"Okay, get lost." Aleks laughed, pushing him away playfully and then standing back on his toes to kiss him chastely one last time.

Wincent gave him a crooked smile. "Are you coming over later?" he asked.

"We'll see." Aleks winked when they got to the street before heading back towards the club. Wincent followed him with his eyes for a moment and then went in the opposite direction.

Aleks couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Sex did that to him, and the rush of adrenaline only made it better. Sonia had left him alone an hour ago, so he'd called Wincent, because... because he'd been in a gay club and horny, he'd just wanted to blow someone, and the last time he'd picked up a random guy, he'd managed to develop a crush in those ten minutes he'd spent sucking him off. It wasn't his fault that the guy had been so nice and hadn't even grumbled about the condom. It was quite sad that it was enough for him, but on the other hand, he just wanted to make blowing strangers in bathrooms a little more cozy and fun and a little less about them showing off their top superiority. So of course he was delighted every time he came across such a rare gem, but he needed neither a new crush nor another coked-up asshole with a masculinity complex, so he'd called Wincent instead. They were kind of seeing each other, so it was only proper, right? And yeah, this time it was him who was leaning towards exclusivity and getting deeper than he'd initially intended, but... things had been good between them lately. Still casual, but good, as if that morning, when Wincent had gone nuts, had unlocked something in him. He'd become more open and willing to work with him, so Aleks had decided to see where it was going.

And he would probably stick to this resolution if it wasn't for that damn phone call earlier. Because while his common sense was prompting him to bite the bullet and stand firm, Maks' voice... he wasn't sure if it hadn't just been his imagination acting up, but he'd really sounded dead set on seeing him. He'd sounded like something had changed, and Aleks tried to keep himself from thinking that maybe he'd just needed time, and now he'd finally decided that he... that he wanted to...

"What are you doing here?" He came to an abrupt halt when he saw the object of his pondering fidgeting in front of the club. He blinked, taken aback that he had really come.

Maks took a step forward, looking very out of place. "I wanted to talk," he said quietly. He sounded like he was pissed, but he was desperately trying to hide it.

"Here?" Aleks blurted, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Jesus, come on," he snapped, grabbing Maks' wrist and starting to drag him inside.

Maks balked. "Can we go somewhere else?" he suggested weakly.

"You're not gonna catch the gay in here," Aleks mocked, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms expectantly. He took the last suspicious glance around before Maks reluctantly followed him inside.

"What's going on?" he asked with a frown.

"Nothing," Aleks muttered distractedly, leading him through a long, dim corridor. There was no way that Partyka was still tailing Maks. He seemed to trust Aleks a whole lot more than he had at the beginning, and watching Maks must have been spectacularly boring; he was probably doing nothing but going to work and back. He took a calming breath. Yeah, it would have been bad enough if Maks had led them to a gay club and straight to him, but if anyone by chance had seen Wincent here, that would have been a shitshow.

They got to one of the furthest rooms and the other end of the club, where the music was more subdued. Aleks smirked and plonked himself down on the black leather sofa, encouraging Maks to do the same. He did, cautiously taking a seat on the edge of a cushion and watching the surroundings nervously. Aleks took an opportunity to size him up. He looked good, unlike the last time they'd seen each other, when he'd been completely messed up and close to tears. They both had. Now he looked determined, his lips were pressed tightly, he was clearly tense, and he was watching Aleks intently with no trace of a smile on his face.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Aleks finally initiated a conversation, fed up with a stretched-out silence. Maks' gaze pierced right through him, and he couldn't avert his own eyes, feeling his heartbeat accelerating. If Maks wanted to talk about them, then Aleks feared he might say 'yes' even before any question was asked.

"I saw you with that guy," Maks blurted, and he immediately started to look ashamed, like he'd only just realized that spying on people having sex wasn't socially acceptable.

Aleks' eyes widened, but he managed to hold back any other reactions. Thank God they'd been caught by Maks and not anyone else. Or maybe it couldn't have gotten worse than Maks.

"Wincent," he figured, keeping his cool. It wasn't a question.

