As I scan the room, I see my family gathered together. My cousins are busy chatting up every girl they can find, while my uncle and aunt are deep in conversation with other mafia bosses. Just as I'm about to look away, something catches my eye.

I notice a subtle movement from the bartender as he passes something to my aunt, quickly replacing it with another glass of wine before disappearing from sight.

"How mysterious," a warm chuckle lands on my ear and I fight hard to keep the color rising up my neck, down. "You know even with your real eyes covered, it doesn't change the fact that they still look like they're piercing into a prey."

"Why aren't you down there dancing with those girls?" I whisper, with my back still facing him.

"Were you jealous, my love," he says, his French accent coming through the English words we all had to use to easily communicate between the mafias.

I swat my hand behind me hitting his thigh. "Of course not."

Aiden grabs and holds the hand I just used to hit him. "I'll give you more attention than any of those girls tonight, meet me up on the rooftop in a few minutes." He gives my hand one final squeeze before I can feel that he is no longer behind me.

I slowly wander up to the rooftop after a few minutes giving Aiden and I space in-between ourselves as to not cause suspicion. I open up the last door in the dreary stairwell and the door gives out a small creak; a throng of cold air pushes past my face.

Aiden stands in the darkness against the balcony on of the open roof with his sleeves rolled up and his forearms folded while he looks over at me.

"Hi," I mumble out, quickly turning to close the door behind me. As I turned back, I spotted Aiden strolling towards me and a small bottle of liquor on the floor next to where he had previously been standing.

Aiden wraps his arms around my waist, and I find myself resting my head on his shoulder. As I stand embraced tightly in the arms of the man I love I can't help but look back to the bottle he brought up with him. I already knew the answer to my query, but I asked anyway, "Did you seriously bring alcohol up here?" I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me as I considered how Aiden must have had to sneak the bottle from out under the bar.

He replied, "Well, I remember that you didn't shy away from alcohol back in France. Even though I know you're trying to stay on task here, you deserve a little break."

I let out a sigh to show him that I was considering his offer, but deep down, I knew what my answer would be.

"You better make me forget everything about this trip tonight except you or I am never drinking a single bit of alcohol ever again." I declare, stepping away and pushing my finger into his chest.

"You don't mean that, Cam."

I want to smile at him and tell him that he is right, but I don't give him that satisfaction and instead grab his shirt collar and lower his face to mine, "You better grab that bottle and bring it over here now." Our faces are so close together I can feel his lips skimming mine.

Aiden covers one of his hands over mine and gently pulls them off his shirt. "I didn't hear a please in that statement, mon amour. Let's try that again."

Warmth floods my face, and I turn to look down and away from his piercing glaze. I pull my hand away from his. "This is stupid." I start to walk around Aiden on my way to grab the bottle, but before I can reach it, my wrist is grabbed and I am pulled back into a hard chest.

"I still haven't heard the word please come out of your mouth yet."

I look over to where the bottle is standing and I groan. "Fine. Please go get that bottle."

"Cute," I swear I hear Aiden whisper to himself, but quickly continues speaking as if nothing happened. "Of course, mon amour," he plants a gentle kiss on my cheek and then proceeds to happily grab the bottle and two clear glasses, which I originally didn't notice in the dark, and pour whiskey into both.

"Toast in hopes that you enjoy the rest of the week, find your culprit, and never leav-."Aiden trails off looking me in the eyes. "Cheers," he gives me a half smile, and tilts the drink into his mouth. I do the same but my thoughts about what he may have just wanted to say filler through my brain.

Never leave, I never wanted to, want to, but I will never have a choice in that matter.

Those were the last uninfluenced thoughts I had for the rest of the night.

"Bottoms up," Aiden smiles, tilting his own glass back after refilling mine.

"Bottoms up," I repeat, raising my glass in the air and downing it just like he did.

As time passed, I started to feel a little fuzzy-headed. The whiskey bottle we shared was now empty, and it was evident that we had both become tipsy. The music that had previously been lively and jovial now had a slower and more intimate tone, seeping through one of the open windows.

"Let's dance." Aiden stands up from where we had been previously seated with our backs against the balcony wall and extends his hand out to mine.

I stare at it for a wait not knowing what to do, frozen.

"You do know how to dance, right?" Aiden asks, fear and embarrassment seeping through his face from the unknown.

Before I can worry him any more, I grab onto his hand and he gently pulls me up.

"Yes I can dance, you idiot. My father taught me how to dance while aiming to throw a knife."

"Well then, may I have this dance?"

"Did you even have to ask, I thought you said early you would give me more attention than any of those girls tonight."

Aiden laughed as he pulled me to his chest and we stumbled around the roof dancing as though we had been melted together.

