Aiden pulled into the parking lot of the ice-cream parlour and smiled over at Oliver. "What are you going to have?"

"I don't know," Oliver replied. "I don't really eat ice-cream that much."

Aiden gasped. "You poor child, I will teach you the ways of ice-cream."

Oliver laughed. When they got out of the car Aiden reached for Oliver's hand. It had been over a year since Aiden had someone's hand to hold and he found that he really had missed the feeling. It was different with Oliver, however, his hand felt warmer somehow. Oliver had big hands that wrapped around Aiden's so easily. Aiden swung their hands between them as they walked. He laughed as he swung their hands high in front of them.

"You are such a child," Oliver told him.

Aiden only stuck his tongue out at him. They were on the sidewalk now, nearing the front entrance. Aiden could see the ice-cream cabinet through the window.

Oliver suddenly used his hand as leverage and pulled him close. "I'm really glad we did this tonight." Aiden stopped walking, and Oliver stopped next to him. "What?"

"Thank-you so much for coming," Aiden told him in complete seriousness. "Chase is a really important part of my life and to see you really interested in getting to know him, it just means the world to me."

"That's okay, he's your best friend, of course I'm going to want to get to know him. Anyway, he seems like a really awesome guy. I'd be more than happy to hang out with him again," Oliver told him. "His girlfriend's nice too, a little strange though."

"I know right!" Aiden laughed. "Anyway, back at the restaurant, Chase told me that he thought you were good for me. He thinks you make me happy."

Oliver's perfect lips turned into a beaming smile. "Do you think that too?"

"Yeah," Aiden agreed without hesitation. "Yeah, I really do."

Oliver lent down and kissed him. His hand came up and pushed Aiden's long hair behind his ear and then his hand lingered on the back of his neck as they kissed. Aiden felt so safe with Oliver, like he didn't have a care in the world. Oliver was smiling when he pulled away. "We probably shouldn't be making out in some carpark."

"Probably not," Aiden agreed. "You know where we should be making out?"

"In your car?"

Aiden laughed. "No! Back at my apartment."

"Do we really need ice-cream?" Oliver asked. He tried to pull Aiden back towards the car.

Aiden stood his ground. "Of course! We are getting ice-cream!"

Oliver pretended to sulk as they made their way towards the entrance. A cold gust of wind hit Aiden as they walked through the doors. He suddenly had tunnel vision and he rushed over to the ice-cream. He took a few minutes to make his mind up, contemplating each flavour all the while knowing he was always going to order the mint one. He looked over at Oliver who seemed to be deep in thought as well.

"What are you thinking?" Aiden asked.

"I'm thinking about ice-cream," Oliver replied sarcastically.

"Oh hardy-ha!" Aiden replied. He looked around the ice-cream parlour. It was a rectangular shape with the ice-cream cabinet and the door at one end and tables stretching to the other. He could see some tables from where he was standing. They were brightly coloured with plain black chairs pushed under them. He could see a couple sitting at the back, two girls holding hands across the table. Aiden mentally decided to sit near those girls. He looked around the corner a little and saw that there was a father and son there as well. The boy only looked to be about five or six, with bright blonde hair. He was telling his father something, arms in the air as he explained it. Aiden smiled. He looked at the father and paused. That wasn't a stranger. Aiden's heart beat fast in his chest and he gulped. He turned to Oliver. "We have to get out of here."

Oliver just shrugged. "You're the one who dragged me in here." He started to laugh, that was until he saw Aiden's face. "What's wrong?"

Aiden slipped his hand into Oliver's. "Please, get us out of here," Aiden told him. He knew that he sounded scared, and he was.

Oliver nodded and seriousness overtook his body. He rushed Aiden out through the front doors and straight to the car. Aiden fumbled with the keys and Oliver took them out of his hands. He motioned for Aiden to get into the passenger's side. Oliver backed the car out and started driving without saying a word. Aiden fidgeted with his hands. He waited for Oliver to ask what happened back there, but he didn't. Oliver was focussing on the road. Aiden could see how serious his expression was. Suddenly, Oliver's hand reached over and Aiden linked their fingers. Aiden felt his fear and anxiety subside by the second with Oliver's hand wrapped around his and Oliver's strong presence next to him. He wasn't sure how he would have handled that if Oliver hadn't been there.

