Just a quick thank you for the support you give me. I honestly can't thank you enough!

Have a wonderful Christmas and new year!

- Sian

When the boys escaped Miss Pecan's art class at almost five in the evening, they headed straight for Koda's home. Alfie, for a change, was very excited to spend the evening with someone else. Especially when Koda wasn't shying away from his flirty behaviour. Koda couldn't hide his embarrassment too well, but he always bounced back with something cute to say.

When Alfie stepped through the front door to Koda's home, he wasn't slapped in the face with misery. The house didn't feel as cold as it had, and the darkness didn't suffocate him quite as much. He wanted to mention it, but Koda's mind was a million miles away from the death of Enya. Alfie didn't want to remind him.

"It smells like something is burning." Alfie directed his nose towards the door to the kitchen. Koda agreed and hurried in. Smoke poured from the room and Morlen stormed passed him with a tray held out in front of him. Alfie ducked out of his way as Morlen threw the burnt food, including the tray, onto the driveway and slammed the door behind it.

The fire alarm went off and Morlen roared at it to shut up. Alfie watched jealously as Koda used his height to switch it off. Granted, he had to go onto the tips of his toes, but Alfie could barely reach the top of Koda's head on his tiptoes, never mind something on the ceiling.

When the alarm stopped, and the smoke started to clear, Koda chuckled at his father's raging anger. "What were you trying to cook?" he asked, looking around at the mess his father had made.

"The pie that your mother used to make every Monday. She had always refused to give me the recipe, so of course, I'd fail."

Alfie bit his tongue, wishing he had asked if they could go out to eat instead. Though, Koda smiled at the memory, surprising both Morlen and Alfie.

"Mum taught me how to make it. I was going to make it for Alfie tonight. You can have some too if you want?"

Morlen turned to the medium as if he only just noticed him standing by the fridge. "Oh, um no, it's fine. Save me some though." As quick as a heartbeat, Morlen smiled at Alfie and it dropped as soon as it came. Alfie was stunned enough to make him wonder if he imagined it. "I'll order food... and I'll be in the living room for the rest of the night." Morlen turned and catapulted himself out of the kitchen, closing the door behind him with unnatural force.

"I think he noticed that we didn't want him hovering," Alfie said, coughing from the lingering smoke.

"Or he felt too uncomfortable to stay. Either way, I'm glad he got the message." Koda started tidying his dad's mess so there was room to make his own. "Hey, I'm supposed to be teaching you how to make this," Koda said with a pointed finger when Alfie tried to sit down.

Alfie groaned and dragged himself away from the table. As soon as he was close enough, Koda grabbed his arm and pulled him in front of him. He placed a knife in his grip and rested his hands over Alfie's.

Alfie felt Koda's chest against the back of his head. The heat radiated from Koda when he towered over him and started chopping vegetables to go in the pie.

"You wanted all the cliché stuff, right?" Koda grinned as Alfie rested against him.

"No complaints from me." Alfie wanted to picture their future when they have jobs, a house together, and time on the evening to sit down with a meal and talk about their day. He quickly buried the thoughts, wanting to live in the moment. The future would come regardless of whether he thought about it or not.

When the food was made and cooking in the oven, the boys went to Koda's room. Morlen didn't even look up from his sports magazine, but Koda knew he acknowledged that they were in his room together. Hopefully, Morlen had learnt his lesson from walking in on them.

"Have you seen Grimmie again?" Alfie asked, staring into the corner of Koda's room.

"No, thankfully."

"I don't know how you sleep at night. Any normal person who's sceptical of ghosts would have wet themselves."

"I'm not a sceptic anymore." Koda sat on his desk chair, subconsciously twisting his grandfather's necklace between his fingers. It felt cold against his collar bones.

"I convinced you pretty quickly. I once had a client who sat through my entire session telling me that I made everything up. I thought I had summoned the wrong ghost, but people think it's fake so much, they refuse to see the truth."

"I knew there was something going on when I found the necklace behind the bookshelf. I knew you'd either be some crazy psycho stalker, or you were actually speaking to my mother."

"What if I were a crazy psycho stalker?"

Koda watched him slowly walk closer like a cat ready to pounce. "Then that would be nothing compared to seeing the Grim Reaper in the corner of my room or taking souls for a living."

"I doubt it's for a living. Laughing would be the death of me if Grimmie turns up at your door every month with a paycheck." Alfie stopped when he was touching Koda's knees. He wanted to stand between Koda's legs and kiss him senseless. The tension between them had been growing since their surprise art class.