"I thought you said you knew how to dance." Aiden laughs and holds me steady, as I once again misplace where my foot is supposed to go and trip over it with my other one.

"I have never been in this position before and I am tipsy." I say, abashed. "Can we switch roles?"

"Unfortunately, you're shorter than me, so you'll have to take the lady's role," Aiden smiles.

I scoff, "I hope you know you just offended every tall woman out there."

Just then as the song started to fade out, Aiden dipped me low, causing me to gasp and almost curse in surprise. He held me there for a moment, his eyes locked on mine and his mouth tugged up at the corners, before pulling me back up into his arms.

"You did that on purpose," I hissed, lightly hitting his chest.

"I think you meant to say that I am an incredible dancer."

"Sure, take that lie to the grave."

"Oh, I will," Aiden replies, but I was already thinking about something else. My whole body had tensed in Aiden's hold and my breathing had started to increase.

As Aiden embraced me, I sensed a change in his demeanor. He pulled me closer to his chest, wrapping his arms tighter around me in an attempt to comfort me. However, despite his best efforts, an inexplicable urge to escape overcame me.

Desperately, I used my hands to push Aiden away from me and turned around to face the door. It was only then that I was able to identify the source of my discomfort, and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

Matheo stood motionless in front of the rooftop door, his face completely concealed behind a stone-cold expression. With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned nonchalantly against the door, but the palpable tension in the air made it clear that he was anything but relaxed.

It was impossible not to feel the weight of the atmosphere, as if the entire rooftop was holding its breath in anticipation. Despite his best efforts to appear unbothered, Matheo's serenity was evident. The silence was deafening, broken only by the sound of his own heartbeat, as he waited for the impending confrontation that would change everything.

"How much did you see?" I asked, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm down. My heart was racing, and I could feel my palms getting sweaty. I was on the verge of a panic attack, and I needed to know exactly what he had witnessed.

Matheo walked away from the door and the shadows, saying, "Your reaction time is a little slow tonight. It took you one minute to spot me."

"That's not what I asked. Please don't dance around it," I replied, feeling more anxious by the second.

Matheo sighs. "I know that you are umm, a homosexual. While I can still say I'm pretty shocked, I'm not surprised," Matheo said.

"W-wait what? How?" I stammered. How could he have guessed? Were we too obvious? Did other people know too?

"If you say anything to anyone, I'm not responsible for my actions," Aiden declares, looking straight at Matheo.

Aiden walked up behind me and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back to his chest. I thought I might try to push him away, even with my brother standing in front of me, but he provided me with a sense of security that was much needed at that moment.

Matheo raises his hands, "I can promise you both that I wouldn't. Being outed by someone is a really shitty thing to do. Especially in this world."

Matheo looks me in the eyes. " I could tell something was off when Aiden showed up.
Dad wouldn't take some random kid in and allow him to join the mafia as Aiden did. No offense, Aiden," Matheo said, looking behind me at Aiden.

"None taken."

"Anyways, from the moment you got here Cameron, you both have been acting like you already know each other, which reminded me of how you wouldn't have seen each other in six years. Also with the way you two have been acting, I won't be surprised if you two were close to each other in high school, and went to that same party. That made me realize that both of you were connected at what happened at that party. Still, I couldn't predict this," Matheo says, letting out a light chuckle, running his hands through his hair.

"Are you angry?" I ask, looking down. Initially, I believed that I could handle the animosity I could face when I returned to my previous residence. However, upon spending time with my brothers, I was reminded of the enjoyable moments we shared together in the past. The thought of them greeting me with a smile one day and then viewing me with utter disgust the next is unbearable.

"I don't care that you're gay. Honestly, I think Dad would have my head if I did considering what he did to help you run away from this world. I just wish you had trusted and told me. You're still my brother, you can't get rid of me that easily. Hey, hey, you're okay," Matheo says, taking quick strides over to me and hugging me after Aiden let go.

It was then that I noticed small drops of water falling down my face.

"Shit," I swear, using my hands to rub away the tears on my face. I was already embarrassed enough today.

"Yep, still my brother," Matheo laughs, stepping away from me and I also hear a little snicker from Aiden. "The ball is wrapping up Cam and mostly everyone has left if you want to go find our siblings and the cars. Aiden and I have to talk about something."

I look between the two of them as they stare blankly at each other. "Okay, I'll meet you guys at the car." I pivot on my heels and take measured steps to descend the flight of stairs. As I reach the ground floor and take in the familiar surroundings of the main floor, I feel a subtle sense of relief. However, the sound of my footsteps echoing through the now-empty hallway reminds me of the need to be cautious.

I just hope that no one else finds out anything about me.

.............................

AN: Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!