"I'm sorry about that," Aiden whispered.

"You don't have to explain if you don't want to," Oliver assured him. Aiden felt him squeeze his hand.

Aiden rubbed his thumb on the back of Oliver's hand. "My father was there."

"Your father?" Oliver asked. He sounded surprised. "Did he see you?"

"He didn't, but he was there with his new son," Aiden explained. "One of his new sons."

"You have brothers?" Oliver asked gently.

"Yeah. I didn't know Kai had gotten so big. He must be almost six now. I didn't even recognise him. Isn't that sad? I didn't recognise my own brother," Aiden was almost whispering at the end. He felt a single tear fall down his cheek.

Oliver squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry, Aiden. I truly am."

"Me too," Aiden whispered.

"How long has it been since you've seen your father?"

"The day I turned eighteen," Aiden answered. "We got into this huge argument about me moving out. He never spent any time with me, never spoke to me, and yet he wanted me to stay so I could watch the boys while he spent time with his wife. He called me selfish." He didn't tell Oliver that he had hit him. As he was leaving, his father had punched him, straight in the jaw. Aiden left that day and never looked back. His brothers were the only thing he wished he didn't leave behind.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Aiden, I really am," Oliver told him. Oliver spoke genuinely, his words holding an honesty and rawness that Aiden hadn't anticipated.

Aiden nodded. He was silent for the rest of the drive. When they walked into his apartment Oliver seemed to pause at the doorway.

"Do you want me to go home?" Oliver asked gently. "I don't have to be here if you need time."

Aiden shook his head. "I want you here."

Oliver nodded slowly. "I'll be here as long as you want me, then." Aiden took his hand and led Oliver to the couch. He then pulled him down next to him so that the side of their thighs were pressed together.

"Want to watch a movie?" Aiden asked.

Oliver sat up a little straighter. "Do you want to talk more about what happened?" he asked.

There was a kindness in his voice that made Aiden want to kiss him. Oliver really did care about him a lot. "I just want to watch Netflix, I don't want to think about it." Aiden reached for the remotes. Oliver wrapped his arm around Aiden and he relaxed into Oliver's embrace.

"What do you want to watch?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know," Aiden said. He started going through the different movies on Netflix. "This one?" he asked. The screen showed a photo of a man half naked, dancing on a stage. "Looks good."

Aiden felt Oliver's laugh against his side before he heard it. "No way. I will not sit idly by while you drool over hot men."

Aiden smiled. He loved that Oliver made him smile. Aiden kept flicking through different shows. "Okay, seriously, this one looks good," Aiden told him. The movie on the screen was an action thriller, staring one of Aiden's favourite actors. "I mean it has Pierce Fletcher in it!" Aiden pointed towards the man on the icon. Jett black hair with bright blue eyes. You can't tell me that you don't like Pierce Fletcher!"

Aiden felt Oliver shrug. "I don't really know him."

Aiden turned so that he was facing Oliver more. "He's on the front cover of half the magazines on newsstands! He's married to that British model, Eden. Their marriage was the most talked about topic online for ages last year!"

Oliver shrugged again. "I'm not really that into celebrities. Plus, that movie doesn't look that good."

Aiden huffed. "Okay I'll pick a different one." Aiden felt Oliver pull his arm away.

"I'm going to get a drink, pick any movie."

Aiden nodded. He scrolled through more moves. He looked over at Oliver just as he was leaving the room. He was so grateful for him. "I found a documentary on whales?"

"I like whales!" Oliver called out. Oliver made his way back into the room. He sat down and reached over at the photos on the coffee table. He moved a few onto the floor so that he could rest his drink on the table. "Can I ask you something?"

Aiden nodded. His eyes were still on the screen.

"Why do you have so many prints?" Oliver asked.

Aiden bit at his lip. He sat back into the couch. "Sales picked up about eight months back. Someone had mentioned my photos on this really famous online blog and suddenly things picked up. I got so excited that I got heaps made up, ready to be sold. I sold about five thousand dollars' worth of photos and I thought it would keep going so I printed more. A month after the blog post and I was yesterday's news, no one bought anymore photos. They have been sitting here, on my couch for half a year."

