, but none that he particularly wanted to ask. He shook his head no and George smiled at him, telling him good luck with the move before he walked out of the door. Ollie gaped after him. After he snapped out of it, he began to move his boxes inside the cabin. He barely had enough items to fill it up, but that was a problem for later Ollie. 

After he brought everything inside and got unpacked which didn’t take long, he slumped down onto his freshly made bed and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning Ollie woke with a jump. Something was tapping at his window. He rubbed his eyes as he crawled out of the warm bed into the cold air, creeping slowly toward the window. When he pulled back the curtain, a bird was perched on his windowsill, pecking at the glass. Ollie smiled lightly at the little creature, black and blue in the most beautiful way.

God, Ollie thought, I could get used to this. 

 He sat there for a moment, watching the bird when it flew away into a nearby tree. A smile came naturally to his face. He took a moment to admire the thick snow on the ground, the snow-capped alps in the distance, the wide trunked trees decorating his lawn. Beautiful in a way he’d never experienced in the city, far better than scrawling city lines and snow that turned muddy brown from the amount of people walking over it. 

Then, he got in the shower, warmth washing over his freezing cold bones. He wondered if he could buy pre-cut firewood from the store that George had mentioned. He then remembered he was also supposed to put chains over his tires and sighed loudly. Living somewhere gorgeous took a lot of fucking work.

Ollie found the store without trying very hard at all. It was, quite literally, called ‘The Store.’ He snorted at the name. Very creative on the owners’ parts. He parked his car and walked inside. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but he thought that this made sense. It was like a regular grocery store except instead of a bunch of food, there was a little bit of everything. Wood, food, skiing supplies, coats, gloves, and most things in between. There weren’t many options for food, but Ollie supposed that’s what George meant when he said if he wanted anything special, he’d have to go to the next town over. 

“Hello!” Someone greeted from the back, peeking their head out of the door. “Oh. You’re the new guy, aren’t you?”

Ollie glanced around as if there was someone else in the building. “Uh, yeah, I guess that’s me.”

“Lovely. I’m Oscar. Lando!” He yelled the last part into the room he’d just walked out of and suddenly there was another boy appearing over his shoulder like a meerkat. 

“Oh, Ollie. George told me about you. I’m Lando,” the boy said with only his eyes visible. 

“George told you about me?” Ollie asked. 

“Yep,” Lando said, finally stepping out so Ollie could actually see him. “Said you were having a nervous breakdown or something? Is that right?”

Ollie furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t know if nervous breakdown is the term I would use.”

“That’s the term that George–” he was cut off by Oscar slapping his shoulder. “Jesus, Osc, I’m trying to make a friend.”

“Sorry about him,” Oscar apologised. “He doesn’t have much decorum. It’s lovely to meet you and yes, most of us here already know who you are. Sorry about that. Do you like apples? We have some on sale.” He gestured to a bin of apples that was sitting to the left of Ollie. Ollie glanced between the apples and the two boys standing behind the counter in front of him.

“Uh- sure?” Ollie agreed hesitantly. He wasn’t particularly here for apples, but the food at his cabin was scarce and he thought it couldn’t hurt much. Plus, the apples looked good. Crisp. “Do you guys have pre-cut firewood?”

“Yes, but we don’t carry a lot. Most people chop their own,” Lando said, pointing at the stack of wood by the door. 

“Then, do you have an axe as well?” Ollie asked. He wasn’t quite sure how to chop wood, but he supposed he’d have to figure it out. 

“That, my friend, we do,” Oscar said, grabbing Ollie by the shoulder and leading him down an aisle. There was a small selection of axes. Ollie looked at them, pretending he had a clue what he was looking at. 

Oscar picked one up and handed it to him. It was red with a sharp point. “This one’ll be good for you.”

“Is it obvious that I have no clue what I’m doing?” Ollie itched the back of his head. 

“Kind of,” Oscar replied, not unkindly. He had a warm, inviting smile on his face. “We have chains for your tires, too. Lan can help you put them on.”

“That would be great, actually. Wow, you guys are really nice,” Ollie mused. In the city, people were moving so fast that nobody had time to stop and help others. He’d never been somewhere where the people wanted to help him, where people didn’t sigh tiredly when they had to show him where something was in a grocery store aisle.

Oscar snorted. “We try our best. Here on the mountain, most people have lived here their whole lives. There’s only like ten of us under the age of thirty. We like to help our newcomers – especially since they don’t appear very often.”

Ollie could tell Oscar was being genuine, it was easy to see in the way there was zero annoyance in his eyes. “That’s really cool. I appreciate it so much, seriously.” 

“Don’t mention it,” Oscar waves him off nonchalantly. “We’ll check you out at the register when you’re ready and then Lan can help you with the chains.” He left Ollie standing there with the axe in his hand, staring at him as he walked away. 

He meandered around the store, picking up some things he thought he’d need. Ollie didn’t cook much back home, so he was going to have to pick up some skills or get really into eating waffles. He grabbed potatoes and an assortment of vegetables and some miscellaneous meats. He found multiple types of pasta that he picked up sauce for as well. He decided on some of the apples Oscar had mentioned were on sale. He found some chains for his tires.

When he got to the counter, Lando and Oscar were throwing a foam ball back and forth. Once they noticed his presence, they both turned to him. “Find everything okay?” 

“I think so,” Ollie said, dumping his things on the counter. Lando rang him up while Oscar shoved everything into bags apart from the chains. They operated like they’d done this a million times before and Ollie figured that they probably had. It seemed like they were the only two people employed at the place. Ollie paid and then Lando helped him carry his stuff out, throwing it all in the car before he started putting the chains on Ollie’s tires. 

“Thank you for doing this,” Ollie said, standing above Lando, watching his movements. He wanted to learn how to do these things so he could be self-sufficient. 

“No worries, mate,” Lando said. “I’ve done it a million times; one more won’t break me.”

Ollie chuckled. “Still. I’m kind of out of my element, you know?”

Lando nodded. “Yeah, I do know. I remember moving here when I was twenty, too.”

Ollie quirked an eyebrow. “How do you know how old I am?”

“George told me,” Lando said, moving to the next tire.  Ollie probably should have assumed as much. “He didn’t tell me much else though. Kimi’s excited to have another young guy around, he says the rest of us are too old.”

“Kimi?”

“Yeah. You’ll meet him soon enough,” Lando said. “He’s lived here his whole life, never had many friends his age, so.”

“He’s twenty, too?” Ollie asked. 

“Nineteen,” Lando corrected. “He works at his parents’ waffle place. You should try it soon. It’s amazing.”

Now, Ollie was curious. It seemed like everyone else he’d met here so far were from other places if the accents were anything to go off of. What would someone who’d grown up in a protected place like this would be like?

“Yeah,” Ollie said. “I’ll have to try it.” 

With that, Lando finished the tires, standing up from the ground, dusting snow off of his snow pants. “You should be good, mate. We’ll look forward to seeing you around.”

“You too,” Ollie said, climbing in his car. He started the vehicle and pulled out of the parking lot, heading back to his cabin. He spent the rest of his night figuring out how to start a fire. He almost tried to chop some of his own wood, but he decided that was a task for later.

The next morning, Ollie started with a piping hot cup of coffee. He savoured the bitter taste on his tongue, waking him up slowly but surely as he watched out of the window. Snow was falling from the sky in small flakes, adding to the layer already covering the ground.

He put a jazz vinyl on and began to write. Maybe he was making it up, but it seemed to come easier to him now. He didn’t get stressed out or anxious when he looked up and saw the happenings outside of his window. The words flowed from his fingertips like water, adding to his word count with ease. He felt like his brain was functioning better, like he was less exhausted after only two days on the mountain.

After a few hours of fingers clacking and soft jazz, Ollie’s stomach began to rumble. He thought about the food he bought yesterday and then he remembered he’d have to actually cook it and that quickly became a non-option. Then, he remembered what Lando had mentioned about the waffle place, about Kimi. He put on a thick pair of black joggers and a grey sweatshirt, topping it off with a blue coat. He tugged a beanie on his head before he grabbed his keys from the counter and headed out the door.

The waffle place was slightly more difficult to find than The Store, but still fairly easy. It was one of three buildings on the mountain; it couldn’t possibly be that hard. There was a sign in front of the building reading “Antonelli’s Waffles.” It was a pale blue colour with white mountains lining the bottom of it. It looked homemade, the mountains a little rough, the paint peeling off. It was charming, a place to be inhabited.

Ollie parked his car and walked in the building. The scent of waffles wafted into his nose immediately. Wooden walls were adorned with Christmas lights and miscellaneous photographs. Some of them were clearly taken inside the restaurant while others were film posters and magazine snippets. They were haphazard, messily strewn along the walls.

“Hello,” someone said, snapping Ollie out of his admiration. When Ollie turned his head, it took everything in him not to gasp. The boy behind the counter, presumably Kimi, was genuinely gorgeous. Despite living on a snowy mountain in December, his skin was tanned, the tip of his nose a pinkish red. Messy dark brown curls fell over his forehead, a nest on top of his head. A scar lived above his eye, threading through his eyebrow, his eyes a cocoa brown. He was wearing a hoodie with the sleeves pushed up and jeans, bracelets covering up the lower half of his arms. His voice wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t high either, a perfect middle ground, his accent like honey.

Ollie blinked and swallowed before he spoke. “Hi.”

Kimi giggled. It was the cutest thing Ollie had ever heard in his life. “You must be Ollie?”

“Yeah. Kimi?”

“Yeah,” Kimi confirmed. “I can’t believe you already know me. George is such a gossip.”

“Lando told me about you actually,” Ollie offered, probably unhelpfully.

“Lando’s an even worse gossip. Everyone on this mountain, I swear,” Kimi said, shaking his head fondly. “What’d he tell you? That I’m the best damn waffle maker on the planet?”

“No,” Ollie laughed. Kimi pouted. “Just that you’ve lived here your whole life and you work at your parents waffle place.”

“Well, that much is true,” Kimi nodded. “You know, Lando once told a tourist that I was a vampire.”

Ollie laughed loudly. “No he did not.”

“Yes, he did,” Kimi laughed. He bared his teeth to Ollie, revealing a pair of sharp canine teeth. Ollie thought they were painfully cute. “See? He told them that my teeth are fangs.”

“Well…” Ollie said, trailing off. 

Kimi’s eyes went wide. “Do not side with the enemy.”

Ollie held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. Your teeth don’t look like fangs at all. I can’t believe Lando would tell such a scandalous lie.”

Kimi was grinning with his teeth. “Exactly! Thank you. You’re my favourite on the mountain already. Your first waffle is on me.” 

Ollie blushed, despite himself. “No, no. I can pay.”

“I’m sure you can, but you’re not going to. Next time, though, you better have that card ready,” Kimi teased. “So, what do you want?”

Ollie looked over the menu. There were a surprising number of options for a place that only sold waffles and hot chocolate. He mulled over the options until he decided on a chocolate chip hazelnut waffle. He told Kimi as much. Kimi nodded, quickly getting to work on the sugary breakfast item. 

“So, what brings you to the mountain?” Kimi asked as he poured waffle mix into the waffle maker.

Ollie pondered what to say, how honest to be. He didn’t feel like getting into the grittier aspects of his move; the exhaustion fuelled nights up staring at a ceiling illuminated by city lights, early mornings being woken up by traffic and the sounds of honking or screaming, staring out the window at a city where it seemed that dreams were simultaneously born and killed. “Just needed to get out of the city, really. Stumbled upon one of George’s Airbnb’s and begged him to let me sign a lease.” 

Kimi hummed. “You didn’t like living in the city?”

“I lived there my whole life and after a while, the novelty wears off, and it’s just fucking exhausting, to be honest,” Ollie admitted. “I really don’t know how other people write for years in the city.”

“You’re a writer?” Kimi asked, his eyes going a little wide. 

“Oh- yeah. Sorry, I assumed that’s one of the things George mentioned to you guys.”

“He always forgets the most important things,” Kimi tsked. He pulled the waffle out of the appliance, putting it on a sage green ceramic plate. “Have you written anything I would have read?” 

Ollie shrugged. “Not sure. I mostly write like horror-thriller type stuff,” Ollie said like it was a question. He was literally a published author, and he still always felt awkward and anxious when people asked him questions about the books he wrote. 

