SIX KIERAN

It"s literally just a cake, which is what he keeps telling himself. That isn"t stopping him from holding it like it"s something precious and fragile as he follows Chloe to Miles" door.

He"s being ridiculous, and, to be fair to him, he is totally aware of that. It"s just easier to focus on the cake than to focus on Miles. It would probably be easier to focus on anything right now than to think about Miles.

He hasn"t gotten Miles a birthday present since his eighteenth, and even having something wrapped for him is making Kieran anxious. His last attempt at getting the man a present didn"t exactly go very well, and he really doesn"t want a repeat of that time. He didn"t get Miles anything special this year, just a guitar strap in Miles" favorite colors that he happened to stumble across a few days after Chloe called him.

Even that still feels like a lot. It feels obvious.

He comforts himself with the knowledge that no one will ever find out that he immediately went to the closest music store after getting off the phone with Chloe and spent almost three hours there trying to find the right thing.

"Hey, old man, you almost up those stairs yet?" Chloe calls back with a grin.

Kieran glances up and realizes he really is walking ridiculously slowly up the three steps in front of Miles" apartment. Miles is at the door, holding it open and smiling widely at the both of them. He lets out an awkward little laugh, picking up the pace and making his way toward the door.

"Just making sure I don"t damage the goods," he says.

He hopes it comes off as a joke and not the excuse that it is.

"You got me a cake?" Miles asks.

Kieran opens his mouth to say that it"s from both of them, but Miles is looking at him with wide hazel eyes, a touched smile on his lips, and all thoughts flee from Kieran"s mind immediately.

He"s half surprised he doesn"t just drop the cake in response.

"Of course," Chloe says, stepping in when Miles moves to the side. "I know you"re not a fan of sweets, but I"m not passing up a chance to have cake."

Miles laughs at her, pulling her in close for a hug as Kieran steps into the apartment behind them. He closes the door gently, locking it. When he turns, Miles is right there, wrapping his arms around Kieran"s waist and squeezing him. It only lasts for a second, but Kieran feels like the whole world stops right then. Feeling Miles in his arms again feels like coming home. It feels so right that Kieran wants to lean down and kiss him, but he manages to wrap his free hand around Miles" shoulders and hug him back.

Maybe he should just talk to Miles. Really talk to him. Kieran can totally manage that.

Sure, he"s certain Miles doesn"t feel the same way, that much is obvious, but maybe it"ll be good for the both of them to get it off his chest. It wouldn"t change anything, not really. He smiles as he watches Miles and Chloe banter between themselves as Miles leads them toward the living room.

Kieran"s anxiety is finally starting to fade by the time they reach the doorway.

As soon as his eyes land on a head of dirty blond hair, though, his mood immediately drops. What the fuck is Ethan doing here? More specifically, what the fuck is Ethan doing here, on Miles" couch, drinking coffee in his pajamas?

Kieran thought Ethan had run off somewhere after everything. He"d seen Ethan kiss Miles that night at Dr. Grace"s, but when he heard that Ethan wasn"t around, he thought maybe he made the wrong assumption.

Looks like he was right all along. He swallows back a spiteful scoff.

Kieran does his best to keep his hands from balling into fists, even managing to not freeze in the doorway and glare for more than a few seconds. His hackles are raised, though, and he shoots Ethan what could only pass for a smile if someone wasn"t really looking, more of a baring of teeth. He hopes Miles is paying more attention to Chloe than to him.

"Ethan," Kieran greets, not bothering to hide the displeasure in his tone. "Where did you run off to for the past few months? Miles didn"t say anything about you being back in town."

He hopes the implication there is obvious.

You aren"t important enough for Miles to mention.

Chloe glances over at Kieran as she sets their presents down on the coffee table. She furrows her brow, glancing between her brother and Ethan, but Kieran is too busy glaring holes through the blond to pay any attention to her.

Ethan smiles brightly, and the sight immediately makes Kieran want to sneer.

"I went to stay at a monastery in Thailand," he answers, taking a sip of his coffee. There"s a glint of challenge in his eyes. "I thought it would be a good way for me to figure out what was really important to me again."

Miles laughs nervously, and some of the tension fades from the room when Ethan drops Kieran"s gaze. Kieran still feels on guard, prickly disgust crawling up his spine.

"He just needs a place to stay for a bit," Miles explains, waving it off. "I told him he could crash on the couch until he"s back on his feet."

Ethan is all sugary sweetness and innocent smiles, but when Kieran looks at him, all he can see is the kind of brightness usually associated with poison. He wants to bare his teeth and tell Ethan to leave, but he doesn"t exactly have any real reason to do that.

"I"m really grateful you"re helping me turn over a new leaf, Miles," Ethan says, and he sounds so sincere.

The look in his eyes when he meets Kieran"s gaze again, though, is anything but sincere. Kieran swallows hard, biting his tongue to avoid saying anything, but he knows exactly why he feels so on edge.

Actor recognizes actor, after all. And Ethan is laying it on thick enough that it coats Kieran"s tongue with a sour taste.

"Does anyone want drinks?" Miles asks.

It"s so normal that Kieran almost laughs, but Chloe answers before he can put his foot in his mouth.

"Oh, actually, I have a new thing I want to try," she says excitedly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him toward the kitchen. "Do you still have that lavender honey?"

Chloe snags the cake from Kieran"s hand and they disappear around the corner in the next instant. Kieran can feel Ethan"s gaze on him. He turns his head back to face the man, already annoyed. Ethan always rubbed him the wrong way, but he only recently accepted the fact that it"s not just because he thinks Miles deserves better. It"s because he wants to deserve Miles himself.