Maks nodded slowly. "What..." he faltered. "What are you even doing with him?" he asked flat out.

Aleks raised his eyebrows. "I'm fucking him," he informed him calmly, because to him, it seemed pretty obvious.

Maks pulled a face. He'd meant... in a more general sense. "Why him, though?" he asked dumbly. Now that they were actually talking about it, he had trouble holding his gaze.

"Why not him?" Aleks shot back. "Because I like him. Because I think he's hot."

"He's not," Maks disagreed instantly.

"Well, apparently we've got a very different taste in men," he said haughtily with a half-smile.

The old Maks would have argued that he didn't have any taste in men. The new one didn't even have to think about his answer. "Yeah, mine is narrowed down to one." He cleared his throat. This time it was Aleks who almost blushed and averted his eyes. "So... you're doing it only with him?" he uttered stiffly.

Aleks' eyes narrowed. "No, Maks, with everyone who buys me a drink," he taunted nastily.

Maks flushed, because he didn't mean to indirectly call him a slut; he only wanted to probe a bit whether he considered this Wincent dude his boyfriend or not, but Aleks' attitude wasn't helping at all. He clenched his teeth. "And to think for a moment, I felt special," he muttered, not able to fully hide his dejection. All of a sudden, he found himself not knowing why he was even here, because he hadn't been able to get him out of his mind for the last few weeks, and here Aleks was, happily blowing someone else and joking about it on top of that.

"Yeah, don't flatter yourself," he snorted half-heartedly. "What did you want to talk about?" he repeated calmly.

Maks felt all of his carefully prepared words evaporating from his head. What was he even trying to achieve here? What had he thought would happen? That they would jump into each other's arms and declare their love? That he would dump Ewelina and they'd live happily ever after? God, it was so fucking unrealistic. Aleks looked more like he was going to laugh in his face the moment he suggested something along those lines, and Maks didn't even know if he seriously intended to suggest it. The worst of it all was that he knew that Aleks had every right to be hostile and distrustful. He needed him to drop the armor, and for that to happen, he had to push his buttons a bit. "I wanted to talk about you and me, about us, but that was before I found out that you blow just anyone," he scoffed.

Just as he expected, he was instantly pinned down by an angry glare. "Excuse me?" Aleks asked in disbelief. "There is no us, Maks, and you got the credit for that. Which means that I can blow every guy in this place and you can do shit about it," he said disdainfully, then looked around pointedly. "Like him." He picked a random, dark-haired man and started to stand up ostentatiously.

Maks rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Aleks," he hissed, grabbing his elbow and yanking him back on the sofa. "Okay, I get it. God, you're such a brat sometimes," he muttered in annoyance.

Aleks raised his eyebrows. "I'm a brat?" he echoed incredulously. "Yeah, because you are so incredibly mature," he mocked. "You know exactly what you're after and what your fucking point is. That's why you've come here—to tell me that I'm a brat?" he asked in challenge, raising his voice slightly.

"No, I've come to tell you that I missed you," Maks growled. "And that I still miss you, and that I've been thinking about you all the fucking time, and now I've seen you with some other guy, and it pisses me off!"

"Sorry, Maks, it's not my fault that you keep changing your mind. I left you alone, cause I thought that was what you wanted and that it would be for the best, so you can't now blame me for—"

"I don't blame you." Maks cut him off vehemently, knowing deep inside that it was a blatant lie.

"Yeah, you do." Aleks stood his ground stubbornly. "But you also know you have no right, so just admit you're not actually mad at me; you're just jealous out of your—"

"Of course I'm jealous!" Maks shouted. "Do you think I want to see you with anyone else?"

"Does that include us being together, or should I just never be with anyone again because it doesn't sit well with you?" Aleks asked with fake curiosity.