“As long as none of them take place in a waffle restaurant, I’m in,” Kimi said, handing over the waffle which was now thoroughly covered in different kinds of syrups and chocolate chips. It smelled heavenly, Ollie groaned a little bit. 

“I can assure you none of them do,” Ollie laughed. “This looks so good, seriously. Thank you.” 

“Of course. Welcome to the mountain,” Kimi said. He grabbed a notebook from the counter beside him, scribbling something down on it. “You can typically find me here, but if not, here’s this.” He handed the slip to Ollie and his number was scrawled on it in rather messy, boyish handwriting. “Let me know if you need help with anything!”

Ollie smiled, gratefully. It was weird to meet someone and realise that they’d been born exactly where they were meant to be. “Thank you, so much.” He took his waffles and sat down at one of the rickety tables, clearly made that way by years of use. He found himself curious about the restaurant, about how it had come into fruition in a place like this. Was it necessity or desire? Did Kimi’s family just love waffles or was this the most sensible thing to open on the side of a mountain? 

He took a bite of the thick waffle as he pondered, chewing slowly. Each bite was chalk full of flavour, of chocolate, of the overwhelming sensation of joy. Sugar filed itself between his teeth, his taste buds. He almost moaned at the taste. 

He sat in the restaurant, munching faithfully, as the sound of seemingly Italian music filled his ears. Miscellaneous customers came in and it seemed like Kimi knew them all by name. George really wasn’t kidding when he said that everybody knew everybody on this mountain. The people who filed in all held lively conversation with Kimi. Most of them were older and seemed to know Kimi’s parents who Ollie had yet to see. Someone named Mrs Abbadelli told Kimi that she was going away to Volterra to see her family and Kimi came around the counter to give her a hug. It was a heart-warming interaction to watch, the two of them clearly sharing a moment. Ollie was an intruder and he quickly averted his eyes back to his waffle. 

Over the next week, Ollie became somewhat of a shut in. He resolved himself to cooking in his kitchen – he figured there was no way he could survive off of sugary waffles for the next year. He made miscellaneous pastas and some potato vegetable slop that kind of reminded him of home. He wrote and wrote and wrote. He felt like he was going a little bit crazy by the end of it. 

It was a Friday night when he heard it – an awful screeching noise made its way through his walls from the outdoors.  It was unlike anything Ollie had ever heard, high-pitched and ferocious and entrapping. He wrote horror novels, but those things were all made up and this noise sounded like something he’d have one of his characters hear before they subsequently find themselves in the worst situation of their life. He closed his laptop slowly, throwing his blankets off to the side, and pushing himself up from the couch. 

He meandered to the window. It was ten in the evening; there would be no light to allow him a vantage point. The outdoors was entrenched in a silky black, the only thing semi-visible was the feet of snow protruding from the ground. His eyes scanned the scene trying to find the source of the noise to no luck. It was taunting him, stilted and short screeches cut off quickly. 

He shut his curtains and walked quickly back to the couch, picking up his phone, and dialling in Kimi’s contact. He hadn’t used it at all yet, but he figured now was a better time than any. 

                  Ollie: Kimi, this is Ollie. I need help.

                  It took a few minutes for Kimi to respond. 

                  Kimi: hello ollie! what is going on?

                  Ollie: I think I am about to get murdered

                  Ollie: mov.jpg

                  Ollie: Do you hear that

                  Kimi: HAHAHAHAHA

                  Ollie: WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING

                  Kimi: oh ollie i was having such a boring night this is exactly what i needed

                  Kimi: city boy, welcome to your first interaction with a roe deer

                  Ollie: What in the ever-loving fuck is that and will it kill me

                  Kimi: img.jpg

            Kimi: that is a roe deer and no it will not kill you

                  Kimi: it probably won’t even come close to your cabin. they are just very loud

                  Ollie: THAT THING IS MAKING THAT NOISE??

                  Kimi: haha yes! they are quite cute creatures

                  Ollie: You are insane

                  Kimi: no i have just lived here for nineteen years

                  Ollie: Doesn’t mean you aren’t insane

                  Kimi: sure, sure

With their conversation coming to its natural end, Ollie closed his phone and returned to his window. He tried to find the so-called roe deer in the distance and came up unlucky. After a few moments, he sighed and decided to call it a night. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure he would be able to sleep if the noise was still ongoing, but he needed to stop writing for the night. He ended up reading for an hour before he crawled into bed, the noise of the roe deer long forgotten, Kimi lingering in his brain instead. 

The next morning found Ollie back at Antonelli’s Waffles. He walked inside the warm building, greeted immediately by an older man he didn’t recognize. This was, presumably, Kimi’s father. “Hello!” His voice and accent were remarkably similar to Kimi’s, his smile warm and inviting.

“Good morning,” Ollie greeted. “Can I have the hazelnut and chocolate waffle?” 

“You are Ollie? Kimi told me about you,” the man said while he rung Ollie up. “I am Marco, Kimi’s father. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“You as well,” Ollie said with a polite smile, swiping his card. As it turned out, Kimi was quite the gossip too. “This is a lovely place you have. Very homey.” 

“Oh, thank you. We try to make it like that since it’s the only restaurant on the mountain,” Marco said, gratefully. He began to work on Ollie’s waffle as Ollie stood patiently at the counter, glancing around again at all of the photos covering the walls.

“Oh, Ollie,” Kimi said, suddenly appearing from the back of the store. He was wearing a hoodie that appeared to be two sizes too big for him, the sleeves encasing his hands. His ears and nose were dusted pink, presumably from the cold. “How is the roe deer?”

Ollie scrunched his nose up. “He’s off terrorising someone else now, I think.”

Kimi giggled. “Be nice to him. Maybe he just wanted to be your friend.”

“Someone needs to tell him that making a horrific noise isn’t the way to make new friends,” Ollie said, accepting a plate from Marco who appeared at Kimi’s side.

“They really are friendly, Ollie,” Marco told him. “I have a photo of Kimi sitting on our porch with a roe deer a few metres behind him. He must have been, dio, like eight. He was so—”

“Papa,” Kimi whisper-yelled, smacking his dad on the shoulder. Marco made a look of disbelief, looking at his son. They had a silent conversation that Ollie was not privy to. He looked between the two of them for a hint at what was going on which proved to be unfruitful. He stood awkwardly for a moment before Kimi finally turned back to him and Marco rolled his eyes, moving to do something at the back counter.

 “Sorry,” Kimi said awkwardly. “Dads, you know.”

“Right,” Ollie agreed, although he wasn’t sure what he was agreeing to.

“So, I looked up your name last night to try and find one of your books, but nothing popped up,” Kimi changed the topic, his face morphing into a pout.

“Oh,” Ollie said. He hadn’t expected Kimi to really look into his books any further. The simple thing made his stomach queasy or something similar – he wasn’t sure exactly what the feeling was. “I, uh, publish under my full name. Oliver.”

“Oliver,” Kimi parroted. “What’s your last name then?”

“Bearman,” Ollie said. Giving out his name to somebody trying to find his writing was an awkward thing. He didn’t want to seem too eager, like he’d been waiting for someone to ask about it, like he was hungry for people to recognize him. He was fairly certain that wasn’t how it was coming off, but he could never be too sure.

“Wow. Oliver Bearman can’t handle seeing a roe deer. The presses will be overjoyed to hear about this,” Kimi teased. Ollie was quickly realizing that a fair amount of teasing was something he should expect from Kimi at all times.

“To be fair, I could have handled seeing the roe deer. Hearing it late at night while in the middle of writing a horror novel? Not so much.”

“Whatever you say, Oliver. Do bears see you as one of their friends, then? You know, because you are Bearman and all.”

Ollie laughed quietly. “You’re ridiculous.” Kimi smiled like Ollie had just complimented him and maybe he had in some weird way he didn’t quite understand.

 The next time Ollie saw Kimi was at The Store. He made a very necessary trip down to acquire some more food. He’d eaten far more waffles and plain pasta than he wanted to think about. He was strolling through aisles, eavesdropping on a conversation occurring between Oscar and a man named Lewis who he’d encountered at Antonelli’s Waffles before. They were discussing the upcoming touring season when, apparently, all the Airbnb’s in the area would be filled with couples and eager families and competitive skiers.

He was eavesdropping more than he was shopping when he heard the door open. He turned his head to find Kimi entering the store, bundled up in a coat. He looked cozy and warm in a way that made Ollie feel fond of him. Oscar greeted him, “hey Kimi,” before returning to his conversation with Lewis.

“Oscar,” Kimi greeted back, swiping his boots against the rug in front of the door, ridding them of excess snow. He shook his head like a dog trying to dry itself off. A smile grew on Ollie’s face without his permission.

“Oh,” Kimi said when his eyes landed on Ollie. “Hey, Ollie.”

“Hi,” Ollie said with a pathetic wave.

“What’re you doing here?” Kimi asked and he sounded nervous. Ollie glanced around, slightly confused. They were in the only semblance of a grocery store on the mountain.

“I got tired of doing all my own hunting and gathering,” Ollie said.

Kimi laughed quite loudly and Ollie was proud of himself for it. “You do your own hunting and gathering? You’re a strong man, Ollie Bearman.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just a part of my routine, you know?”

“What happens when a roe deer starts barking at you when you’re hunting or gathering? Do you run for the hills? Hunter becomes the hunted?”

“Okay, I don’t like this joke anymore,” Ollie whined. Kimi giggled, taking a step closer to him. “Is that noise they make seriously called a bark?”

“It seriously is,” Kimi confirmed.

“Ridiculous,” Ollie said. “Dogs bark. Whatever the noise they make is closer to a death screech from hell.”

Kimi nodded along like he was agreeing but his lips were pressed flat in an attempt to stop laughter. Ollie shoved him on the shoulder and Kimi stumbled dramatically. “Just because you’re scared of such a sweet creature doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me!”

“I barely even touched you!” Ollie complained. Kimi stood, shaking his head in a playfully disappointed manor. Ollie could barely contain his laughter. The door slammed shut in the distance and Ollie hadn’t even seen anybody walk in or out. It was hard to take his eyes away from Kimi, for some reason.

“Seriously, though, what are you here to get?” Kimi asked, leaning over to ruffle through Ollie’s basket. Ollie watched him with a soft smile.

“I needed some food. As I’m sure you’re aware, I have eaten more waffles in the past weeks than any person ever should.”

“Waffles are good for the soul,” Kimi waved him off. He picked up a bag of pappardelle from Ollie’s basket where it hung at his side. “Have you ever had authentic Italian food?”

“Uh... what’s your definition of authentic?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” Kimi said, setting the pasta back down. “You should come eat dinner with me, mamma, and papa sometime. My sister Maggie will probably be there, too, but she hides in her room like a gremlin.”

Ollie heated up. Every interaction he had with Kimi reminded him how kind Kimi was. He wondered if he was like this with everybody – so inviting, so welcoming, so lovely. “That’s very kind, but I don’t want to intrude.”

Kimi scrunched his nose up. “Intrude? I just invited you. How could you possibly be intruding?”

“I don’t know,” Ollie said. “Family dinner is for family, right?”

“Nonsense, Ollie. Mamma and papa will be thrilled to cook for someone new. Plus, papa says you complimented the restaurant which means he loves you already.”

Ollie stared at Kimi like he was waiting for someone to yell you’ve been pranked. Nobody did. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Kimi said with certainty. “I’ll send you an official invite sometime soon.”

They meandered around the store together. Ollie discovered that Kimi watched NBA basketball and formula one just like he did. Ollie was quite surprised upon discovering that Kimi was a Mercedes fan, in contrast to practically every other Italian person ever. When Ollie told Kimi that he was a Ferrari fan, he got side eyed. They talked about Michael Jordan, Kimi’s favourite player. Ollie was happy to listen to Kimi ramble on and on about statistics. His voice was quickly becoming one of Ollie’s favourite sounds.

Ollie was laying down on his couch with a Miles Davis record playing when someone knocked at his door. He stayed laying down for a moment, almost certain he was imagining the knocking. Moments later, the knock sounded again, and Ollie pushed himself off the couch with a groan. He stumbled over to the door, pulling it open to reveal George standing in front of him with a charming smile.

“Hello, Ollie. I hope you’re doing well.”

Ollie motioned for George to come in. He did. “Hi George. Yeah, I am, thank you. You?”