"I'll demand it." Koda felt the same as Alfie. They could see it on each other's face. Koda watched Alfie's fingers place on his legs and he shuddered at his touch.

"You better. Time isn't free." Alfie took a step towards him.

Koda reached out when he was close enough to put his hands on Alfie's waist. He didn't pull him close immediately, Koda let his hands stay there and watch Alfie's pupils grow until his brown eye looked black and his blue one turned dark. Then Koda tugged him near, feeling Alfie's legs brushing the insides of his as he took each step.

"It's different for me to have someone close like this," Koda said in a low tone. "It's nice."

Alfie grinned and fell into him, crashing their chests together. He wrapped arms around his neck, letting his face move closer. "I'll be honest and say that I scream inside every time you look at me. I worship the ground you walk on. I would kiss you all day if you'd let me, Koda. I guess that shows you that I feel the same?"

"You're cute, Alfie Willow." Koda's hands squeezed his waist and Alfie granted him one kiss. "You have other people fooled, but I see you."

"Cute, but only on the outside."

"Okay, I agree with that. I'd hate to be on your bad side."

"It's a good thing I like you too much, then." Alfie's stared at Koda's mouth. When everything in his life aligned, Alfie felt like he was floating, and nothing mattered at all. he was free to be happy without feeling bad. If a smile weighs down with guilt, you're living your life wrong. Alfie had always remained true to his mother's saying. It was okay to feel joy, even if everything around him reeked with stress. Life wouldn't be like that forever. If Alfie couldn't cherish the good times, then what could he cherish?

Koda leaned forwards quickly and stole a kiss. He kept their lips connected and stole another, and another until their lips moved slowly together. Koda was thankful that lips were so sensitive. Alfie's were warm and smooth and excited him as they mushed against his. His nose was pressed against Alfie's skin and the scent of him appealed greatly to his senses.

As their kissing grew more intense and their breathing became irregular, Alfie made a bold decision to climb on top of Koda. The desk chair creaked from the added weight, but Alfie's manoeuvre made Koda kiss him with more passion.

Koda's hands wanted to wander, but he kept them on Alfie's lower back despite the intense passion tingling his body.

Alfie's mind was in a different universe as he breathed deeper. Then Koda surprised him when his tongue ventured into Alfie's mouth. Alfie froze but only for a second. The feeling was both strange and nice as they shared saliva, connecting on a deeper and more personal level. Alfie barely let anyone touch him, let alone have their tongue in his mouth. He trusted Koda enough to relax and enjoy himself.

Their passionate kissing continued, feelings amplified, and the boys didn't want to stop. Koda had to physically force his lips from Alfie to breath, "I want to go further." His fingers had lifted the bottom of Alfie's top, touching his hip. "But it's too soon."

Alfie didn't open his eyes as he nodded with his forehead against Koda's. "I'm not quite ready for that yet anyway."

Koda smiled and kissed him once more. "No interruptions this time."

"No. The devil must be having a day off." Koda laughed and Alfie reluctantly climbed off his knee when the timer went off. "Your pie is ready."

Alfie looked up and almost double stared. Koda was looking at him the way his dad looked at his mother. Tom was still in love with Molly and he didn't shy away from making it blatantly obvious. Alfie didn't expect to see that look on Koda's face.

"You hungry?" Koda asked, standing up and stretching. The desire for Alfie was still circling his heart. Koda had to push it down to a place he couldn't reach. He had to calm down. It was hard when Alfie drove his desire so wild.

"Starved," Alfie grinned and held Koda's hand. He had no particular reason, he simply wanted to feel his touch. It electrified him and made him feel safe.

"Good because once you try this food, you'll want to eat the whole pie. My mum's cooking does that to you. I'd be twice my size if she had cooked often," Koda said, pulling Alfie down the corridor and through the living room.

Morlen watched their connected hands and made a lot of effort to not make a negative fuss. He didn't tut, shake his head, scowl, or mutter under his breath. His face didn't change at all like it was set in stone.

"My dad's cooking is like that too." Alfie made a mental note to talk to his father later and arrange a visit to his new house. He didn't want them to be distant, even though his dad still visited almost every day. Alfie wanted to call his dad to randomly tell him things Tom would know if he still lived at home. Most of all, Alfie wanted to talk to his dad about his boyfriend.