Maks opened his mouth to keep arguing, then closed it. "Jesus, I don't know," he muttered eventually, still sounding upset. "I thought we could talk about it—"

"You know, I'm getting really sick of all this talking of yours," Aleks chimed in impatiently. "Stop fucking overthinking everything and do something for a change—"

Maks leaned in abruptly, pressing his lips against his and interrupting him mid-sentence. Aleks shut up because he didn't have any other choice and opened his mouth involuntarily. One of Maks' hands went up into his hair on autopilot, while his other arm wrapped around his waist and pulled, never breaking the kiss. Aleks sighed into his mouth and pliantly let himself be maneuvered into his lap. Maks let out a pitiful whimper when he felt a hard bulge under his jeans, right next to his own.

He'd thought he would never have Aleks on top of him again. Thank fucking God he'd been wrong. He felt his hands cupping his face; his lips and tongue were getting more forceful, like Aleks was trying to suck his very soul from him through his mouth. Maks returned the kisses just as hungrily, letting his hands slip down and rest on his bottom. He'd been so in love with his hips before that he didn't think he'd even touched it that night. He was never an ass person; he used to like... boobs, but now he seemed to be into skinny bodies, flat chests, narrow hips, and... tiny bubble butts, apparently. Damn, was there anything not insanely hot about him? The lewd way he started to unconsciously shift between pressing against Maks' hands and his crotch was enough to make him forget his own name. His lips were just as divine and even better now that Maks was sober; soft and full, they tasted like lemon, rum, and tobacco. He felt achingly addicted to it.

Aleks' lips broke off from his own and moved to his chin and then along his jaw. One of his hands dropped to his chest, undone the upper button of his shirt, and slipped inside. Maks tilted his head, still fondling his ass, thrusting his hips frantically and groaning softly when he felt these luscious lips and a warm, wet tongue exploring his neck. His pants were so tight by now that he wanted to cry and knew that all he needed was Aleks' hard-on rubbing against him a couple more times, and something very embarrassing was going to happen, but he couldn't make himself stop. The pressure within him was building up too fast for him to keep up, and after weeks of waiting for it with only his imagination and right hand for assistance, having him here in flesh felt like overindulgence. He wanted to melt together with him, seep into him, and live there from now on.

"Excuse me?" They suddenly heard a voice dangerously close. Aleks looked up distractedly. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to move to one of the private rooms," said a young guy who seemed to work here, pointing to the door on the left and looking down on them regretfully.

Maks needed a moment to understand what was happening and why Aleks' lips were gone before it suddenly hit him that they were in a public place. A gay club, sure, but still. They were groping and dry-humping each other shamelessly on that goddamn sofa, and people were watching. The old Maks hadn't considered anything but chaste kisses acceptable outside of the home's safety. Yeah, he was frigid and always had been. He knew he must have been beet-red and was unable to utter a word.

Aleks recovered much quicker and sent the guy an apologetic smile. "It won't be necessary. We're gonna control ourselves," he promised with a trace of amusement. The guy smiled back and left after winking at Maks, who was still stupefied.

He didn't snap back until he heard Aleks' quiet snort. Maks fixed his gaze on him. He looked sheepish; the tips of his fingers touched his cheeks tenderly one more time, then skimmed down his frame before he started to move away from his lap reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I got a bit carried away," he murmured, avoiding his eyes. He stood up and took his phone from the table.

Maks opened his mouth to object because he was still a little dazed, and his foggy brain couldn't comprehend why Aleks was suddenly leaving.

"Your decision-making process is getting better. Keep working on it," he said with a trace of a smirk on his face. "But you're wrong. I don't blow just anyone," he added, then turned on his heel and headed towards the exit.

Maks sat on that damn sofa for another few minutes, wondering what had just happened. Aleks had left. Which wasn't surprising, because Maks was acting like a complete dick, turning up whenever he felt like it and expecting him to be his. But he wasn't. He could be. He even seemed to want to be, but it required measures and resolve from Maks that he wasn't sure he had in himself. It required a declaration, and he couldn't help but wonder whether he'd already made some declaration deep within his heart or if he was still going around in circles.

He would have probably stayed there mulling it over forever if not for a tall, tanned blonde who sat down across from him, gazing at him curiously. "It's unbecoming for a cutie like you to sit alone," he flirted with a broad smile. "Can I buy you a drink?" he added hopefully.