“I’m alright. I’ll be a lot better if you agree to come to this little get together that we’re having at Max and Charles’ cafe. It’s chill, we do it about once a month. Just me, Lando and Oscar, Charles and Max, Kimi. The young lads on the mountain.”

Ollie blinked. The last thing he had expected was to be invited to a get together. He hadn’t even met Max and Charles. Would they hate him for not going to their cafe yet? Would they know he’d been going to Antonelli’s waffles at least thrice a week since he’d moved there? They probably would – considering the amount of gossip that gets spread on this mountain. His hands were sweaty as he stared at George open mouthed.

George didn’t seem to be put off by Ollie’s silence. “I promise it’s chill. We just chat, Max and Charles cook some food. Kimi’s been talking about you so Max and Charles are getting curious. Nobody will bite.”

Kimi had been talking about him?

“I- I don’t know.”

“Come on,” George pleaded. “Kimi will be so happy if you come.”

Ollie wasn’t aware that he’d had that big of an effect on Kimi. Really, he hadn’t been aware he’d had an effect on Kimi at all.

“Seriously?” He asked, doubtful.

“Seriously. Come, it will be fun.”

Ollie clenched his jaw, considering. He remembered Kimi the last time he saw him, covered in powdered sugar, wearing a tee-shirt showing off his sun kissed skin. “Alright.”

He was so going to regret this.

 “Amazing. Come to the cafe tomorrow around six,” George said, patting him on the shoulder. Ollie nodded in agreement, telling George he’d be there. He could already feel the knots twisting in his stomach.

The cafe was nothing more or less than what he expected. Couches and tables covered the hardwood floor with various throw pillows and blankets adorning them. There was soft music playing and it was warm in a way that was comforting but not overwhelming. A stained and frayed rug sat on the floor in front of the doorway. When he walked in, there were four people at a table – George, Lando, Oscar, and Kimi. He looked around for Max and Charles, but they didn’t seem to be in the room.

“Ollie!” Kimi called, waving him over. Ollie sheepishly smiled, walking toward the group of men in the centre of the room. “You made it!”

“I did,” Ollie said. “How are you lot doing?”

“Good. I’m tired. We got a truck in today and Lando made me unload everything by myself,” Oscar said, throwing a teasing glance at Lando.

“You literally offered!” Lando griped, rolling his eyes. His hand was in Oscar’s lap, fiddling with the other man’s fingers.

“Stop acting like children,” Kimi scrunched his nose, shoving Oscar on the shoulder. He ignored their disagreements to say, “I’m good, Ollie. Thank you. Sit down, please.” Kimi pulled out the chair directly next to him which Ollie took with a pleased smile. Sitting next to Kimi, he could feel the boy’s movements as he shifted in his seat, the heat emanating off of his hoodie covered skin. Kimi smelled like powdered sugar and waffles and chocolate.

 An unfamiliar voice with a quasi-French accent came from behind Ollie. “You all made it!” Ollie turned around to find two men – one brunette, one blond – standing behind him. Charles and Max, he assumed. He remembered George mentioning that the two men were dating. He walked closer to Ollie, assessing him. “You must be Ollie!”

“Yes,” Ollie offered a hand. The man took it. He asked hesitantly, “Max?”

“No,” the man giggled, grabbing the other man’s hand and bringing him closer. “This would be Max, my boyfriend. I’m Charles.” Max smiled, closed lipped and polite from where he stood behind Charles.

“Oh, sorry. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“No worries,” Charles said. “We are making some chicken and noodle soup; I hope this is okay with everyone.”

“It’s more than okay,” George reassured.

“Better be,” Max said. George rolled his eyes, flipping him off with a laugh. Max smiled in return and Ollie felt out of the loop of all of the dynamics of this group of people who were definitely very close with one another. This is exactly why he didn’t want to come – the feeling of being an outsider, jokes he’s not familiar with, a shared understanding between everybody besides him. He wasn’t a part of it; he wasn’t needed here. Conversation swirled around him, everyone catching up, and his eyes flitted between them trying to appear as if he wasn’t spiralling. They were talking about someone else on the mountain, some elderly woman who Lando had delivered food to today. Ollie didn’t know who she was. They were all laughing and Ollie felt so out of place.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “You alright?” Kimi’s whisper cut through his thoughts, ripping him out of them.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. I’m okay,” Ollie whispered in return. Kimi didn’t look like he believed it, but he didn’t press. He turned back to the conversation, skilfully manoeuvring the topic towards the dinner which they could now smell wafting from a room in the back.

George looked directly at Ollie. “Just wait until you try this. Charles is an insane cook.”

“Oh, really?” Ollie asked, curiously.

“Really,” Lando said. “One time, he made this pesto pasta stuff that I thought about for like a week afterwards. I’m not even kidding.”

“He is the best,” Max confirmed, squeezing Charles’ hand on the table. Charles was blushing where he sat.

“I’m excited to try it, then,” Ollie smiled. Charles smiled in return, rising from his seat. George stood after and followed him out of the room, presumably to get the food. Once they returned, everyone began to fill their bowls from the pot sitting in the centre of the table.

“So,” Max started, his hand stirring soup in his bowl. “Tell us about yourself Ollie.”

Ollie blinked. Maybe he should have been prepared for this, but he wasn’t. Everyone was staring at him expectantly. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “I lived in London for, um, most of my life. I’m a writer.”

Kimi licked some remnants of soup from his lips. “He writes horror and, like, mystery stuff. I ordered one of his books and it is really good so far.”

Ollie stared at him, bewildered. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Kimi said, simply. “I double checked and none of them had anything to do with waffle restaurants.”

Ollie laughed, partially at the call back joke, partially in disbelief. “I didn’t realise you had… done that.” Kimi shrugged, taking another bite of his soup.

“You’re a published author? That’s really fuckin’ cool, mate. We’ve practically got a celebrity on the mountain,” Lando exclaimed, his mouth full of soup.

“Like Stephen King,” George offered.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Ollie denied.

“Are you working on anything right now?” Charles asked.

“Oh, yes. It’s in really early stages, though.”

“You’ll have to tell us when it comes out,” George said. “We’ll throw you a little party or something.” Ollie couldn’t help but think about how they were planning for things that wouldn’t happen for years — like they wanted him to stick around, despite having just met him. It made him feel something that he couldn’t quite wrap his brain around. He’d never had many friends growing up and definitely not after everything with his parents and everyone here was just... accepting him.

Kimi gasped. “Yes! We have to.”

“I don’t know, guys,” Ollie said, anxiety threaded into his voice.

“It’ll be fun,” Oscar said in a sing-song voice. “Just the seven of us.”

Ollie looked around at all of them helplessly. George and Oscar were smiling, Charles looked like he was already planning a menu for the party. Max was looking at Ollie with a look he couldn’t decipher and Kimi — Kimi. Kimi looked overjoyed at the prospect of throwing this party for Ollie, at Ollie releasing another book. He was smiling so wide all his teeth were on display and he looked at Ollie with a glimmer in his eye.

“Sure,” Ollie acquiesced. “You guys can throw me a party in like two years when the book releases.”

Everyone cheered loudly and laughed and Ollie felt like maybe he belonged if only for just a moment. Kimi smiled at him and Ollie let himself smile back.

The end of the night found Ollie walking out of the cafe alongside Kimi. The seven of them spent the last three hours laughing, talking, and filling up on soup until they could barely walk. Ollie felt particularly warm, his body thrumming. It didn’t help that Kimi was next to him, walking so closely that their shoulders brushed.

“Did you have fun?” Kimi asked, glancing over at Ollie.

“I did. Everyone is really nice here.” There was snow falling lightly around them in flurries, flakes landing in Kimi’s curls and his long black eyelashes that brushed softly over his pinkish cheeks. Kimi reminded Ollie of some sort of Greek God – or, maybe Roman, he corrected himself, being Italian and all. The snow seemed to love Kimi, swaying around him and bending to his whim.

“George is a little evil, but yes, everyone is kind,” Kimi said and his voice was woven with fondness for George, the mountain, the others who were now exiting the building behind them.

“George is evil? I was not aware,” Ollie said, his voice light and airy in the way of a joke.

“He hides it well,” Kimi said, nudging Ollie’s shoulder with his own. “He’s charming which makes you forget all the evil things he does.”

“Oh, really? What kinds of evil things does he do?” Ollie found it easy to play along with Kimi’s bits and jokes, like it came naturally to him.

 “He comes to the waffle restaurant and orders the one I hate making the most.”

Ollie gasped playfully. “No.”

“Yes,” Kimi exclaimed. “And he does it with no shame. He’s a real monster.” Laughter was floating out of Ollie’s mouth, mixing with the whistle of the wind. He found it hard to stop himself from laughing when he was with Kimi, the boy always having a joke or a comment that Ollie found particularly funny. It made Ollie want to know more about him, to understand the crevices of Kimi’s mind, to know what he was hiding behind his humour.

They arrived at a dark blue Chevy C10, paint chipped and the truck was well loved. The tires were adorned with chains, similar to Ollie’s own SUV tires. It made sense for Kimi to drive something like this, something well-loved and full of soul.  “Well, this is my stop,” Kimi said with a lilt to his voice.

Ollie wanted to keep talking with Kimi. He felt it vigorously in his bones, the desire to spend more time with him, to know him in a way that he didn’t already. Really, he wasn’t sure he’d met someone like Kimi in his entire life. He was so obviously a product of the warmth that seemed to exude off of the mountain.

“What?” Kimi asked with a knowing smile. He could read Ollie like a book already.

“Nothing,” Ollie waved a dismissive hand.

“I do not believe you,” Kimi said with raised and expectant eyebrows.

Ollie considered what to say. “I don’t know.”

Kimi tilted his head, analysing Ollie. “Do you want to come back to the restaurant with me? I’ll make you a hot chocolate and we can figure it out.”

Ollie looked down at his shoes shyly, avoiding Kimi’s eyes. “Yeah,” he said. 

"Perfect,” Kimi said in response. “I’ll meet you there.”

Antonelli’s Waffles was a different beast at night. Moonlight shined in through the windows, illuminating the multi-coloured tables and chairs. There was fairy lights strung up along the walls that glowed a soft yellow when plugged in. Snow flitted around outside, visible through the windows, coating the sills in thick white powder. It felt magical, being here with Kimi in the darkness of the night. Kimi was behind the counter with two mugs, mixing liquids together as Ollie found a table and sat down. He watched Kimi with rapt interest. The restaurant was clearly a second home to Kimi, somewhere he felt comfortable.

Kimi finished making the hot chocolate and joined Ollie at the table, setting a lilac mug in front of him. The liquid was a deep brown colour; the mug was filled to the brim. Ollie picked it up with both hands and took a sip. He smacked his lips together in delight. “This is really good.”

“I thought you might like it extra sweet,” Kimi observed. “You get the sweetest thing on the menu.”

Ollie chuckled. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth.”

Kimi hummed, stirring his hot chocolate around with a spoon, not looking at Ollie. He, like the restaurant, was illuminated by the pale-yellow moonlight and he looked pretty in a way Ollie didn’t know was possible. “How’d you start writing horror books?”

Ollie explained to him how he’d grown up with a fascination of the macabre beginning with the first Edgar Allan Poe novel he’d read in school. Then he picked up Stephen King, Lucy Foley, Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft. Suddenly every thought he had was filled with a way to turn something into a mystery, to make something sit so grotesquely in your stomach that you thought about it for days, dreamt about it. He started writing when he was fourteen and never looked back, loving the way he could create a world and have it sat at the tips of his fingers.

Writing made him feel like, for once, he was in control of something. Even if it wasn’t his own life, he could do whatever he wanted with the worlds he created. That was freedom that he had never experienced before he began writing. He didn’t tell Kimi this part, but he thought the Italian understood. He listened intently the entire time Ollie spoke, keeping eye contact so starkly that it almost made Ollie want to cower under his gaze.

“You’re so cool. Seriously. I could never write an entire novel,” Kimi said when Ollie finished.

Ollie waved him off. “You could. I really think everyone has in it them if they’re willing to try.”

Kimi made a face. “I do not think so.”

Ollie shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “How old were you when you started working here?”

“Papa put me to work when I was fifteen. Him and mamma and I, we all love this place. People on the mountain and the tourists love it too. It’s like... home away from home, you know?”

