Rae's heart thudded painfully in his chest.

Aria and Rae stood on the patio of his house, waiting for the door to open. Jill would've come too, but she'd recently got the job in the news channel she'd wanted. Having put down papers for her new apartment, Jill was also busy moving into it.

He was nervous and scared. He hadn't come to the town in two years, and had recently trudged up the courage to come. The pandemic had been declared over six months ago, and there were barely any cases popping up anymore.

The door opened and his stomach dropped. Luckily it was just his brother. "Rae!" he exclaimed as he threw himself onto his brother. Rae stumbled back at the force that hit him, but managed to stay upright. He chuckled.

"Hey Max."

Max pulled back and turned to Aria. He raised a brow. "And you are?"
"Aria Katmann, nice to meet you," she said, smiling and holding out a hand. He looked at her hand and back to Rae.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"No she's not," Aria said, putting her hand down. "You could've asked me, you know."

"Whatever," Max said, rolling his eyes and pulling his headphones back up. He went inside and they followed.

"Excuse his behaviour, he's going through the moody teenage phase," Rae whispered as they walked towards where his parents sat. The TV was running.

"Don't worry, I'm not offended."

His parents stood up as they came in. "Rae! You never told us you'd be coming. And you've bought a girl!" his mother exclaimed, though you could tell it was forced.

"Actually I'm just a friend."

Either they didn't hear or just didn't care. She hugged him, yet her embrace was cold. She went to hug Aria next, but Aria stepped back. "I'm not comfortable with hugs."

That was a lie, but only someone who knew her well would know that she never shied away from showing affection.

His mother's eyes turned cold ever so slightly. His spine straightened unconsciously.

His father came next. As he hugged his son he whispered, "You better break up with her soon, you're supposed to get married to Penny this year." He would've rolled his eyes if he were in a different situation. As it was, he thought, what is up with people assuming we're together?

The words themselves didn't affect him as much anymore. He'd come a long way in the past two years.

Rae's father pulled back smiling like nothing had ever happened, but Rae had a feeling Aria saw right through it.

"Where are our manners? Come sit," he said motioning towards the couches.

His parents house was big, their living room big enough to accommodate twenty people. They sat on the white couches, Aria and Rae making sure to sit with enough space between each other. Somewhere else they wouldn't have cared, but here everything needed to go smoothly with as few distractions as possible.

It was a good thing Max was up in his room. His mother had gone to the kitchen to bring refreshment for the both of them. "So, where did you two meet?" his mother asked as she set down the refreshments on the table.

Rae went to answer, but he was cut off by Aria. "Doesn't matter." She said, laying down two files in front of them. Trust Aria to cut straight to the matter at hand.

He could feel the heat of his father's glare even though it wasn't directed at him. Aria remained unfazed, going as far as to meet his glare coolly. That was the last straw apparently as his father exploded the next moment. "Keep your woman under control boy, or else I'll-"
"Shut the fuck up, Eric," Aria said, her eyes flashing murderously. 

His father was shocked into silence. The look on his face was almost comical. And then his face was ablaze with fury. It made Rae go rigid, and fear made him hear his own heartbeat. This, this was what he'd been worried about, what he'd warned Aria about. But one look at her showed him that she was focusing on his mother's expressions, as she took the file and started reading it.

She said, "Now you guys are going to read the files labelled with your names, or I'll switch them and you can say goodbye to the status of your family."

She met his father's gaze then, and didn't so much as flinch. Instead she went as far as to meet his gaze coolly, unfazed. His father looked like he was going to explode and was about to say something when his mother nudged him, her face pale as she read the file. He took his file then.

"Some of the things written in those files are unique to you guys, others are the same. I won't hesitate to release them, if you don't meet Rae's demands."

"You can't blackmail us girl, I have contacts in places you-"

"Places like Cobra?  HNIV?" she said, her eyebrows raised mockingly. His father paled ever so slightly. She smirked,  "Where did you think I got the info?"

His father hadn't paled when he'd read the file, but now he looked pale. Rae frowned slightly though his eyes remained cold, and his spine straight. He hadn't heard of this. But it didn't matter now.

"Thought so. Rae?"

With that Aria stood up and left, but not before she took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. He'd asked Aria to leave once she'd done her part, and though Aria had been reluctant she'd agreed.

He took a deep breath. No point beating around the bush. He'd let Aria take the lead on blackmail as he knew it was her cup of tea. He didn't feel guilty about it, his parents had been blackmailing him for ten years.

It was his turn now.

He looked at them, his face blank and cold. There was no trace of anything human, just like there was nothing human about the way they'd treated him when they'd found out.

"You're going to back off. You're not going to be part of my life anymore, and you're not going to contact me unless it's really important or it's about Max. Speaking of whom, he can come visit me whenever he wants, and I can visit him whenever I want. You're going to talk to the pastor about Penny and tell them I'm not marrying her. And last but not least..."

He took a deep breath, calming himself down. This part was where his nerves almost took over but he managed to say it.

"I'm bisexual deal with it."

He didn't wait around to see the look on their faces.

*******

Aria sat on a bar stool at DeNiro's, one that her former client and his partner had owned.

They'd flown in two days ago, and tonight they'd decided to go clubbing once again.

Rae had left her just moments ago, having given in to her prompts to go talk to a man whom Aria had caught looking at Rae every few minutes or so. After deeming him safe, she'd nudged Rae to go flirt with him. Rae'd been hesitant but she could see the longing in his eyes. Especially since his parents were finally off his back.

Aria had just gotten a refill when a man approached her.