Maks blinked uncomprehendingly. "Sorry, I'm spoken for," he replied without a second thought. Only after uttering these words did it become obvious to him who he'd meant by that.

•~💥~•

He picked himself up reluctantly to go open the door, even though Ewelina's company was the last thing he felt like right now. As it turned out, it wasn't her.

"Hi," Wiki beamed, raising a bottle of wine encouragingly. "Are you up to indulging with me?" she offered cheerfully, slipping past him inside without an invitation. He didn't see any other option but to close the door behind her.

Wiki wasn't all that sure that invading Maks' place was a good idea, but she hoped he wouldn't mind, especially since lately it'd felt like they were closer. They hadn't been very tight before, which wasn't really surprising. After all, before Maks had left, she'd still been a kid. But now she was almost seventeen, practically an adult like him, which made them more on an equal level, and after those few days she'd spent at his place, it felt like they were on their way to becoming... friends? Maybe not yet, but she thought she wanted them to be. She liked the idea of her big brother and her being friends, hanging out together, and telling each other stuff.

Besides, now she knew something about him that no one else did; at least she didn't think so, and was there anything that brought people together more than a shared secret?

Maks didn't seem disgruntled by her visit, but he seemed a bit uncomfortable. Wiki wanted to show him that there was no need for that, but she wasn't sure how to do that. Her brother was just an awkward kind of guy. It was his default mode.

Maks poured the wine into two glasses, trying to avoid both her eyes and wondering where she'd gotten it from. It was unnerving to sit across from someone who knew, or at least could very well guess, what was happening in his head. Maybe she didn't know the whole story, but she was more or less aware of the recent turning point in his life. And on one hand, he was afraid that she would want to talk about it, but on the other, maybe they should. Maybe even an introvert like him wasn't able to handle everything on his own. And she was his only shot.

After a few minutes of not very entertaining small talk, during which Maks mostly inquired about how she was doing in school, she brought herself to casually ask, "So how's Ewelina? Because I know you two are still together." He didn't answer at first, so she fixed her big, guileless eyes on him, trying to pretend that she was only asking out of innocent curiosity.

Maks cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, we are," he confirmed without elaborating.

She kept staring at him searchingly. "Okay," she acknowledged. "So..." She hesitated for a split second. "What about Aleks?"

This time, Maks was silent even longer, fidgeting with his glass nervously. "Aleks," he echoed deliberately, like he was tasting the name on his tongue. Aleks. Aleks, Aleks, Aleks. "I'm not sure," he sighed, deciding that he might as well try to talk about him out loud to someone else, even though he didn't really know how to go about it. He could barely grasp how he felt about Aleks. How was he supposed to put it into words?

"But have you seen him?" Wiki asked cautiously.

Maks nodded slowly. "I saw him. Last night," he specified.

When nothing came to follow this up, Wiki pressed gently, "And?"

"And nothing," Maks admitted in surrender. "We had a fight, sort of. Then things seemed to get better for a bit, but then he left practically without a word, and now I don't know if he's—"

"Call him," she advised instantly.

Maks looked skeptical. "You think?" he asked pathetically, his voice full of doubt.

Wiki bit her lip, trying to find the right words. Finally, she took a deep breath. "Look, Maks, I know that maybe my opinion is not something you care about very much—"

Maks opened his mouth to protest, but she didn't let him.

"—but what I know is that I've never seen you so uninhibited as you are with him. You were never like that with Ewelina. You always seemed withdrawn and bored, and when you're with him, it's like you suddenly come to life. I actually want to kick myself that I didn't see it coming, because when I think about it now, it's been fucking obvious all along. So whatever he did to you, you needed it. You need him. Or if not him, then at least something else than you have right now. But I think it's him, and if I were you, I wouldn't just give it up. You would be an idiot if you gave it up," she said stubbornly.

Maks gaped silently at the tabletop.

"What's the problem? That he's a guy?" she asked curiously.

Maks nodded slowly, even though he wasn't sure about that anymore either.