Ollie did know. “That’s lovely. Why’d you guys open this place?”

“Papa and mamma moved here right after they got married. There was nothing open besides a general store. They thought the mountain deserved something a little warmer.”

Ollie nodded along. This made sense to him. Kimi’s entire being was warm, he was like a drop of sunlight or a warm glass of milk before bed. Marco was the same way, and Ollie hadn’t officially met Kimi’s mother Veronica, but he was sure she was the same. Kimi continued talking about the restaurant, explaining to Ollie how it had been such an important fixture in his life from the time he could walk. He practically grew up in the place. When he was a kid, he’d bring his schoolbooks and colouring books and sit at a table for hours doing whatever it is he felt like. It felt like puzzle pieces connecting for Ollie. Growing up here, there was no way to not be a vessel of everything that was good.

“I can tell you grew up here,” Ollie said, offhandedly.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Ollie said. “You’re so... warm.”

Kimi flushed a pretty rose pink. “That’s...”

“Sorry, that was weird,” Ollie apologised, biting his lip anxiously.

“No, it wasn’t. It was sweet. You’re sweet,” Kimi said, quietly, like it was for Ollie’s ears and Ollie’s ears only despite the fact that the restaurant was closed and empty. It was Ollie’s turn to flush. Something about the way he said it was so intimate.

Ollie changed the topic to Kimi’s parents, asking more questions about them. Kimi indulged him, talking about his parents with love threaded in between every word. He told Ollie about being a kid, about trips to Bologna, about the first time Marco took him skiing. When Kimi asked about Ollie’s parents, Ollie shrugged. His parents had been fine until they weren’t. Until Ollie was never going to bring home a woman and then he’d found himself moving out on his own. Kimi took the brief explanation that Ollie offered, a thrown out we don’t talk and let it linger between them. Then, he asked Ollie if he wanted more hot chocolate. Ollie handed him his mug and Kimi went behind the counter.

They stayed at the restaurant for hours flowing from topic to topic with refreshing ease. It had been a long time since Ollie felt this comfortable speaking with someone, not having to question every single word spoken by either party. By the time they decided to head to their own houses, both of them were yawning deeply and Kimi was blinking blearily at Ollie.

Kimi wished him a good night while they stood at their cars after he locked up. Ollie wished Kimi one in return. They lingered for a few moments, looking at each other. It was obvious that neither of them wanted to leave. The entire drive home and the hour he laid in bed before he finally got to sleep, he thought of Kimi, of the conversation, of the way he looked under the moonlight. He didn’t know exactly what this feeling was, but he didn’t mind it. He found himself eager to drown in it, to drown in Kimi.

Ollie was writing in Antonelli’s Waffles with a warm mug of hot chocolate and an empty plate of waffles beside him. He found himself continuously glancing up at Kimi where he was standing behind the counter talking to his father. The pink on his tee-shirt contrasted against his tanned skin making him hard to look away from.

Ollie forced himself to focus and got lost in the world he was building. He had no clue how much time had passed when the chair across from him was pulled out and Kimi plopped down in it, setting a fresh mug of hot chocolate next to Ollie. Ollie startled, looking up from his laptop to find the boy gazing at him with a soft smile. “Hello, sorry,” Ollie apologised.

“Nothing to apologise for. We’re slow right now so papa told me I could sit down with you for a little bit,” Kimi informed. “I brought my book to read, so keep writing.” He pulled out a copy of Legacies, Ollie’s first published novel. It made heat rise up Ollie’s chest, wrapping around his throat like a snake. Seeing Kimi holding a book full of his own words and creations made him happier than he’d probably care to admit.

They sat in relative silence apart from the flipping of pages and the clacking of the keyboard. It was comfortable. Ollie kept giggling because Kimi was particularly expressive, gasping and making faces at whatever part of the novel he was at. Ollie almost wanted to put his computer away and watch him read with irreverent focus.

After a while, Ollie groaned and stretched his arms out, pulling Kimi away from his book.

“Do I get a special sneak peek?” Kimi asked with a playful smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

“Maybe when I get the first round of edits back,” Ollie said. Kimi pouted, his pink lips pushed together. Ollie glanced down at them and back up at his eyes, shamefully.

“Come on,” Kimi whined.

“Sorry,” Ollie said. “I’m superstitious. Bad luck comes to those who show off too early.”

“I’ll show you the special menu for January in return,” Kimi said, conspiratorially.

“Enticing,” Ollie deadpanned. Kimi groaned and flopped his head on the table. Ollie watched his act of drama, thoroughly entertained.

“Whatever,” Kimi said, muffled by his arms. “Not like I care anyways.”

“Sure,” Ollie agreed. “Whatever you say, Kimi.”

“Andrea!” A voice interrupted them and Kimi’s head snapped up. Ollie blinked confusedly. “I need your help.” Ollie looked over and saw Kimi’s mother standing behind the counter with a box in her hand.

“One sec, mamma,” Kimi called, turning back to Ollie. He gathered Ollie’s dishes into his hands.

Before he could walk away, Ollie asked, “Andrea?”

Kimi nodded seriously, though his face was red. “Yeah, that is my first name. Kimi is my middle name.” Ollie nodded in understanding. Andrea. “I have to go help now, but good luck on your writing. Tell me if you change your mind about that sneak peek.”

Ollie chortled. Kimi was very persistent, if nothing else. “You’ll be the first one to know.”

Kimi smiled happily, humming as he walked to his mother. They spoke in fast Italian and Ollie didn’t understand a lick of it, but Kimi sounded so much more natural like this, in his mother tongue. His accent was less of an accent, now. Ollie was fascinated listening to it, listening to how his tone got lower, the syllables flying off his tongue with ease. Kimi’s smile never dropped from his face as he helped his mother carry in boxes – not that Ollie was watching.

He took a gulp of his fresh hot chocolate and returned to his typing with renewed vigour.

Ollie was laid in bed, covers hiked up to his chin. It was late, nearing midnight. Ollie had a fairly quiet day, writing some in the afternoon and tidying up his cabin. He’d made his own dinner and it was actually good – his culinary skills had improved marginally since he’d moved from London. He was fighting his own eyes to stay awake as he caught up on emails from his publisher, agent, and editors.

A knock sounded at his door. He thought, briefly, that it must have been George. George was the only person who’d been to his cabin since he’d moved, so that was the only thing that made sense. But he couldn’t think of a single reason why the man would be here at midnight. Despite his best interest, Ollie spiralled for a moment.

He was definitely going to get murdered.

Being a horror novelist didn’t help him on late nights.

The knock sounded again, lighter this time. Ollie climbed out of bed and crept toward the window. He looked outside and found Kimi’s truck sitting in his driveway, the blue colour unmistakable. Ollie rushed to open the door and when he did, his heart shattered. Kimi was standing on his front doorstep with tears rolling down his face and fresher ones welling up in his eyes. He was sniffling and wiping his nose with the back of his hand which was engulfed by a gigantic hoodie. His eyes were red-rimmed and his nose was bright pink. It took everything Ollie had in him not to immediately wrap the boy in a hug.

“Kimi,” Ollie said breathlessly. He grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him inside the door. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

Kimi sniffled and his voice cracked when he spoke. “You killed her.”

Ollie blinked. He blinked again. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Ellie! You killed Ellie,” Kimi cried. That’s when he realised that Kimi was crying over the end of his book, Legacies. Ellie was the main character and probably Ollie’s favourite of all the characters he’d ever created.

“Oh, Kimi,” Ollie soothed. His hand twitched where it wanted to wipe the tears off of Kimi’s face. “It’s alright, Kimi. I cried when I wrote the ending, too.”

“She- she was good, Ollie,” Kimi said. “She didn’t deserve to die like that.”

“I know,” Ollie agreed. “She deserved her happy ending, but it wasn’t possible.”

Kimi crumpled in front of him, sagging into Ollie’s body. Ollie was getting the sneaking suspicion that there was something more going on than just Ellie dying, but he didn’t press. He wrapped his arms around Kimi hesitantly and then tightened them decidedly less hesitantly when Kimi pressed himself impossibly closer. Kimi’s body was warm against his, both of their bodies shaking together with the force of Kimi’s hiccups. They stood there in silence apart from Kimi’s soft cries, Ollie rubbing his back in circular motions. Ollie hadn’t really comforted someone like this before, and he wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing. 

When Kimi’s sobs slowed into remnants of cries, his body still shaking, Ollie pulled away slightly. “Do you want to sit down? I can get you a glass of water.” Kimi nodded with a hiccup and Ollie led him to the couch, making sure he got sat down comfortably. He retrieved the glass of water, returning to Kimi as quickly as possible, joining him on the couch. Kimi gulped some of the water down and Ollie watched him, unblinking. When he finished, he placed the glass on the table, sitting back and pulling his knees to his chest.

When Kimi looked back at Ollie, the Brits heart ached.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ollie murmured.

Kimi swallowed. “I didn’t think she was going to die. She- she was so strong and she fought so hard.” Ollie hummed. “It just- it made me so sad. She was a good person and she died for it.”

Ollie pressed his lips together sadly. “Can I tell you something?” Kimi nodded, his big wet eyes boring into Ollie’s like he had all the answers. He prepared himself to tell someone this for the first time. “I started writing Legacies after my parents kicked me out of our house when I was still couch surfing. Ellie was a beacon of hope for me. Her ending was sad, but she made the world a lot better place while she was in it, which is all she ever wanted.”

As Ollie spoke, tears welled in Kimi’s eyes again. Ollie’s hand raised and this time he let himself wipe Kimi’s tears away. Kimi’s skin was hot and soft under the pads of his fingers. “It’s okay to be sad about her, believe me when I say that I am, too. Just... remember everything good she did.”

Instead of responding, Kimi moved slowly closer to Ollie. He was a scared cat approaching a dog in search of comfort. Ollie let him take his time. Kimi ended up nearly in Ollie’s lap, his arms wrapped around Ollie’s neck, his face tucked into the crevice of Ollie’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Kimi sobbed. Ollie could feel his lips moving against the skin of his shoulder, the salty tears rolling off of his face onto Ollie’s skin.

“For what?” Ollie asked quietly.

“Coming here. Your parents. Everything.”

Ollie wrapped his arms around Kimi’s waist in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. He was trying to ignore the thrum of his body, how desperately he needed this, how starved he was from any sort of human contact. How Kimi’s body fit against his like it was supposed to be there. “Don’t apologise. I’m glad you’re here. You can always come here if you need something.”

Kimi sunk further into Ollie’s arms. Ollie was content to hold him as long as he needed. His hair was tickling Ollie’s chin, so he ran his fingers through it. Kimi sighed and it was fragile around the edges. Ollie combed through his curls lightly, playing with the ones gathered around the nape of his neck. Kimi’s breathing evened out and when Ollie looked down at him, he was breathing against the skin of his neck, his eyelashes fluttering softly. A sleeping angel in a hoodie laid upon Ollie’s chest. Ollie followed him into the realm of sleep, feeling uncharacteristically light with the boy laid on top of him.

The next morning, Ollie blinked awake to a Kimi sitting across from him on the couch. He was tapping his leg quickly and the fabric of his hoodie was balled between his fists. Ollie pushed himself up a bit with a tired grunt and Kimi’s head snapped towards him. “Ollie, I am so sorry.”

“What?” Ollie said, his brain still groggy. He had no idea what Kimi could possibly be apologising for and definitely not this early in the morning. He wondered how long Kimi had been up, worrying himself to death about... whatever it was that he was worried about.

Kimi swallowed. “I- last night. I just showed up at your house and practically invited myself in and—” Ollie cut him off by pulling the hoodie from his hands gently. He knew a spiral when he saw one.

“Kimi,” he said, softly. His voice was still tired, low in the morning air. “You have nothing to apologise for. You were upset and you came to me. I’m glad you felt like you could trust me.”

“But then I—I fell asleep on you.” Ollie shrugged with a small smile. He didn’t know how to explain that something fell into place last night with Kimi on top of him, the weight of his body tucked into Ollie’s felt like he’d been waiting for it his whole life. That he’d been craving something like that for so long he was beginning to go a little crazy. Kimi stared at him, his lips quivering like he wanted to say something.

“Don’t apologise again, please,” Ollie said. “Seriously. Nothing about last night bothered me.”