Oliver wrapped his arm around Aiden again. "They will sell."

Aiden shrugged. "This has been my dream for so long and now that I'm getting older I just wonder sometimes if I'm deluding myself."

"Don't say that," Oliver told him. "You are going to make it. It will take more time. That blog post, that isn't going to be your only big break. There will be more."

To Aiden, Oliver sounded so sure of himself. He sounded like there was no possibility of anything to the contrary. Aiden liked it, he liked the confidence that Oliver had in him, but he also hated the feeling that he might let Oliver down. Oliver believed that he was talented, that he was going to go places with his photography, and that was all that Aiden wanted in the world, but he knew it might not happen.

"I hope so," Aiden replied. "I really don't want to have to take that job at Celebrity Today. If I work at a magazine full time I want to be travelling to the world's most beautiful and remote destinations, taking photos of them in front of secret waterfalls and on the top of mountains. I don't want to follow famous people around on the street," Aiden told him honestly.

"I think that sounds like the perfect job for you, travelling and exploring," Oliver told him. "Can I ask you, how is your financial situation going?"

Aiden didn't want to tell him how close he really was to being broke. He felt like he could trust Oliver though. He didn't think Oliver would ever judge him. Oliver had never mentioned the fact that he lived in a bad neighbourhood, or that he drove an old, old car or that he always ordered the cheapest things on the menu. He honestly didn't seem to care. Oliver was just Oliver, happy and unjudging. He felt like he could tell him the truth. "Honestly, pretty bad. I'm going to need to work much more for Celebrity Today for a while. I don't like it, but the work isn't terrible and the other magazines just don't have any work for me at the moment."

Oliver's eyes widened. "It's really that bad?"

Aiden nodded. "It's okay though, it's been worse than this before and somehow I always make it through."

Oliver was quiet for a few seconds. He seemed to be thinking about something. "What if I helped you out?" he asked.

"What?" Aiden asked. Aiden hoped that Oliver wasn't going to offer him money. He had more pride than that. He had more morals than that. He would never take money from a boyfriend. He didn't need someone to take care of him.

Oliver spoke like he had just had an epiphany. "What if I lent you some money for a while, to help you pay your bills and all that? You would be able to keep doing what you love and you wouldn't have to take that job."

Aiden shook his head. "I will never ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking," Oliver told him. "I'm offering."

Aiden shrugged off Oliver's arm. He was starting to get annoyed now. He was never going to be the type of guy who relied on his boyfriend like that. He knew where it would lead. Now it sounded like a good idea, just lend some money. It was the future that he was more worried about. He didn't want to rely on Oliver financially. He didn't want Oliver to be pressured into paying for him. He wanted their relationship to be a partnership, even and equal. If money changed hands, Aiden knew that it would be impossible to have the relationship that he wanted with Oliver. "I do appreciate the offer," he told Oliver, "believe me, I do, but I am not going to accept any money from you."

Oliver's expression changed. He seemed annoyed and confused. "I'm not just giving you money. It would be a loan."

"I don't need a loan, Oliver," Aiden told him harshly. "Please, just drop it."

"I'm not trying to buy your affection," Oliver said suddenly.

Aiden's brows furrowed. "I didn't say that you were. I just don't want any money from you. I don't need any financial support from you, I just need you. I need to be able to tell you about these things and know that you won't try to solve them with your own money. I just need you to hold me and tell me that I'll make it through it."

"I'm sorry if I don't want to sit here and watch my boyfriend drown in bills!" Oliver told him harshly. The annoyance in his face doubled.

"Then don't be here," Aiden replied. He was lost for words. He and Oliver were having their first fight and the idea made him sick to the stomach. He couldn't keep going like this, tonight had been rough enough.

Oliver's face softened. "What?"

"Just leave," Aiden muttered. When Oliver didn't move, Aiden pointed towards the door. "Just go, Oliver. Please."

Oliver looked like a kicked puppy as he walked out of the room. Aiden collapsed into the couch and tears he didn't know about before that moment, fell down his cheeks. He pulled his head into his hands. Tonight was an absolute disaster, he thought.