Wiki looked like she wanted to roll her eyes but managed to hold back. "Maks, guys have been having sex for ages. Not even for ages. Ever since people have been walking on earth, they've been having sex with each other in many different configurations. Sure, some of them are more mainstream than others, but it's not exactly a newsflash. So if it's only peace and quiet you're after, then okay, do your sensible thing. But if you want to find that magic something most people spend their lives looking for, then not even trying so you can keep your life easy and bland and other people off your case is just bullshit," she said, clearly trying to sound lenient, but there was a trace of impatience in her voice.

"I think," Maks started hesitantly. "I think I might have found it already," he confessed quietly.

Wiki blinked, and an exhilarated smile appeared on her face.

"I think I might have fallen a little bit in love with him," he uttered, barely able to force these words out of his mouth, but he wanted them out there. He added 'a little bit' to play it down, but if that was little love, then he'd rather not know how big love felt; it must be cataclysmic and capable of destroying everything within a fifteen-mile radius.

Actually, that sounded like him and Aleks, all right.

Wiki stared at him, her smile broad and her eyes both dreamy and teasing.

"But," Maks added, because he wouldn't have been himself if he just stuck his head in the clouds. "But what if it doesn't work out and goes to hell? I won't be able to... go back," he said lamely.

This time, Wiki had to roll her eyes. "No, you won't," she confirmed calmly. "It's not a game; you can't load your last save. So if that happens, you will have to deal with it, just like other people do every day with the consequences of their decisions. That's why we're sitting here trying to figure out if it's worth the risk."

It sounded reasonable, but to Maks, it wasn't even about whether it was a risk-worthy decision or not; it seemed to be the only decision. "What about Ewelina?" he asked for the sake of propriety, even though he didn't suspect Wiki to have a groundbreaking solution to that.

She winced quietly. "Okay, this one's gonna be unpopular," she warned. "I think you need to be selfish."

Maks smiled bitterly to himself because he felt like he was being selfish all the time.

"Don't consider her in this. For once, focus on you, and find out what you want. See how it's going to go with Aleks. Dump her whenever you're ready. You don't have to tell her anything. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone. It's not other people you're doing it for; you're doing it in spite of them. This one is only for you, so you might as well not take their feelings into account."

Maks stared at her for a long moment, astonished. Was it that easy? Should he just let things happen and watch the outcome? Go to Aleks, apologize, feed Ewelina some bullshit that she had hurt him too much and it wouldn't work, and just go for broke? Give himself and Aleks a chance to build something under normal circumstances when they both knew where they stood? That was all his mind could handle right now. If he saw that the thing with Aleks was actually going somewhere, then he could consider further steps.

He had listened to Wiki's words and realized that she wanted it to happen. Her own crush on Aleks was long forgotten; she wanted to see him and Maks together. A single person in the whole world knew and approved of the idea. Even worse. What did kids call it? She appeared to ship them. So maybe... maybe it wasn't so doomed after all? He couldn't help but think that she was just a teenager and didn't know how the world worked. But no, she was sixteen, not twelve, and understood everything perfectly. It was just the way she was and still would be when she was forty; she'd still be breaking the rules, questioning the status quo, and defying convention. It was a matter of personality, not age. Maks wasn't like that, but maybe it was about time to drop the model behavior and do something his own way for a change. He should have already done it when he'd been choosing college. He should have cut himself loose back then instead of trying to fit into all of these impossible expectations he'd cared nothing for. Well, better late than never.

That thought made him jump out of his chair, drink the rest of his wine, then refill the glass and down it in one gulp for courage. He grabbed his phone, looked around wildly, and decided to head to the balcony because he wasn't going to bare his heart in front of her even more, accompanied by Wiki's encouraging smile and her 'you go, girl!' exclamation. He didn't even pull a face; he was too focused on what he was intending to do. He paused at the sight of his name on the screen. He needed to harness the turmoil in his head first, so he started to slowly repeat it in his mind again. Aleks. Aleks. Aleksss. He pushed the green button and waited with his heart in his throat for the ringing to end.

"Hello?" Aleks answered. He sounded wary, like he wasn't sure what to expect from him and would rather not reveal anything until he determined it.