He may not be ready to admit that to anyone else, but at least he can accept it himself.

Ethan"s innocent smile is gone, all traces of it wiped from his face, and he stares at Kieran with unfiltered disdain.

"Why the hell are you back here?" Kieran asks, keeping his voice low.

Ethan"s brows wing up in surprised amusement, and he scoffs out a laugh.

"What does it matter to you, Callahan? Would you prefer I remain gone?"

Ethan"s grin is cruel, and Kieran looks at him with pure disgust.

"As a matter of fact, I would," he drawls.

Ethan hums, inspecting his fingernails. He looks up at Kieran from beneath his lashes, smug and vicious.

"That"s a shame," he says flippantly. "It really doesn"t concern you, does it?"

"It does if it could hurt Miles," Kieran says.

He"s done with the games—this isn"t actually about him or Ethan, this is about Miles. He takes a step forward, frowning, protective anger welling in his chest, but Ethan just snorts at him, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, what, and you"re his knight in shining armor?" Ethan scoffs. "You barely even know him."

Kieran grits his teeth, balling his hands into fists in an attempt to regain his self-control.

"You"re going to break his heart again." The words come out as a growl, and Kieran has to take a deep breath to stop himself from shouting as his frustration mounts. "Just leave him alone."

Ethan pauses then, looking Kieran up and down scornfully. Then he laughs, soft and quiet and mean.

"God, that"s pathetic," he says. "Why don"t you just piss on him to stake your claim?"

Kieran stutters, caught off guard, but Ethan continues before he can speak.

"Oh, wait, I forgot. You"re straight," he says pointedly, glancing back toward the kitchen with a mean smile. "Aren"t you?"

Chloe and Miles round the corner seconds after, and Kieran tries not to look like he"s boiling with rage. He wants to pull Ethan outside by his collar and scream at him to never show his face near Miles again, but Ethan is already smiling again, sweet and soft, all traces of cruelty wiped from his face. He accepts a cup of tea from Miles gratefully, cupping his hands around it and inhaling fragrant steam with a happy hum.

Chloe glances over at Kieran, and he purposefully relaxes as much of the tension in his shoulder as he can manage when she frowns at him curiously. She presses a cup of tea into his hands, and he unclenches his fist to take it, bringing it to his lips and sipping at it.

He can hardly taste anything but frustration.

"C"mon, sit, I feel weird standing around in my living room," Miles says with a laugh.

Kieran breathes a sigh of relief when Miles takes a seat in the massive green armchair instead of on the couch by Ethan"s side. He manages to calm himself down slightly, taking a seat in the other chair as Chloe sits down next to Ethan. The air is still awkward, and he feels tense, frustration still tight in his muscles.

"So," Chloe says, settling back into her seat and smiling blandly at Ethan, "Thailand, huh?"

Kieran doesn"t really think before he opens his mouth, just starts talking. He knows that if he has to hear Ethan simper out one more stupid lie, he"s going to explode, and words just come pouring out.

"Oh, I finally got cleared to tell you, Chloe," he says like he didn"t hear her ask Ethan a question. He ignores the way everyone looks at him in surprise, shocked he"d interrupt so blatantly. "Miles and I are actually going to be acting together. The director of the film I was telling you about decided she wanted to get Miles in on it after the pictures of us blew up online." He glances smugly at Ethan, doing his best not to just flip him the middle finger. "It"s a location shoot, so we"re going to this gorgeous island to film."

Chloe"s mouth drops open, and she leans forward, her question toward Ethan entirely forgotten. She"s smiling, shocked, glancing between him and Miles.

"What the hell?" she laughs. "When did this happen? Why did no one tell me?"

Miles shoots Kieran a confused look, but grins bashfully at Chloe"s questioning, blushing. He laughs, rubbing a hand over the nape of his neck.

"The director only reached out to me last week," he says. "I wanted to tell you about it in person."

Chloe squeals in excitement, grinning from ear to ear.

"That"s so fucking cool, Miles!" she says, laughing in shock. "You have to send me a million pictures while you"re there."

Kieran takes a sip of his tea, breathing deeply as he starts to relax. Now that Chloe"s focused on that news, maybe he can manage to keep any interactions with Ethan to the bare minimum. She always asks a million and a half questions, and when she and Miles start talking, it"s almost impossible to get a word in anywhere.

And then Miles decides to toss that idea right out the window, bringing Ethan right back into it all.

"Pinky promise," he agrees, grinning at Chloe. He hums, turns to Ethan, and says the absolute last thing Kieran expects. "Actually, Ethan, I wanted to ask you something. The director said I needed an assistant to, like, make sure I eat and have sunscreen." He pauses and laughs, and Kieran"s stomach turns itself into knots as he blinks in shock, trying to think of any way at all to stop this before Ethan jumps on the idea. "The pay is pretty good, and I can"t drag Chloe along, since she"ll be in Italy, so I thought it might be a good step toward getting back on your feet."

Kieran bites his tongue hard enough he tastes blood when Ethan"s eyes light up, a brilliant smile on his lips.

"That sounds so fun!" he agrees, enthusiastically leaning forward and patting at Miles" knee. "Of course I"ll go!"

Kieran almost cries when Miles sighs in relief, leaning back in his chair to take a sip of tea. Ethan smirks victoriously at Kieran, and he sees red for a second, his free hand clenching into a fist so tight it almost hurts.

"Thanks, Ethan," Miles sighs gratefully. "That"ll make all of this so much easier."

Well, fuck.

Thatbackfired.