Kimi looked at his hands where they were laid on top of his knees, tensely scratching at the fabric of his sweatpants. Ollie nudged him with his foot. Kimi looked at him, bewildered. He smacked Ollie’s calf lightly and Ollie nudged him again. It became somewhat of a play-fight, the two of them going back and forth. Kimi started laughing his familiar laugh and Ollie was thrilled, his earlier angst hopefully forgotten.

“Ollie,” Kimi said the moment Ollie walked through the door of Antonelli’s Waffles. “Check this out.” He turned around a small sign on the counter to reveal the January special menu. Ollie had once mentioned to Kimi that he loved peanut butter and on the menu was now a chocolate and peanut butter waffle. Ollie stared at it for a moment.

“No fucking way,” Ollie said.

“Yes fucking way,” Kimi replied in the exact same tone.

“You’re insane,” Ollie said through laughter. “I’ll take one, please.”

“Coming up, Mister Bearman,” Kimi said in a sing-song voice. Ollie watched his biceps flex against his black tee shirt as he made the waffle. He remembered those arms wrapped around his neck. He shuffled that thought away.

“I can’t believe you put this on the menu,” he said.

“You will like it,” Kimi said, glancing over his shoulder at Ollie. “It’s very good.”

Ollie mock gasped. “You tried it without me?”

“I had to make sure it was perfect before I gave it to you,” he said. Ollie thought maybe he was supposed to laugh, but Kimi was being sincere. He could tell through the stern tone of voice, the lack of teasing lilt. He smiled when Kimi couldn’t see him. When Kimi turned around with the waffles in his hand, he set them on the counter in front of Ollie. He grabbed a fork and put it on the plate, pushing it all toward the Brit. “Try it.”

Ollie breathed a laugh, picking up the fork and taking a bite. It was really good. The peanut butter and chocolate mixed together perfectly on his tongue, a sweet and salty gasp of flavour. “Oh my god,” he groaned, covering his mouth as he spoke. “This is the best thing I have ever tasted.”

Kimi smiled brightly, his sharp canine teeth on display. Ollie took another bite before he cut a piece for Kimi. He held the fork up to Kimi’s pink lips and when Kimi opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around the fork, Ollie almost groaned. The night they spent together on Ollie’s couch had done a lot of other things to Ollie’s touch starved brain that he hadn’t really considered. They still hadn’t talked about it. Not that Ollie was bothered by it, because he wasn’t.

“Very good,” Kimi said after he swallowed.

“You made it,” Ollie pointed out.

“That’s exactly why it’s so good,” Kimi winked horribly. Ollie laughed fondly, taking another bite of the waffle in front of him.

                  kimi: img.jpg

                  kimi: official invite. featuring papa and mamma antonelli’s cooking. can u make it?

                  Ollie: You made a real invite?

                  kimi: yes can u make it

                  Ollie: Yes, I will be there.

                  kimi: u text like ur writing ur book

                  Ollie: Okay, enough.

                  kimi: just thought id point it out

Ollie wasn’t freaking out. He really wasn’t. It was just – this was a dinner with Kimi’s parents that he’d been cordially invited to. It felt... intimate. Maybe even romantic. And he wanted to look nice but not too nice and definitely not like he hadn’t tried at all. He was rifling through all of his clothes like they’d personally offended him. His hair was wet from the shower still and thank God for it because he’d been running his hands through it more than could possibly be good for the brown strands.

After twenty more minutes, he caved.

Ten minutes later, a knock sounded at his door. He walked quickly to the front of the cabin, swinging the door open to reveal George Russell. “George. Thank you so much for coming, I’m so sorry to ask you to do this.”

“Nonsense,” George said, stepping inside. “I’m glad you asked me. I am definitely the most fashionable person on the mountain. What’s the event?”

George followed Ollie to his bedroom. “I’m going to eat dinner at Kimi’s house with his parents.”

“Oh, you’ve got to impress your boyfriend’s parents. I see.”

Ollie floundered. “What? He is not my boyfriend.”

George raised an eyebrow and snorted. “Okay, Ollie. Whatever you say.” He began to go through Ollie’s closet with deft fingers, assessing garments and throwing different ones aside and others onto the bed. Ollie wanted to argue with him, but he figured that would make things worse, so he didn’t.

“I can feel your anxiety from here,” George said from where he stood in front of the closet. Ollie was sitting on the bed behind him, gnawing at his lip.

“I’m not anxious,” Ollie said. George gave him a meaningful glance over his shoulder. “Okay, fine. I’m anxious. They’re making me dinner, George!”

“Marco and Veronica are two of the kindest people on the planet. They’re going to love you, especially because Kimi already does.” Ollie hated the way his heart rate picked up at the last part.  “Maggie... she’s a bit more of a tough sell but just bring up figure skating and she’ll talk your ear off.”

Ollie filed all the information away. “Are you pretty close with Kimi’s family?”

“Yeah, kind of. I moved here when I was twenty and Kimi was still twelve and I used to help him with his schoolwork while his parents were working. He’s kind of like a little brother to me and Maggie’s like a sister,” George said, throwing a sweater in Ollie’s arms. “Marco and Veronica used to help me out with stuff when I was new to the mountain and still adjusting. Good people, really.”

Everything Ollie learned about Kimi and his family and this mountain pushed him closer to the edge of a cliff that he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to step back from. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to return to the city, to leave this snow and heart filled place. He didn’t think he’d be able to leave Kimi, either. He’d only known the boy for a month, but it was getting increasingly hard to avoid the feeling that settled deep in his stomach every time he saw the Italian – the affection, the fondness, the urge to hold him close. Not to mention the late nights with his hand shoved in his pants when flashes of the shorter tanned boy rolled through his brain no matter how hard he tried to avoid it and think about anything else.

“They’re really lovely, aren’t they?” Ollie’s voice was quiet in the room and George looked at him with the softness of understanding in his eyes.

“They are,” George agreed. “Especially Kimi. And, since I’m basically his older brother, I feel the need to tell you that if you hurt him, I will kill you and end your lease early.”

Ollie blanched. “It’s not—it’s not even like that.”

“You may be able to lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me,” George said, matter-of-factly. “It’s written all over your face every time you talk about him. God, I almost threw up at the get together. Young love or whatever they say.”

Ollie swallowed, staring at George. His throat was dry. It took every ounce of courage he had to say, “do you think he feels the same way?”

George smiled softly at him. Ollie diverted his eyes, looking at the sweater he was turning around in his hands. “I think that he liked you from the moment you stepped into Antonelli’s Waffles.”

Ollie nodded softly but he didn’t let hope simmer in his chest. He wouldn’t. George may have thought it, but that didn’t make it true.

George threw a pair of pants at Ollie and he barely caught them. He was a writer not a basketball player. George began to meddle with Ollie’s sparse collection of jewellery, pulling out a golden chain that Ollie had purchased with the first check he got from Legacies sales. It felt fitting, for some reason. He directed Ollie to change and Ollie stepped into the bathroom, changing into the clothes. George had chosen a soft baby blue sweater that was a little oversized on Ollie, making him look slightly more built that he actually was because it accentuated his broad shoulders. The pants were black slacks that Ollie always wore to business meetings. He clasped the necklace around his neck and admired himself in the mirror. The blue looked nice against his pale skin, contrasting with the black of the pants.

He stepped out of the bathroom, awkwardly standing in front of George. It reminded him of shopping for school clothes with his mother, when she would make him step out of the dressing room and turn in a three-sixty to show the clothing. “How do you feel?” George asked.

“It looks really nice. You don’t think it’s too much?” Ollie asked, fidgeting with the star pendant on his necklace.

“No,” George shook his head. “It’s casual but with a little flair. I promise you Kimi’s parents aren’t going to think too much of it.”

Ollie bit his lip. “What about... Kimi?”

George smirked. “Kimi’s going to want to jump your bones.”

Ollie’s face went bright red and George laughed. “Shut up.”

 “Hey,” George started. “You’re the one who asked.”

“I shouldn’t have,” Ollie groaned. George laughed again. Maybe Kimi had been right all those nights ago. George was a little bit evil.

Ollie was sitting outside the Antonelli family home in his car. He had already been nervous but now that he was here, he was even more nervous than before. The house was unassuming from the outside – red brick with a black roof. It wasn’t huge but it wasn’t small, either. Kimi’s truck was nestled against some trees and there was a pile of wood that appeared to have been freshly chopped.

The front door opened and Kimi emerged from the house. His curls were laid on his head perfectly, the light pink of his tight shirt shining in the snow-lit sun. His black jeans had rips in the knees and his feet were adorned in air forces that matched Ollie’s own. He smiled across the lawn at Ollie and Ollie returned the smile, pushing his car door open with a deep inhale. His feet crunched in the snow as he walked towards the front door, rubbing his fingers against his sweat-slick palms.

“Ollie,” Kimi said, wondrously. “You look... really nice.”

Heat crawled up Ollie’s neck. “Thank you, Kimi.” He looked Kimi up and down now that he was closer – it was outrageous how good Kimi looked in a fairly simple outfit. He had bracelets covering his arms, the way he almost always did. “You look good, too.”

“Hush,” Kimi said, opening the door wider for Ollie to step in. Ollie slipped his shoes off and Kimi slipped his off, leaving them right next to Ollie’s.

Once they stepped into the home completely, Ollie took a moment to admire it. The inside was bigger than the outside looked. The living room was covered in photos Kimi, Maggie, their parents. They looked so happy. Ollie grinned when he saw a picture of a younger Kimi with a ridiculous haircut. The couches were covered in large blankets, rumpled from use. The fireplace was going, adding to the warmth of the home. The walls were a creamy white colour which paired nicely with the dark wood of the floor. He ran his hand along the back of the couch, the suede nice against his fingers.

Kimi stood patiently, leaning against the wall, watching Ollie. Ollie could feel Kimi’s eyes moving with his every step. After he finished looking, Ollie turned to him. “Sorry. This is really nice. Have you always lived in this house?”

“Yep,” Kimi said, popping the p. “Mamma and papa renovated it, but yeah. Same address my entire life.” He motioned for Ollie to follow him. He led Ollie down a hallway, pointing out the bathroom and Maggie’s room and his parents’ room. They got to the last room in the hallway and Kimi pushed open the door, revealing what was most definitely his own bedroom. The walls were red, lit up by an assortment of lamps. A large Italian flag hung on the wall next to a Michael Jordan poster, mirrored by an Ayrton Senna poster across the room. The bedding was white and black, made perfectly. Ollie wondered if Kimi always made his bed or if he did it because Ollie was coming. There was a candle burning, vanilla and something else, maybe honey. He could also smell traces of cologne – musky but ocean-like.

“Welcome to mi casa,” Kimi said, sheepishly. Ollie nodded and smiled, running his fingers over the nightstand where Kimi’s copy of Legacies sat atop a leather journal. Rings were scattered along the surface like Kimi had been searching through them before Ollie came over. A bookshelf housed multiple books and several small car models and Legos that Kimi had built. Ollie thought if he spent enough time here, he could unlock every inch of Kimi’s mind – everything that seemed to matter was on display.

“Did your parents let you pick everything out for your room?”

“Yeah. I regret the red a little bit, but it still looks nice,” Kimi said.

“It does look nice. It’s very... you.”

Kimi smiled, a small thing. “Thanks, Oll. You wanna go to the kitchen?” Ollie nodded, preening at the nickname Kimi had just given him. Kimi led him back through the hallway, turning the opposite way this time, and directing him into the kitchen. Ollie’s smile got impossibly bright at the scene – Marco and Veronica were dancing around each other to quiet music as they cooked. It was clear they did this often – laughter bubbled out of both of them as they narrowly avoided each other while moving to do different things. Ollie watched with a feigned disinterest. His parents never really did things like this when he still lived with them and the two in front of him made his heart feel full. It was clear how much love had been shared in this house.

“Mamma, papa,” Kimi said with a giggle. God, Ollie would never get sick of hearing Kimi’s giggle.

Veronica turned toward them holding a spatula. When she saw Ollie, she gasped. “You must be Ollie! You look so handsome!” She leaned over and pinched Ollie’s cheek like he was a baby before she placed a kiss on either one. Kimi was watching with a broad smile.

“Thank you, Mrs Antonelli,” Ollie said, a little embarrassed.