Maks took a deep breath. "Hey," he said quietly, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Hi, Maks. What's up?" Aleks asked dryly.

"I'm fine," Maks said automatically, then reconsidered. "No, I'm actually not. I'm sorry for yesterday. That wasn't how I wanted to do this, but I just saw you with that guy, and... it all went to shit, because seeing you with... anyone... which means with him... makes me want to break something. But it doesn't excuse the way I behaved. I really shouldn't—"

"No, you shouldn't," Aleks agreed, interrupting him. His tone was cryptic. "But it's fine. I get it. Thinking about you with Ewelina doesn't make me very happy either."

Maks felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. No, of course it didn't. What he was doing was even worse, because Aleks was aware that whatever was happening between them, Maks was still officially with her. But if he was jealous too, that meant he cared. Not that Maks hadn't known that before; he'd known that for a while now, even if last night's encounter had put some doubt in his mind. But apparently he did; he'd just pretended he didn't to keep his dignity intact.

"I know. I know it doesn't," he said miserably. "But listen, I know I acted like a complete tool, and I don't blame you for leaving last night. And if... if you really like that Wincent guy better... if he's what you want," Maks stumbled, then picked up bravely. "Then I'll leave you alone. Then, well, I dug it up for nothing. But if... if he's not..." he faltered again, thinking he'd probably made a complete fool of himself because Aleks was still silent, but he'd needed to at least try.

Aleks finally exhaled shakily. "Maks, it's not about who I like better," he said wearily. "If I don't come first to you, then you don't come first to me. That's how it works. I don't wanna impose, and I've tried to make it easier for both of us because I know that you have your own life and your fiancée, and... I respect that. In a way," he muttered skeptically. "But the ball is in your court. If you'd rather keep things as they are now, then fine, but... please stick to it. You can't keep pulling me in and then pushing me away. You're gonna fucking kill us." He sounded like he didn't expect his words to have any effect, and that was what mobilized Maks the most.

"Where are you?" he asked out of the blue.

For a moment, Aleks seemed too surprised to react. "On a bus," he said slowly. "Why?"

"But where?"

"Wilson Square," Aleks answered uncertainly.

"Are you going somewhere?" Maks asked dumbly.

The silence on the other side sounded judgmental. "No, Maks, I just like to sit on a bus and enjoy the view."

Maks completely dismissed his sarcasm. "Yeah, you're not going anywhere. Get off at the next stop," he instructed. "I'll come to you."

"Why?" Aleks seemed to consider his options for a moment. "Where?" He finally managed to ask a practical question. "On the Gdansk Station?"

"What? No," Maks bridled, thinking on his feet. "Downtown. Theatre Square. I'll be there in twenty. I need to tell you something."

"You can't tell me now?" Aleks asked dubiously, though he was starting to sound amused.

"No," Maks replied without elaborating. "Wait there, okay?" he ordered before hanging up. Only then did he realize that it might have been pretty rude, so he charged back inside, typing furiously on his way.

5:55 pm. To: Aleks. Will you wait?

His phone pinged barely a few seconds later.

5:55 pm. From: Aleks. Yes, Maks, I'll wait, but it's starting to rain, and I'm not gonna hang around here like an idiot forever, so hurry up.

Maks smiled to himself, racing through the living room.

Wiki's eyes were wide. "What's going on?" she asked in confusion when Maks grabbed his jacket, ordering a cab at the same time.

He looked at her distractedly, unable to wipe a dazed expression off his face. "I'm doing it," he announced enigmatically.

She must have understood what he meant, because she instantly cheered up as well. "See!" she shouted triumphantly. "I knew you were a bright boy. Keep it up!" She stood up from the table. "I'm going to go too then. I don't want to be here when you two come back," she teased, though it didn't sound malicious at all.

Maks knew he should probably at least blush, but he was too light-headed and giddy to care. He wished. Ever since Aleks had left him on that damn leather sofa, he had jerked off three times and was still horny. It was a wonder that there was still enough blood in his brain to make any sort of plan. If they didn't fuck anytime soon, he was going to cut out his own eye.

