Ray felt as though he had just run a marathon and was still recovering days later. The emotional energy of explaining everything (on top of the fit he had that morning after Sora left for class) wore him down into nothing but a tired bean on the floor, cradling his guitar. When the conversation ran dry, and all was out in the open—aside from Sora's profession, that is—Sora suggested that they end the visitation period.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Huey sighed. He gave Ray a pat on the back and said, "Thanks for telling us, albeit after... having your arm twisted about it."

"Yeah, thanks for listening," Ray yawned from the ground, eyes closed. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"You better promise up, bub," Huey said, holding his pinkie out. Ray shook it with his own pinkie, and that was that.

Huey and Leo left to put their shoes on in the foyer, which brought Xavier over to Ray as Sora watched from the kitchen, his arms folded over his chest, and his annoyance with Xavier simmering over the surface of his expression. Xavier eyed him from over Ray's head and it took an immeasurable amount of effort not to flip the guy off.

Xavier looked down at Ray and said, "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

Ray swallowed hard. He glanced back at Sora, and then at the front door where Huey and Leo waved farewell and left. He really didn't want to take this to his bedroom, so he clasped Xavier around the wrist and pulled him to the foyer.

At the door, he didn't bother with shoes. Xavier ducked down to grab his sneakers before following after Ray, his wrist falling back to his side. The moment the front door shut behind them, Sora pushed off of the counter and hurried across the wood, skidded down the hallway, and went to the front door to press his ear to the wood and listen.

Ray went to the window at the end of the apartment corridor. There, he hopped up onto the ledge and said, "What'd you want to talk about?"

Xavier stuffed his bandaged hands into his pockets and shrugged, glancing back at the door as he said, "Oh, I don't know, the fact that you're living with your boyfriend?"

Ray frowned, brow furrowed. If his forehead could hurt anymore, it would. "I don't see why it concerns you," he said.

"It doesn't, but I'm worried about you, Ray. And I have a feeling that one of your reasons for hiding this is so that your mom doesn't find out," Xavier said, and the thought of Aunt Natalia finding out about all of this made it feel like Ray's stomach acid was eating its way up his esophagus.

He swallowed it down, tense.

"If you're hiding things from the people you care about, is it really such a good thing?" Xavier asked, and Ray said nothing.

He knew it was irrational for him to hide this from his friends, and in the end, it felt like Xavier was just another excuse to keep people from finding out that he was living with Sora and—on top of all of that—was crushing on the guy.

"I didn't want to make you feel bad about this—we know now so there's no point in regretting not saying anything earlier. The more people who know, the more backup you have if things go south," Xavier said, and Ray glanced up at him, eyes glassy with tears. Xavier offered a weak smile and said, "It sucks being stuck with an ex—even if you have separate rooms. And I'm not saying you and Sora will even get to that point, but... just saying, that'll really fuck a guy up. It's not good for either party."

"You say that like you have experience in the subject," Ray said, pursing his lips.

Xavier laughed, shaking his head. He stepped up to the windowsill beside Ray and leant against it. "Sort of. My mom—she tends to jump from apartment-to-apartment depending on who she's dating. I never really got to see that since my abue took me in. She's never really had... stability. Let's put it that way."

"I never knew," Ray confessed. He remembered asking Aunt Natalia about Xavier's mother, back when he was a kid. She held equal disdain for Xavier's mother as she did for Matías de Lucía.

"Yeah, not exactly a topic for casual conversation," he said, and Ray smiled, rubbing a hand under his eyes as he did.

As they were sitting there, a set of footsteps came up the stairs to their floor. Ray looked up at the sight of a woman stepping into view, glancing at the number on their neighbor's door, and then towards Ray and Xavier. She didn't look familiar, so Ray assumed she was a visitor.

"Hi," Ray said, smiling despite how crusty his face felt from crying earlier.

"Oh, hello," she said. She lowered her phone and tipped her head to the side as she looked at Ray and said, "You... must be Ray, right?"