“Oddio, none of that. Veronica will be fine.”

Marco cut in. “Don’t even think about calling me Mr Antonelli. I may be old but I’m not that old.” His voice was teasing but Ollie knew he was serious.

“Okay, okay,” Ollie said with a chuckle. Kimi was standing to the side, leaning his hip against the counter and his smile hadn’t dropped. Seeing Kimi in his home made him look different, more gorgeous if that was even possible. Under the soft lighting from the chandelier, he was ethereal.

“You don’t have any allergies, do you?” Veronica asked.

“I do not. Well actually, penicillin, but I’m assuming that won’t be in the meal,” Ollie told her. All three of them laughed at his comment and Ollie did a celebratory dance in his head.

Kimi’s parents began to ask Ollie questions about his writing career and his move to the mountain. He’d answered the same questions probably hundreds of times at this point, so the answers came to him easily. They nodded along and commented like he was telling them the most interesting story they had ever heard. Kimi was leaning down against the counter now with his head in his hands, listening to their conversation. He looked soft, fond. Ollie remembered how he felt pressed against him and his body ached for it.

Ollie asked them questions about Antonelli’s Waffles and how they’d met and how they’d found the mountain. They were happy to answer all of his questions, doing so while they finished cooking and brought the pots to the dining room table. The table was already set with plates and silverware. Marco called for Maggie who Ollie had yet to meet. She traipsed out of her bedroom into the dining room, taking the seat across from Ollie. She stared at him with a look in her eyes and Ollie had no clue what the look was.

He was kind of scared of her.

“Take as much as you like,” Veronica said, pushing the pot toward him. “It’s risotto with chicken. There are a few types of bread, take whichever ones suit your fancy. There’s also salad. Maggie hates salad, so if you do not like it, it is no big deal.”

Ollie nodded, thanking her, and taking the tongs to put some salad and bread on his plate. Marco poured everybody besides Maggie a glass of red wine. Kimi sat directly next to Ollie, their chairs so close that their arms brushed every time either of them moved. Ollie let himself enjoy it.

As he started munching on the salad, Maggie was staring at him with knitted brows. “So, you are Ollie?”

Ollie swallowed his food before he spoke. “Yes, uh, that’s me. Maggie?”

“Mhm. My brother talks about you a lot.”

“Maggie,” Kimi scolded from next to Ollie. His eyes were narrowed at her. She narrowed her eyes at him in return. She took a bite of her bread without breaking eye contact from Kimi. Ollie’s brain was still turning over my brother talks about you a lot, so he didn’t bother trying to decipher whatever silent conversation they were having. He took another bite of his salad and hoped his blush wasn’t evident.

“Maggie, are you ready for school to start again?” Veronica asked, swiftly bringing the conversation away from the awkward encounter between the three younger of the table. Maggie started complaining about school and some teacher she hated and the long bus ride to get there. Kimi offered to drive her for the first day. She agreed and thanked him.

Conversation continued, swirling from topic to topic. When Ollie finished his salad and bread, he moved onto the risotto. Everyone watched him scoop some onto his plate with reverent focus, waiting to see his reaction. He took a large bite and chewed slowly, letting it fill up his palate. “Oh my God,” he said with a pleased groan.

Kimi giggled with delight. “Authentic Italian, Oll. It’s the best. Mamma and papa’s food especially.”

“It’s amazing. Thank you for having me, again, Veronica and Marco. Seriously, I have been living off of waffles and my badly cooked food for over a month now. This food is going to save me.”

They were both smiling at him. “You’re welcome over to eat anytime, Ollie,” Marco said and Veronica hummed her agreement as she sipped from her glass of wine. “I’m sure Kimi would be very happy if you came over more often.”

“Papa,” Kimi whined. Marco waved him off, telling him to eat more.

Ollie was thoroughly enjoying this dinner – not only was the Antonelli family warm and bright, never going a second without someone telling a joke or bursting into story, but he also felt like he was seeing Kimi in a whole new light. Seeing him interact with Maggie as an older brother was nice, he clearly had a lot of love for the younger girl and she loved him too. There was an ease between Kimi and his parents that was enviable. They accepted Ollie so quickly, welcoming him into their home, all because he was Kimi’s friend.

He ate way too much food until his stomach felt like it was going to burst. He soaked in the warmth from the family around him, basking in it. He answered all their questions, and they answered all of his. They all listened intently to Maggie’s rant about figure skating after Ollie had brought it up. She seemed to like him a little bit more after that – he’d have to thank George for that one.

After they finished the meal, Maggie retreated to take a shower while the rest of them cleaned up the table. Ollie tried to help but was quickly scolded out of it on account of his being a guest. He put his hands up in surrender at sat at the bar, watching Kimi, Marco, and Veronica clean up. They clearly had a system. As Kimi washed the dishes, Ollie watched his smooth movements. He hated how good Kimi looked while he was doing something simple like washing the damn dishes. He hated how good Kimi looked always. It was making his life extremely difficult.

When they finished their cleaning, Kimi turned to Ollie. “Do you... want to stay for a little bit?”

Ollie nodded so quickly it was a little embarrassing. Kimi smiled and led him back down the hallway to his bedroom. Kimi flopped on his bed, groaning. “I ate way too much.”

“Me too,” Ollie agreed. He sat down on the bed hesitantly. He wasn’t sure how much distance would be normal. Too far would be weird, too close would be weird. Kimi’s head was laid on a pillow, his curls splayed out behind him like a halo.

“My parents liked you,” Kimi said, shyly. His fingers were twisted in the hem of his shirt, revealing a small sliver of skin above the waist band of his jeans. Ollie pointedly looked away, making eye contact with him.

“They’re so nice,” Ollie said. “Maggie scares me a little bit.”

Kimi laughed lowly. “She’s just protective. I didn’t have a lot of friends besides the others on the mountain so she’s hesitant about new people.”

Ollie hummed. It didn’t make sense to him how someone like Kimi didn’t have a lot of friends – he was friendship and love personified. “That’s sweet.”

“She’s a gremlin,” Kimi replied. Ollie rolled his eyes playfully which caused Kimi to kick him lightly in the ribs. Ollie giggled and settled into the bed a little more, inching closer to Kimi. Kimi didn’t seem to mind. Ollie wanted to reach out and just... touch. He hadn’t realised how much he’d needed it before the night Kimi and him slept on the couch and now his body begged for it, for Kimi to be close to him. It was a new feeling for him, the desperation with which he craved the touch of Kimi unfamiliarly sitting in his stomach.

“You really enjoyed it? It wasn’t... too much?” Kimi asked quietly.

“I don’t think you could ever be too much, Kimi,” Ollie let the words fly off his tongue before he could stop them. He was surprised by how much he meant them – how true it was. Kimi, Kimi’s family, it was comfortable. Maybe in the past, before he moved here, before he met Kimi, it would have been too much for him. Something about Kimi just made everything easier, made him feel like he could do anything. Kimi’s presence was calming to Ollie’s constantly anxious body and mind.

Kimi flushed. He kicked Ollie in the ribs again. “Don’t say stuff like that.”

“Why not?”

Kimi shrugged, neglecting to answer. A flicker of melancholy passed over his face and it was gone before Ollie could decipher it.

They spent the next hours before Ollie made his exit just talking. He and Kimi could talk forever, about anything, and Ollie thought he’d never get bored. Kimi was endlessly curious, asking questions and making comments about everything Ollie said. Kimi had so many stories to share and so many thoughts that he gave Ollie the privilege of hearing. It made Ollie’s heart thump in his chest, how open Kimi was with him.

When Kimi walked him to the door to see him off, he looked like he didn’t want Ollie to go. Ollie wished Kimi would ask him to stay. Instead, he opened the door for him. “Goodnight, Oll. Come see me soon, okay?”

“Of course I will,” Ollie agreed. He stood in the doorstep next to Kimi a moment longer, his fingers twitching at his side. With a deep inhale, he stepped out of the door. “Goodnight, Kimi.”

He walked to his car under the watchful eye of Kimi. “Watch out for the roe deer!”

Ollie flipped him off with a smile and Kimi laughed like a hyena. Ollie started the car and drove away, feeling impossibly light and heavy at the same time. The weight of things unsaid, the lightness of spending so much time with Kimi.

That night, he dreamt of Kimi.

He was so incredibly fucked.

Ollie woke up a week later with a fever and body aches. Ollie didn’t handle being sick very well – he was whiny and dramatic about it, always had been. His mother used to yell at him for the way he acted whenever he got sick.

He and Kimi had been texting back and forth pretty regularly since the dinner. They sent each other photos of whatever they were doing, Kimi asked Ollie for sneak peeks of his writing, and anything else they randomly decided to message each other. He had informed Kimi that he was sick with probably a cold, maybe the flu. Kimi had told him to get better soon and that had been the end of it, Ollie too exhausted to keep texting.

He laid on the couch with a Bruno Mars record playing, covered in a thick blanket as he prayed to whatever God existed that they just kill him instead of making him go through this. When the knock sounded at his door, he could have screamed. He messily pushed himself off of the couch, bringing his blanket with him, and swinging the door open. He was half expecting Kimi, instead being greeted by Charles.

“Mon dieu, you look awful Ollie,” Charles said. He had a container of something in his hands and invited himself into the house. Ollie shrugged, returning to the couch.

“Do you need something?” Ollie asked, laying back down. His voice sounded awful.

“Kimi asked me if I would bring you some soup,” Charles explained, setting the container down on the table in front of Ollie, sitting on the other couch. “He’s stuck at work, so he wanted me to bring you something to eat until he gets off.”

Ollie blinked. He couldn’t tell if the heat coursing through his body was from the fever or from the information Charles had just told him. He cuddled deeper into the couch, pulling the blanket up to his eyes. “Really?”

“Really. It was very cute, to be honest. He is a sweet kid. He loves you a lot,” Charles observed. He opened the soup and pushed it toward Ollie. “It is roasted carrot soup, I hope you like it.”

Ollie grunted as he sat himself back up to try the soup. It was thick on his tongue, soothing his red and scratchy throat as he swallowed. He hadn’t eaten anything and his stomach was beginning to hate him for it, so the warm soup settled nicely in his tummy. “This is really good. Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. I am sorry you’ve fallen sick,” Charles said, sympathetically.  

“I’m being punished for something in my past life I think,” Ollie whined.

Charles chuckled. “You remind me of Max when he is sick. So dramatic.”

Ollie spooned more of the soup in his mouth before he spoke. “I am not being dramatic. I’m on the verge of death.”

“Sure, sure,” Charles said, although it was obvious he didn’t agree. Ollie glared at him as he shovelled more of the soup in his mouth – he hadn’t realized how hungry he was until now. Charles was content to sit in relative silence, humming along to the Bruno Mars. When Ollie finished the soup, he flopped back down onto the couch with a satisfied groan.

“That might have saved me,” Ollie said. He did feel a little better after getting something hearty into his stomach, but with the fullness of his stomach he was now tired.  

“I’m glad to hear that,” Charles said, gathering up the dishes. “I hate to leave so soon, but I did leave Max alone at the cafe. He will kill me if I leave him for too long.”  

“It’s okay,” Ollie reassured. “I’m about to fall asleep anyway.”

Charles nodded. “Sleep well, Ollie. I hope you feel better soon. I will leave the door unlocked for Kimi.”

Ollie barely registered what he said before he was tumbling into sleep.

When Ollie woke up again, it was dark in the cabin, only lit up by the fireplace and one lamp turned on, the one on the side table. It took him a moment to fully wake up and realise that someone was in his kitchen with the sink running. When he peeked over the back of the couch, he saw Kimi cooking on his stove. “Kimi?” He asked and his voice was even scratchier than it already was earlier from sleep.

Kimi’s head snapped toward him. “Oll! How are you feeling?” He rushed toward Ollie after adjusting the heat of the stove and turning the sink off. He laid the back of his hand on Ollie’s forehead for a moment. “You’re still warm,” Kimi tsked. His eyes were checking Ollie up and down for signs of discomfort or sickness.

“I feel a little better after my nap, but still not good,” Ollie said, looking up at Kimi through his eyelashes. He felt pitiful. He was shivering even under the blanket.