"Okay," he just said absently before shutting the door behind them and running down the stairs. It wasn't until then that he realized that he was dressed in his old sweatpants and a dingy t-shirt he wore only to sleep, and he hadn't combed his hair at all, which probably made him look like a bum. He decided to brush it off. He was biting his nails the whole way to the city center.

He was getting close to the Central Railway Station when a drizzle started to turn into a torrent. Heavy raindrops hit the car roof like small meteorites, and their rumbling echoed in his brain. Finally, he got out of the car, thanking the driver politely. He got completely soaked in the first three seconds he spent outside. He had no umbrella, so he just shrugged and rushed ahead with water running down his face and back. But it smelled like spring. It was a typical April shower, one of those that wreaked havoc and disappeared like they had never been there. Aleks was a bit like that. He also wreaked havoc and disappeared.

He saw him dripping wet in front of the Grand Theatre, clearly looking like he had no business hanging out there. He had a hood on that didn't seem to help him very much. He raised a cigarette to his lips, not realizing that it was also completely soaked, and futilely tried to take a drag, then glared at it and tossed it on the sidewalk. He pulled out the package to get another one, then looked up and saw a familiar figure heading towards him. He put it back and gaped expectantly at Maks, who knew he needed to take charge of this conversation.

"You do come first," he blurted without any greeting, standing a couple steps from him, looking helpless.

Surprise crossed Aleks' face, but it disappeared just as quickly. "It doesn't feel that way," he said quietly. There was a trace of hope in his voice, but he didn't seem ready to trust it yet.

"But it's true." Maks took a few more steps and stopped right in front of him. "I know it doesn't. But I always think of you first. I... always think of you," he corrected himself, realizing that it was just as true.

Aleks looked uncertain for a moment. "Me too," he whispered at last, because the first move had belonged to Maks and he'd made it, and he couldn't read his mind. He needed assurance just as much as Aleks did.

A shy smile appeared on Maks' face. "And I want to do something about it," he announced purposefully.

Aleks snickered and somehow managed to roll his eyes in a way that was almost adoring. "Go for it." He shrugged. His smile widened when Maks' fingers caressed his cheeks gently and then moved up to take the wet hood off his head. It was still raining, though not as intensely as before. Aleks scrunched up his nose, and Maks laughed softly before leaning in and pausing with their noses touching and their lips barely a few inches apart.

"People are watching," Aleks whispered, impatient with the prolonged suspense.

Maks looked around stealthily. "Nah, they're all trying to get out of the rain," he dismissed. "No one's paying attention to us." He closed the distance between them. He'd never kissed Aleks like that; it'd always been frantic, delirious, and wild. It was the first time he just pecked his lips with no hurry or purpose, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Because apparently it was.

"Jesus," he heard a voice behind his back and turned around. The guy who'd just passed them glanced over his shoulder with a frown. He didn't even seem appalled, more abashed. When he realized they were looking at him, he smiled awkwardly and walked away quickly, shaking his head.

Why did they always have to get interrupted?

They looked back at each other and snorted in unison. Aleks seemed to sober up from his high after a few seconds of elated grinning. He frowned. "What about Ewelina?" he asked quietly, not really wanting to bring it up but feeling he must. He was very aware of a warm hand still stroking the side of his face.

A shadow crossed Maks' face, and his smile dimmed as well. "I'll take care of it," he assured him.

"When?"

"Soon," he promised, not very keen to get more specific.

Aleks was too happy to entertain the thought that, considering Maks' previous pace, in his vocabulary, 'soon' probably meant 'never'.

"What about Wincent?" Maks flung back.

"I'll take care of it," Aleks echoed with raised eyebrows, because to him, a person you'd slept with more than once and a person you'd decided to propose to deserved quite different levels of consideration.

"Come home with me," Maks asked quietly. There was a trace of pleading in his voice, like everything depended solely on this one 'yes' or 'no'. The rain intensified again.

Aleks was stalling on purpose, both because he wanted to keep him on his toes and because he couldn't stop devouring him with his eyes when he was all bright and pure with his hair so damp and floppy it made him look like a wet dog. "Okay."