Ray blinked, startled. He never met this woman before—he'd remember someone as beautiful as her if he had, anyway. She was dressed up in a neat suit and pencil skirt, and she came equipped with a paper grocery bag.

"I, um, yes?" Ray said, straightening a bit as she walked up to them.

She held her hand out to him and said, "Sorry, it's just—You look so much like my boss. Erin's also told me about you. Robin."

Ray's heart stilled in his chest as he clasped onto her hand. His mind wound instantly back to the day Ray woke Sora up in a panicked stupor, kicking him directly in the ribcage. It spiraled back to Robin's comment about her boss, and Ray thought to himself, Oh, right, Robin works for Matías.

"N-Nice to meet you. Sora's inside," Ray said.

The moment Robin thanked him and went to the door, Ray was on his feet in a panic. He wanted to see what Robin needed with Sora, if only to confirm his suspicions. He looked back at Xavier with an apologetic smile and said, "Let's... talk about this later."

"Okay," he said, but before Ray could go, he caught Ray by the wrist and said, "What did she mean about her boss?"

"She works for Matías," Ray explained, and pulled away to follow after Robin through the apartment door, leaving a baffled Xavier behind.

Ray slipped inside and shut the door behind them. He pressed his back to the door, dangerously close to Robin and her grocery bag as she slipped off her heels. She glanced back at him with a smile before stepping into the hall. Ray stared after her, only then releasing the breath that was caught in his chest.

"Sora!" Robin called out, glancing into the bathroom was she strolled past. "I'm just dropping some things off—Did you get my text?"

Ray jogged down the hallway, chasing after her as she emerged into the living space. The living space was empty, as was the kitchen, the bathroom, and—as Robin peeked in—so was Ray's room.

Robin turned around with a frown, lips pursed, the grocery bag balanced in her arms. "He's not in there," she said.

"Maybe... he stepped out?" Ray said.

"I didn't see him... these two kids let me in—unless there's a back door. That might be it," she sighed. She nudged the grocery bag onto the table and said, "Well, this'll make my trip super quick then. Erin's been on a baking spree, so I brought over some choice items. We've got banana muffins, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, bread. I never understood the art of making bread."

She pulled a loaf of what looked like sourdough from the bag. It was covered in wax paper and Robin put it to her nose, eyes closed, and took a whiff of it. She held it out to Ray, who hesitantly sniffed it. Fresh.

"That's good, huh?" she said, smiling. "Sora loves Erin's sourdough. I mean, I love it too, but if she's mad at me she doesn't let me have it. Which is why you two get this loaf."

Ray saw the conversational opening and took it. "Why would she be mad at you?" he asked, frowning.

Robin sighed as she pulled out the pumpkin bread. "Same old, same old. I've got a trip coming up for work, so I'll be in New York for a month. Erin's a homebody and she doesn't like change."

"Why doesn't she come with you?" Ray asked.

"Mostly because she's worried about leaving Sora," she said. She folded up the paper bag and smiled at Ray. "Otherwise I'm sure she'd consider it. She's worried about him—but she's glad he's got you around."

She paused to study Ray, her smile slipping. Ray offered encouragement back in the form of a bright grin and said, "Well, we've got three years of uni left. I'll still be here after you guys get back from New York."

She laughed, and Ray's heart lightened a little. He didn't like the idea of Sora's sister fighting with her wife. "I don't doubt it. But in the meantime, she can be pissy at me. It's not like I'll leave for New York and never come back," she said as she strolled past Ray. She gave him a pat on the shoulder as she wandered back to the hallway.

As she slipped on her heels, she said, "Tell Sora I stopped by, all right?"

"Of course," Ray said, and showed her out so that he could lock the door behind her.

After the door shut, he realized just how much chaos he endured before noon. He put a hand to his forehead and sighed, "It feels like two entire days just happened."