“Poor thing,” Kimi sympathised. He grabbed a glass of water from the side table that he must’ve placed there while Ollie was asleep. “Drink some of this.” Ollie obediently sipped from the glass while Kimi tipped it back for him. The cold liquid was nothing compared to the feeling of Kimi’s hand lightly grasping Ollie’s jaw to guide him.

“Thanks,” Ollie said, lowly, when Kimi pulled the glass back. Kimi smiled and returned to the kitchen.

“I brought some medicine and I’m making some alfredo. You’re supposed to take the medicine with food, so,” Kimi told him as he stirred. Ollie nodded even though Kimi couldn’t see him. Ollie laid his cheek against the cool pillow, trying not to think too hard about the Italian boy in his kitchen. He thought he might go crazy if he thought too much about why he was here, about why he cared.

He closed his eyes, content to listen to Kimi’s humming and the scraping of spatula against the metal. He’d thought it probably over a hundred times before, but Kimi’s unthinking care means so much to him. It wasn’t like Kimi had to try to be caring, it was just natural. He heard Ollie was sick and he didn’t even think before he sent Charles over to bring him soup. Now, he was going to spend his evening taking care of a whiny, feverish Ollie. Ollie was never going to be normal again.

He lost track of time, his mind lost in thought, and he didn’t come back to until Kimi was in front of him again. He set a bowl of alfredo on the table in front of Ollie with a fresh glass of ice water. “Up, up,” he urged, guiding Ollie to sit up with a hand on his back. Ollie didn’t think he needed this much help, but he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He got sat up, adjusting to sit cross legged on the couch. Kimi sat down next to him, their thighs pressed together. Ollie realised that Kimi was wearing shorts; he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Kimi’s legs before. He swallowed thickly, trying not to stare at the coarse hair on his thighs and the muscle that shifted with every movement.

The shorts were too short for Ollie’s own sanity.

“I’m going to die,” Ollie told Kimi.

“No, you aren’t,” Kimi said. “If you do, I’ll bring you back to life.”

"My knight in shining armour,” Ollie deadpanned.

Kimi rolled his eyes. “Eat your alfredo,” he instructed, setting the bowl in Ollie’s blanket covered lap. Ollie picked up the fork and began to eat while Kimi watched him. Even without looking, he could feel Kimi’s gaze on him. When he was about halfway through the bowl, Kimi gave him the cold medicine he’d brought. Ollie took it.

When he finished the food, Kimi took his bowl to the sink. “Was the pasta okay?”

“It was very good, Kimi. Thank you for coming and for sending Charles and... everything, really.”

Kimi sat down next to Ollie again, even closer than the last time if that was possible. Heat rolled off Kimi into Ollie and it wasn’t normal, the way it made chills run through Ollie’s body. He could feel Kimi’s hot, tanned skin under his fingertips if he just reached out. It would be so easy.

“It is nothing. I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Kimi said nonchalantly. Ollie looked at him, wishing there was some way to make him understand how much this meant to him, to make Kimi understand how much he meant to him. If he explained to Kimi that he’d never had someone willing to care for him without finding it an exhausting task, he’d sound pathetic. So he didn’t.

Instead, he hesitantly laid his head on Kimi’s shoulder, Kimi’s grey hoodie soft against his cheek. Kimi tensed for a moment, and Ollie almost pulled away, but he relaxed moments later. Kimi moved so his arm would be wrapped around Ollie’s shoulder, tucking Ollie in closer. Ollie sighed and let himself get comfortable. Kimi smelled like a mix of Antonelli’s Waffles and his oceanic cologne. Ollie inhaled deeply, trying to commit the scent to memory, just in case he never got to be this close again.

When Ollie blinked awake, Kimi was snoring softly underneath him. The rise and fall of his chest were even underneath Ollie’s head. Maybe Ollie should have moved, but he didn’t want to. He snuggled in closer. Kimi’s arm was still tight around his shoulders. Ollie wanted to get used to this so badly. He moved his arm to be wrapped around Kimi’s stomach, feeling the hard ridges of his abdomen.

He laid like that, his brain whirring off into thoughts about a future where this was normal, where he could cuddle into Kimi’s side like this whenever he wanted. It was foolish but his illness-muddled brain wasn’t willing to be stopped. He didn’t really want to stop, either, even if he knew he should.

Kimi awoke with a groan. He blinked, looking at the cabin around him before his eyes landed on Ollie who was wrapped around him like a vine around a tree. Ollie swallowed, waiting for a sign from Kimi of what to do. The moment was fragile in Ollie and Kimi’s fingertips – waiting for one of them to do something.

Instead of pushing away or moving his arm, Kimi relaxed back into the couch. “How’re you doin’, Oll?” His voice was low, sleep-ridden voice deeper than Ollie had ever heard Kimi speak. He found it really hot, the roughness, the rasp of it in his ear.

“Tired,” Ollie whined into Kimi’s chest. “Can’t believe I haven’t died, yet.”

Kimi chuckled. “Wouldn’t let it happen.”

“Are you a doctor?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out.”

Ollie laughed roughly. It hurt to laugh which was the most unfortunate part of Kimi being here because Kimi always made him laugh.

“If you wanna go to bed, I can get outta here,” Kimi offered quietly. Ollie whined before he could stop it. “Hm?” Kimi asked, kindly.

Ollie bit his raw lip. “Is it... is it weird if I ask you to stay?”

He could feel the hitch of Kimi’s breath. He cursed himself inwardly. “You want me to stay?” Kimi asked.

“I- you don’t have to. Sorry, I shouldn’t have even asked,” Ollie apologised. He knew it was a stupid thing to do – assume that this meant something to Kimi, too. Kimi had already offered way more kindness than he’d needed to, it was silly for Ollie to ask for more.

“No,” Kimi started. “I want to. If you really want me to.” His hand was tapping against Ollie’s shoulder lightly.

“I do,” Ollie confirmed. Kimi had no clue how badly Ollie wanted it. Ollie couldn’t tell him, either.

“Okay, I’ll stay then. Do you want to get into bed?” Ollie hummed his agreement, pushing himself away from Kimi’s body to sit up. His body still ached, chills racking his body. They stood up in silence, Ollie gathering his blanket, leading Kimi to the bedroom. He tried not to be embarrassed at the messy state of his bed and the side table filled with books and candles and an empty water glass. He climbed into his bed, pushing the covers aside for Kimi to crawl in next to him. Kimi shed his hoodie, his shirt coming up for a moment allowing Ollie to drink in the second-long sight of Kimi’s torso.

When Kimi climbed into the bed next to him, he scooted until his body was pressed against Ollie’s. His bare skin was touching Ollie and Ollie wanted to die a little bit. Ollie turned to put his head back on Kimi’s hard chest and Kimi used his strength to pull Ollie even closer, as if Ollie wasn’t already close enough. Their legs were entangled, Ollie’s thigh in between Kimi’s. He tried not to think about what would happen if he shifted his thigh a little bit, pushed his thigh into Kimi’s – no.

He was too sick for that anyways.

“Goodnight, Oll,” Kimi whispered into Ollie’s hair. Ollie tightened his arm around Kimi’s stomach in lieu of a response. Kimi hummed and they fell asleep.

The next morning, it seemed the worst of Ollie’s sickness was over. He woke up slightly less achy and slightly more energized. He refused to attribute any of that to Kimi’s presence. When he woke up, Kimi was already awake, scrolling on his phone with his left hand while his right hand remained steadfast around Ollie’s back. Ollie was practically on top of him. Ollie tried to feel ashamed, but he couldn’t.

“There’s a tea for you on the side table,” Kimi whispered when Ollie stirred. Ollie nodded, regretfully untangling himself from all of the places where he and Kimi were intertwined. He took a sip of the tea – still hot – before he flopped back down on the bed.

“D’you have to work?” Ollie asked groggily.

Kimi set his phone down. “No. Papa told me I could stay here and keep an eye on you today since mamma is going to be there all day anyways.”

Ollie's head twisted minutely to look at Kimi. Kimi was already looking at him. They weren’t touching, but they were close enough. He could feel Kimi’s breath fanning over his face. He could count every blemish on Kimi’s skin, see the depth of the scar in his eyebrow. He could kiss him, if he wanted to. If he was brave enough. “You don’t have to do that.”

“What if I want to?” Kimi asked.

“I’d tell you you’re crazy.”

“Call me crazy, then.”

Ollie huffed a disbelieving laugh. “What if I get you sick?”

“Then it’ll be your turn to take care of me,” Kimi smiled and Ollie smiled back.

They spent the remainder of the day locked in Ollie’s cabin, putting on various vinyls, napping, talking about whatever topic happened to come up. If they were awake, there wasn’t a moment of silence. Kimi reheated some leftover alfredo from the night before and they ate, pressed together on the couch. Kimi forced Ollie to take more cold medication with it. Ollie whined. Kimi told him to stop being a baby.

When it neared ten pm, Ollie was getting tired again. He stood up, gathering his blanket. “You coming?” He asked Kimi, his voice quiet. Presumptuous, maybe, but Ollie thought his chances weren’t bad. If Kimi rejected him, he could blame it on the cold medicine he’d been forced to take and cry about it after Kimi left. It’d be fine. Probably.

“Yeah, let me go brush my teeth,” Kimi agreed. “Go get in bed.”

When Kimi walked into the bedroom, his eyes quickly found Ollie laid in bed with a book. “Can I borrow some of your clothes?”

Nothing was going to be fine. Ollie was going to pass out and die. Kimi was going to kill him.

“Yeah, ‘course. Sweats and shorts are in the bottom drawer, tee-shirts in the closet,” Ollie said. His voice didn’t sound as confident as he would have liked, but Kimi didn’t seem to mind. He hummed quietly as he looked through the drawers, taking some clothes into the bathroom. When he came back, Ollie could have gasped out loud. The shirt Kimi had chosen was huge on him and bore Ollie’s last name on the back of the shirt. Not that Ollie cared because he didn’t. He really, really didn’t.

Kimi climbed into the bed next to him. “I’m so sleepy,” he said. He scooted himself right up next to Ollie, looking at the pages of his book. Kimi nudged his arm under Ollie’s, wrapping it around Ollie’s torso. He laid his head in the crook of Ollie’s shoulder. “Can you read to me? It’ll help me fall asleep. Your voice.”

Ollie’s heart melted in his chest. “Yeah, Kimi. ‘Course.”

Ollie began to read, forcing his voice to remain steady. Kimi was so close, not that he hadn’t been before, but this – Kimi in Ollie’s clothes, Kimi in his bed where the pillows were beginning to smell like the smaller boy –was a lot. Ollie’s brain was screaming at him, his body was screaming at him, telling him to do something, anything.

Kimi fell asleep within ten minutes. Ollie could feel his breathing even out where it was fanning over his neck. When Ollie put his book down and flicked off the lamp, he kissed Kimi’s forehead gently, shamefully, his lips barely brushing the hot skin. Just in case he never got the chance again.

When Ollie woke up the next morning, Kimi was gone. His heart sunk in his chest, stupidly. He knew Kimi had to go back to work, of course Kimi wouldn’t be there. It didn’t change the way he sighed sadly when he realised the bed next to him was cold and Kimi wasn’t pressed hotly against his body anymore.

When he went to the living room, he found a note on the counter.

Waffles need me! I’ll see you later, Oll <3 – Kimi

The heart was scribbled there innocently in a haste. It wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Still, Ollie held the note close to his chest before he put it on his fridge with a magnet. He cooked himself breakfast, valiantly and bravely taking the cold medicine Kimi had left in the kitchen. His cold was mostly gone, remnants of congestion still making him a little miserable.

As he ate, he missed Kimi. If Kimi were with him, eating on the couch, they’d be laughing and Kimi’s thigh would be touching his, and Kimi would fall into Ollie’s body when he doubled over in laughter. Kimi would’ve made a far better breakfast than Ollie did. Kimi would have—Ollie needed to stop. He had lived without Kimi for twenty years and two months after meeting him, it was like he couldn’t go a day without him.

Pathetic.

He pulled his phone out to text Kimi.

Ollie: Thank you for coming over and taking care of me. I know I can be quite dramatic when I am sick, so I appreciate it a lot. Have a good day at work.

He set his phone down and before he could try to forget about it, Kimi had already texted him back.

kimi: no problem oll u were very cute lol. waffles on me if ur feeling up to coming out!