His sandy blond hair with his icy blue eyes made her forget herself for a moment. He had a lithe and lightly muscled body, and walked with a confidence that very few people had. People often mistook that confidence for cockiness, but one look in his eyes told Aria otherwise.

Those eyes.

It took her a moment to realise he was talking.

"-seat taken?"

She recollected herself and smiled, "No, it's not."

He sat himself and she took a sip of her whiskey, collecting her thoughts.

"I couldn't help but notice that you've been staring at that pair every once in a while. Is something the matter?"

Aria frowned for a moment looking at him and then the realisation settled in.

"Oh my god! You must have thought I'm such a creep. I was just looking out for a very good friend of mine. He's the one talking with your brother."

"What?!"
Aria frowned, she hadn't said anything wrong.

"How'd you know he's my brother?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Oh.

The corner of her mouth tugged up. "Your cheekbones and your gait are similar, but I wasn't truly sure until you admitted it."

"Not many people make that connection," he said. She nodded, she wouldn't have either but she had a trained eye.

"I'm sorry. I'm just a bit overprotective of him. He recently got out of a very toxic relationship."

She shook her head. "No, I get it. We were both looking out for them. It's a bit new for my friend. I'm surprised I didn't notice you."

"Yeah well, I was hiding anyway. He doesn't know I came here. He'll kill me if he finds out."

"I'm sorry, you don't need to hear all that," he said after a beat.

She laughed, "I've been told I have a very dangerous aura. You'll be surprised how many people spill their secrets to me." It was the truth. Being a lawyer meant you were privy to the deepest, often darkest secrets of your clients.

He laughed. It was a beautiful sound, like the music you were waiting for finally came on.

"I'm Evan."

"I'm Aria."

They smiled. "Can I buy you a drink?" she asked.

"Actually I've been sober for a year now, so..."

"Oh. Isn't being here tempting then?"

He smiled at that. "It is, but that's fine."

She quickly glanced at Rae and his companion. They seemed to be doing okay.

"I know a great cafe that's open twenty four seven if you wanna get out of here?"

He seemed to consider it for a moment. "Actually, that would be a relief."

She smiled.

*******

If someone had come up to him and told him a few years ago that he'd be flirting with a guy openly, with only slight nerves about being in public, he would've punched the person for even suggesting he would flirt with a guy.

As it was he was still apprehensive, but his main focus was occupied by the man in front of him. When Rae had first approached him, his eyes were the first thing that had enamored him. Deep brown eyes, with icy blue flecks had taken his breath away.

Now, it was him. His whole aura. And the flirting, oh the flirting. It made his head spin, and his heart race. All he could do was respond in like, and he did. If he'd known it would be this fun, he would've done it a long time ago. He vaguely remembered Aria leaving sometime earlier, but the details were hazy because his sole attention was occupied by Shawn.

But he couldn't help but wonder if the climax would be as head spinning.
They sat close in one of the booths, almost touching. They'd resorted to judging the people in the club, laughing at the silliest situations, and guessing how conversations were going.

It was also possible that they were drunk.

He spotted something hilarious and turned to tell Shawn, when he found him staring at him in a way that made his blood heat.

If he leaned just a few inches, their lips would touch. Shawn did just that.

Almost.

His lips hovered over his, giving him the choice to decide whether to pull away or pull him close.

Rae pulled him close.

*******

She laughed.

They were walking around the empty streets, their hands wrapped around their warm coffees. It was cold outside, much colder than they'd anticipated. They'd been walking around for half an hour now, yet their conversations were never dull. More often than not, they'd flirted, and Aria had caught him looking at her quite a few times. She couldn't say she was any better, if anything, she'd been worse.

She sipped her coffee, grateful for the warmth it spread. She looked at him when he spoke, but her mind was preoccupied by something else. Specifically by the way his cheeks were rosy due to the cold, how his eyes lit up when he talked about something that mattered to him.

But her mind was mostly on his lips.

It took her a moment to realise that she'd stopped walking. He stopped with her. "What's the matter?" Evan asked, frowning.

She'd just realised she recognised this neighbourhood. Her mother's cafe was just around the corner. It was cold, and her mother's cafe would be open late. If it wasn't she had the key anyway. At least they wouldn't freeze, even though Evan hadn't said anything.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked, resuming walking.

"A little," he admitted. "But that still didn't answer my question."

The corner of her mouth tugged up, but she didn't answer. They walked in silence towards the cafe, until Evan understood where they were headed.

"Why are we walking towards Clairvoyant?"

She didn't stop and took out her house keys when she was in front of the door. It held the keys to the three cafes her mother owned around the city. She'd given them to her to keep an eye on them every now and then.

Evan stood beside her, his brows furrowed, but he didn't comment. They entered the cafe, and Aria sighed at the warmth inside. They hung their coats on the racks, and Aria went behind the counter to switch on the lights. When she came back, Evan had settled himself down in one of the booths near the windows.

He handed her coffee back to her. "I thought you were a lawyer."

"I am. My mom owns Clairvoyant, and two other cafes around the city. So, technically, I own them," she said, shrugging and taking a sip.

"So you're a junior partner in one of the city's biggest law firms and you own this cafe?"

There was a familiar glint in his eye, and Aria had to swallow the grin that threatened to appear.

She shifted closer to him, and asked in a low voice, "Why, does that intimidate you?"

Even though her tone didn't convey it, she was curious about his answer.

"It does the opposite actually," he said, his lips just a few inches from hers.

"And what would that be?" she asked, even though she just wanted to close the distance between them.

"It excites me."

With that he closed the distance between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The End

Kinda.