He wandered back to the living room, only to leap with a shriek of terror at the sight of a body peaking out from under the kotatsu, arms splayed out. His heart leapt from his chest as he realized it was Sora, lying there with his dead eyes on the ceiling.

"Is she gone?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I—Were you under there the whole time?" Ray squeaked, jittery and all levels of shook.

Sora rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, making it stick up at all angles as he groaned and said, "Yeah—I panicked."

Ray wanted to laugh if he wasn't still recovering. "Wow, Sora Ikeda panicking? A rare occurrence," he teased. He joined Sora at the kotatsu and leant his arms against the table. Sora sat up and leant on his hand, closer to the corner where Ray was sitting with his legs crossed under the table.

Sora's black hair turned floppy now that gravity was upon it again. He pushed it back and said, "Yeah, don't get used to it."

"Do you..." Ray started, only to halt when Sora met his eyes. The striking blue felt like a needle straight through Ray's soul as he looked down at his hands and thought to himself, DON'T ASK! "Did... something happen with you and Robin?" FUCK!

Thankfully, all Sora responded with was a scoff and said, "What does that mean?"

Ray's shoulders tensed, a blush spreading up from his neck and to his cheeks. Sora noticed it instantly, his smug expression fading. "Wh-Why are you blushing?" he stammered, and Ray fiddled with his fingers over the tabletop, refusing to look up. "Nothing's happened between—me and Robin? What the hell, Ray—"

Ray couldn't even deny the relief that swept through him. Among other things, the primary concern on his mind was the fact that Robin was Sora's sister's wife. He couldn't imagine the drama that would ensue.

Sora leant against the table, squinting at Ray. "What made you think that?"

At this, Ray's blush became opaque. He ducked his head down against his forearms and hid his mouth behind them as he muttered the answer, scowling across the room.

Sora leant closer and said, "Speak up, you bastard."

"That—That time I woke you up in the morning," Ray said, glancing sparingly at Sora. Sora was watching him, eyes wide and attentive. "You were half-awake and you, um, said her name. And then kissed me."

Shock fractured across Sora's face. Ray put a hand to the side of his own flaming cheek and looked away, thinking back to the kiss—however minor and insignificant it really was. It was his first innocent kiss, but it couldn't in any way be compared to what Sora had showed him just the other day. When Sora showed him that innocent little pecks were just a minuscule fraction of what they were capable of.

"I—" Sora started, voice cracking. He cleared his throat when Ray looked up at him. He looked away and said, "Sorry. For kissing you without your permission."

That... wasn't what I expected, Ray thought, eyes wide. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because it was a dick move? I don't know?" Sora said, ears pink. "Just because I was half-asleep doesn't—Whatever. And where Robin's concerned, she doesn't matter now. I used to—I used to have a crush on her when I was in high school, but I'm over it. It doesn't matter now."

"You say that like it does matter."

Sora rolled his eyes. "It does matter because you think she'll interfere with my infatuation with you, is that it?"

Ray let out an absurd noise and gave in to his future career as a squeaker toy. "That—! That isn't it!" he cried, despite how grateful he was that Sora was being honest with him. The mystery of Robin was solved at long last, and yet he was still flustered about it.

Sora leant towards him, a grin spreading across his lips. "Is it really so difficult to believe that I like you more than Robin?" he asked, as if Ray couldn't blush any more.

"Y-Yes! She's beautiful—"

"Sure, but she can't play the guitar—"

"P-Plenty of people can play the guitar—" I'm not special.

"—or the accordion?" Sora said, and Ray flustered, a stammering mess.

"That—The accordion isn't attractive," he pouted, frowning at Sora.

"On the contrary," he all but purred, sending a shiver up Ray's spine. His eyes slid down from Ray's, past his lips, and to his hands, which clasped onto his forearms as Sora checked him out. He held his breath. What could he possibly say to make the accordion appealing? he thought.

"It takes skilled fingers to be able to play the accordion."