It took Ollie a disturbingly small amount of time to get ready and head over to Antonelli’s Waffles. He checked himself in the mirror to make sure he looked fine even though Kimi had definitely seen him at his worst and still cuddled in bed with him.

God. He almost couldn’t believe that happened.

When he got to the counter, Kimi was turned around restocking something. Ollie watched him with a grin – his hips were swaying to the beat of a song that was playing over the speaker as he sang quietly. The only other people in the restaurant was a family sitting in the corner engaged in loud conversation.

When Kimi turned around, he jumped. “Cazzo, Oll, you scared me.”

Ollie tried not to laugh and failed miserably. “I’m so sorry but oh my god you should have seen your face.”

“Your free waffle privileges have been revoked,” Kimi said with a pout.

“I almost died like two days ago and you’re revoking my waffle privileges?” Ollie asked, faux scandalised.

“And who took care of you while you were almost dying?” Kimi asked as he started making waffles.

“I think Charles brought me some soup,” Ollie said, tilting his head as if trying to remember.

Kimi narrowed his eyes at Ollie. “And who told Charles to bring you that soup?”

Ollie felt a little faint remembering Kimi had done that. “You,” he said, losing his teasing bravado.

“Exactly,” Kimi said with a proud smile. “So, I can revoke your waffle privileges whenever I want.” Kimi’s words held no weight because as he said them, he was dousing a waffle in peanut butter and chocolate exactly how Ollie liked it. He handed them to Ollie with a cheeky grin. Ollie accepted them, picking the closest table to the counter.

George walked in the door only moments later. “Hello, Kimi! Oh, hello Ollie. Are you feeling better?”

Ollie swallowed the food in his mouth. “Yes, I am. Thank you.”

“You never told me how you guys’ dinner went by the way,” George said, looking between him and Kimi. “Boyfriend meeting the parents.”

Ollie’s blood ran cold. He tried not to appear like a frazzled cat, but he was pretty sure there was no avoiding that. There was no way George had referred to Ollie as Kimi’s boyfriend in front of Kimi. George really was fucking evil.

“It’s not like that, George. We’re not like that,” Ollie said certainly. He glanced over at Kimi, expecting agreement, a nod, anything. Instead, Kimi was looking at him with his head tilted and a look in his eye that Ollie couldn’t read. His lips were turned downward, the bottom one caught between his sharp canines. He looked... inexplicably hurt. Like Ollie had done something wrong. He hadn’t, had he? They weren’t dating. That was true, Ollie knew that.

George blinked and looked between Kimi and Ollie. His eyebrows were knitted together slightly before he schooled into a straight face. “Right, sorry.” The room in the air was now tense and Ollie knew it was his fault, he just couldn’t figure out for the life of him what he had done wrong.

Kimi cleared his throat softly. “What can I do for you, George?” George glanced at Ollie once more before he stepped closer to the counter, saying something to Kimi. Ollie tried to listen but his brain was buzzing trying to figure out what had just happened. They conversed while Ollie ate his waffles and then George walked out the door which left the remaining two of them in an awkward limbo. Ollie could hear Marco in the back singing as he presumably worked on his paperwork. He set his fork down, flinching at the clink of the metal on ceramic. He rubbed at his palms where they were slicking over with sweat.

“Kimi,” Ollie said. His voice was quiet in the thick air. “Are we... okay?”

Kimi turned to him, his eyes wet like a puppy. “Yeah, Ollie.” His voice was dry, nothing like Ollie had gotten used to hearing. He was clearly upset about something. And Ollie. He’d called him Ollie. That wasn’t... the hugest deal. But Ollie had gotten used to Oll and him taking that away felt like it meant something. Ollie was so confused.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s fine,” he said. Without another word, he walked to the back where Marco was, leaving Ollie alone in the dining area. He stared at his now empty plate and once again tried to figure out where he’d gone wrong.

Ollie decided to stay in for the next couple of days. It wasn’t anything to do with Kimi, he told himself. He just needed time to think, to figure things out—and when he said it like that, it was obviously about Kimi because he was still trying to figure out where he had messed up. It had something to do with what he’d said to George, he narrowed it down that much. But he still didn’t understand how that was bad. Him and Kimi were not dating and if they were (they weren’t) Ollie had not been informed. He’d been left out of the discussion.

He and Kimi had shared some... intimate moments, sure. But they’d never kissed, they’d never done anything that couldn’t be dismissed away as platonic. They’d never even held hands. He was driving himself crazy remembering Kimi’s scent, the way Kimi’s eyes looked when he peered up at Ollie through his eyelashes when he was laid upon Ollie’s chest, the way he laughed, the way his teeth showed when he smiled. He tried to remember a conversation that would have implied something, anything more than what Ollie had thought they were. He was continuously coming up empty.

It had been three days since he’d said it’s not like that, we’re not like that to George at Antonelli’s Waffles. Three days without so much as a word from Kimi. Three days without seeing the way his tanned skin stretched over muscles, the way his face flushed, being teased by the shorter boy. He was beginning to lose his mind just a little bit—he hadn’t realized he could miss someone this much in such a short amount of time.

A knock sounded at his door.

He sighed and walked to open it, swinging the door lazily. He stopped dead in his tracks when he was met with a misty-eyed Kimi, tears hanging by a thread on his lashes. This felt familiar—he’d been here before. He hated seeing Kimi cry.

Before Ollie could speak, Kimi rasped, “I’m sorry.”

“Kimi—”

“No, Ollie, I... I don’t know what got into me. You have been so kind and you’re one of my best friends ever and—and I threw it away because I couldn’t keep my feelings away. I made it weird, with George the other day, and you don’t feel the same way and that’s... okay.”

“What do you mean, Kimi? I don’t—”

“I like you, Ollie. Not in a friendly way. In a stupid way that makes me show up at your house crying twice now. The first time, I don’t even know what I was upset about. Ellie, of course, but then I was just crying and I wanted to see you and I got in my truck and—”

Before Ollie knew what he was doing, he grabbed Kimi by the cheeks, Kimi’s skin hot against the palms of his hands. Kimi startled into silence, blinking, a stray tear falling down his face and colliding with Ollie’s hand.

He licked his lips before he smashed them into Kimi’s. Kimi gasped into it, immediately responding to Ollie’s movements. It was messy, clearly inexperienced on both sides. Spit was trailing, teeth smashing together, tongues that didn’t know where to go. But it was perfect. Kimi’s lips were chapped and rough against Ollie’s. He tasted like hot chocolate and something distinctly Kimi. Ollie had thought many times what the younger might taste like but nothing matched up to the real thing—he was sweet, salty, hot, a cavern of pumping warmth. Ollie couldn’t get enough of it, licking into Kimi’s mouth, running his tongue over the sharp canines he’d fallen in love with. His hands were shaking against the boy’s cheeks and chills racked his body. He was thrumming, his heart pounding against his ribcage like a bull trying to escape its pen.

“Ollie,” Kimi whimpered into his mouth, his hands coming up to grasp Ollie’s shoulders. His nails dug into the skin, but Ollie didn’t mind it. Kimi shifted, his body pressing into Ollie’s oh so familiarly. This was what warmth embodied was—Kimi’s mouth against his, his tongue in Kimi’s mouth, every inch of his senses completely engulfed in Kimi. His entire body was on fire, thrashing for release.

“Andrea,” Ollie said. He didn’t know where it came from, it just felt right. Apparently, it had been right because Kimi whined loudly, nipping at Ollie’s bottom lip, digging his nails deeper into Ollie’s shoulders.

When Kimi pulled away gasping for air, his cheeks were completely flushed, and his brown eyes were wide as saucers. “Call me that again, please,” he plead, breathless.

“Andrea,” Ollie said, his voice gravelly. He was breathing deeply, his heart still beating for escape. Kimi swallowed before he stood on his tip toes to connect his and Ollie’s lips again, this time sweeter, softer. Soft pecks, tilting their heads either way, noses brushing softly against eachother. He could feel Kimi trembling under him where he moved to grasp his waist. He used his grip to pull Kimi inside the cabin, kicking the door shut and pressing him against it.

Ollie pulled away, Kimi chasing after his lips with a whine, his eyes still fluttered shut. “I like you, too, Kimi. I’m sorry for what I said to George. I didn’t think you felt that way, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Kimi said with a breath, shaking his head. “Of course I like you. You think I would threaten Charles for just anybody?”

Ollie laughed, leaning his forehead against Kimi’s. “You threatened him?”

“I may have,” Kimi agreed with a laugh.

“You’re ridiculous,” Ollie said. Kimi grinned, the same way he had that first time Ollie called him ridiculous, like he’d just been given a compliment. It made Ollie’s body flood with warmth, the familiarity of the smile.

“I was worried,” Kimi told him, moving his head down so it was laid against Ollie’s chest. Kimi laid his head atop of Kimi’s.

“I know you were. You’re so sweet,” Ollie whispered into his hair. Kimi wrapped his arms around Ollie’s torso and they stood like that for awhile.

"Kimi,” Ollie called from his bedroom. “We have to leave in a minute, are you almost ready?”

He and Kimi had been officially together for a little over a week. Kimi had barely left Ollie’s cabin apart from going to work. He was continuously asking Ollie for a sneak peek at what he was writing and every time he asked, Ollie thought he was a little closer to agreeing. They’d been intertwined at every possible moment—hands clasped together, Kimi on his chest, Kimi wrapped around his body like a koala while they laid in bed. Kimi’s scent was perpetually stuck in Ollie’s nose now. Not that he minded.

When Kimi had told Marco and Veronica, apparently, they both said oh we have been waiting for this since he came over for dinner and insisted that Ollie come again soon. They planned for another dinner next weekend.

Today was the monthly get-together at Charles and Max’s cafe. He hadn’t seen any of the guys recently and Kimi hadn’t told any of them that they were together. They were planning on informing the guys about their new relationship status.

“Yes,” Kimi said walking into the bedroom from the bathroom. He was wearing black jeans and a thick white sweater of Ollie’s. Ollie looked him up and down, appreciating his view, his beautiful boyfriend in his sweater. His hands were covered by the sleeves. He took a step closer, grabbing Kimi by the waist, and pulling him in for a kiss. They’d done more than a fair amount of kissing and Ollie wasn’t sure he’d ever be sick of the feeling of Kimi’s lips against his.

"You look gorgeous,” Ollie said lowly against Kimi’s lips.

Kimi kissed him another time before he said, “thank you. So do you.”

Ollie pressed another kiss to his lips before he grabbed Kimi by the hand leading him out of the house. They made the short familiar drive to the cafe with A$AP Rocky on the radio—Kimi’s choice.

Walking in the doors, they didn’t even think about letting go of each other’s hands. Their hands fit together like puzzle pieces, warm and comforting.

“I told you!” Lando exclaimed, slapping Oscar on the chest the moment he saw the two boys. Oscar looked shocked until his eyes found their clasped hands and he smirked. George was sitting back in his chair with a knowing look on his face. Charles was grinning ear-to-ear and Max was smiling softly at the two of them.

“Finally got your shit together, Ollie?” George asked.

“I did,” Ollie confirmed.

“I had to get mine together, too,” Kimi defended.

“Ollie was worse. You should have seen him before dinner at your house, Kimi. Boy was a mess.”

“Why did you see him before dinner at Kimi’s house?” Max asked.

“He asked me for help picking clothes,” George told the group. Ollie was blushing deeply, all the way down to his neck. Kimi squeezed his hand even tighter.

“You’re so cute,” Kimi said to him. Ollie flushed even further, looking down at his shoes shyly.

“You guys are gross,” Lando said.

“Shut up, Lando. You owe me twenty dollars,” Oscar said. His arm was laid across the back of Lando’s chair, softly stroking his shoulder.

“Why does he owe you twenty dollars?” Kimi asked, his head tilting.

“He bet that it would take you guys three more months to get together,” Oscar told them smugly. Ollie and Kimi both huffed out laughs.

“Stupid fuckin’ bet, innit,” Lando said. Oscar leaned over and kissed his head. It was sweet, Ollie thought, despite the fact that they were betting on his and Kimi’s love life.

“Okay,” Charles said. “Sit down, Ollie and Kimi. Food is already ready. We’re going to eat and you’re going to tell us how you guys got together.”

They sat down and told the story while they ate. It was familiar, warm the way Ollie was used to feeling on the mountain—only made better by having warmth embodied tucked into his side as they all laughed together.