Ray reacted without thinking. He slapped a hand over Sora's forehead and shoved him away, shrieking, "Sh-Shut up!" as Sora fell back, laughing. "You're so embarrassing! Those are all just instruments I play."

"Fine," Sora said, leaning back in. He propped his chin up on his hand and smiled, saying, "You want me to continue?"

Ray knew it would only make him blush more, but after the day he had... this was the lightest he felt since before his encounter with Nick. "Please," he whispered, his grip tightening on his arms.

Sora reached forward. His fingers grazed Ray's, pulling them from where he had a death-grip on his elbow. Sora clasped his fingers over Ray's. They were warm and calloused—far from soft, but entirely Sora's. Ray looked down at them as Sora said, "I like being able to tease you. Robin never blushes or gets flustered or... embarrassed. I like that you aren't too serious. It's refreshing."

Ray bit his lip and, after a moment, Sora opened his mouth to continue. Ray went instead. "I... like that you're so confident. I wish I had your confidence." He glanced up at Sora, who watched Ray with wide, brown eyes. Ray scratched the side of his face with his free hand and said, "And I also like that you're so level-headed. Well, most of the time. You feel so much wiser because of it. Even though we're only eighteen..."

"Perks of having gone through shit," Sora said, and Ray laughed a little. Sora smiled.

"I also like that you play the piano," Ray confessed in one quick breath. He broke into a grin as Sora laughed. "I like that we can make cool music together. I wanna produce more music with you—even if you are a hard-ass in the studio."

Sora smiled and said, "If I wasn't a hard-ass, you'd fuck around in the studio for ten minutes and call it good."

"Would not," Ray pouted.

They fell quiet, smiling like idiots and holding hands over the table. After a brief moment of silence, Sora broke it to ask, "Are you gonna get the dorm room?"

Ray looked up at him, expression shifting from shock to a somber frown. He shook his head. "I don't think so. Unless—I mean, unless you don't want to live with me. Which is okay! I don't mind, I get why it might cause problems and I know you wanted a single bedroom apartment so—"

"No, I want to live with you," Sora said, and before Ray could go on, he added, "I just want to make sure you're comfortable living with me. I wasn't sure if I overstepped boundaries or made you uncomfortable—I figured that was why you wanted to move."

"I never said I wanted to move," Ray insisted, shaking his head.

The two of them visibly relaxed. All of the tension they had built up over the past several days effectively dissipated. The uncertainty about their living situation was dispelled—Sora no longer had to worry about breaking the lease and finding a new place, and Ray no longer had to worry about the security of his position at Sora's side.

Long after they both fell quiet, Sora's hand still clasped over Ray's fingers, Ray's quiet voice spoke up, "I like when you kiss me."

Sora's heart stammered in his chest. He watched the way Ray bit his lip, looking at their joined hands. Sora straightened, slightly, so he could lean against the table, just above Ray's eye level. Ray's eyes followed him as he hesitated several inches away. He could smell Ray's mint toothpaste on his breath.

Sora sucked in a deep breath and asked, "Do you want me to kiss you now?"

Ray nodded, wordless. When Sora dipped forward, Ray met him halfway, remembering how kissing meant that he needed to relax his lips, and in doing so, they softened against Sora's and melted together in a slow, easing pull. Sora pushed in again, tipping his head to the side as Ray braced his hand against the edge of the table and leant into it, pushing up on his knees as Sora's hand found his hair. Ray's fingers tightened around Sora's hand when he felt Sora's tongue drag along his lips as he pulled away.

They released, slightly winded, and eyes lidded as they stared at one another from over the corner of the kotatsu.

Sora ruffled his hand through Ray's hair. Ray's nose wrinkled up. "There. Ask me whenever—preferably not when I have morning breath," Sora said.

"'K-Kay," Ray rasped, dropping back onto the floor as Sora pushed to his feet. He watched Sora walk off to grab his backpack, leaving Ray's hand uncovered on the table, still warm from when Sora held it all that time.