Ahem... there's some smuff in the middle of this so when you see Colin pull out his belt, skiddadle if you're a smol bean ;)

Also, don't forget to press the star and drop *Le Vote* ☆

"I already tried on the suit, Amy. It's a perfect fit," Colin spoke into his phone, looking over his shoulder to the balcony where the wind just banged the door. He could have sworn it was shut.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen it on you," his sister replied right before she yelled orders surrounding a bow tie which was the wrong shade of gold. Things had been like that for the past few days, and Colin only prayed her Bridezilla phase would end the night before the wedding. She complained about every single thing and had broken down in tears in front of the bridal party several times. If he didn't know better, Colin would swear she was having pregnancy mood swings.

"Michael has. Said it was great. Isn't that enough?" He walked to the balcony, leaning on the railing and looking down at the kids who played by the pool. One girl with pigtails sat on the edge, swinging her pale legs in the water while watching the others splashing and diving under.

In some ways, the girl reminded him of Lily, and it brought a smile on his face, the feeling of losing himself in nostalgia almost making him miss Amy's words.

"Michael has no sense of fashion and would wear a toga to our wedding if I let him. He doesn't count," she scoffed. "I need to see you in that suit."

"You'll see me in it in four days. That's not long."

The sheer anger and heaviness in her tone had Colin's eardrums bursting. "That's the wedding day! Colin, you better get your ass here in full attire or I swear I'll---"

He cut her off, deciding in his mind to end the call before she could threaten him. "You'll murder me, I know. Love you too, Amy. Bye."

As Colin was slipping the phone into the pockets of his sweatpants, he caught sight of a new notification at the top of the screen.

Pikachu:
Are you free tomorrow?

For the longest time, he could only stare until the screen faded to black and the evidence of contact with Peter disappeared. He texted. The message had arrived in the middle of his call with Amy. Normally, he would ring Peter, pick at a chance to hear his voice and tell him how much he had longed to hear from him. But things were different. He sent a text too.

Colin:
I am

Peter's reply came in shortly. In a couple of seconds, really.

Pikachu:
Come to Recreational Coffee tomorrow at 2. The one on my campus.

Colin:
Are u asking me out on a date??

Pikachu:
It's not a date, Colin

"It's not a date, right," Colin said to himself, letting out a puff of breath. "I'll be there," he read aloud as he typed his reply.

Text bubbles appeared, showing that Peter was also typing. No text came. The bubbles melted into the screen. And that was the end of that.

°

Sitting across from Peter, Colin hadn't thought things would be so awkward. They both couldn't hold eye contact for more than a few seconds, and neither had a clue what to say.

Conversation always came easy. They could joke or laugh, say the most irrelevant things, and get a reaction out of each other. Today, the only reactions that came were the changes in facial expressions as they read through the menus.

"How have you been?" Colin finally asked, setting his elbows on the table.

Peter lowered the menu in his hands and nodded once. "Good. How has work been?"

Shit, not that. Colin's job at Snapshot wasn't particularly a topic he wanted to dwell on at the moment. It was still secure, and he had some amount of thanks to give to Austin for that. Still, there was some buzz around the issue with how many people appeared at Snapshot on the daily just to get a glimpse of the guy who fucked up Marcus Hall's career. Publicity was good, more customers came in all the time. But he wished their reason for booking wasn't to see or possibly try to get information from him. "Hectic. Stressful," he answered. "How has college been?"

"Same old. Nothing which causes alarm." The tone which Peter used had Colin sceptical, and he knew it was all intentionally said to spite him. Because why else would Peter ask him about work when there were so many other things to discuss.

"This isn't the best place to talk." Colin's gaze trailed from the chubby guy who watched him intensely at an adjacent table, as if trying to place his face somewhere. One waiter also held a thoughtful expression, and when his face lit up in recognition, Colin knew he had to get out of there before she approached.

"Why? I don't see a problem here." Peter replied, the space between his eyebrows closing.

"Well, I do. We have a lot of things to talk about and it's better if we do it privately." Colin stood, extending a hand for Peter to grab onto. "Let's go."

"I've not even ordered---"

"If you care about us, you would leave with me right now." He walked out of the coffee shop, letting his lungs fill with air that wasn't pumped with tons of caffeine, air that didn't feel suffocating.

The sun beat down much stronger than it had the last few days, and he had to step back and wait at the front of the stop for Peter. If he decided to come along. Peter disregarded everything he said, and it didn't look like he would listen this time around. He was wrong.

Peter walked out of the shop just as he thought of leaving, a large paper bag in his hands. "You look surprised."

"That's because I am. With how you've been acting these days, it won't shock me if you stayed," Colin admitted.

Peter's lips turned down in a frown as he stared at Colin with a stern gaze. "I was getting food for both of us. Fuck you." His nostrils flared, and he looked like he would dump the contents of the paper bag he held in the trash if Colin uttered another word. No, it looked more like he'd dump them on Colin.

Either way, he spun around and started walking away with no acknowledgement.

"Wait, Peter," Colin started after him, catching up after a couple of seconds. He followed Peter closely and kept his pace, climbing up the stairs that led to his form room even though Peter didn't give him a second glance. "This is exactly why we need to talk, don't you see? Ever since that incident, we can't talk without going off on each other. I hate it. I hate that we've gotten to this point. I hate that you don't---"

"You think I don't care? That's how you feel?" Peter asked, lifting his eyebrows as he set the paper bag down. He shut the front door which swung open and locked it.

"You told me not to contact you for any reason. Even if I was fucking dying, I'm sure you wouldn't answer." Colin's shoulders tensed and fell in a shrug. He bowed his head with a sigh, brushing back strands of his hair. "For so long I had to put down my phone when I thought of calling or texting you, because you'll just ignore it like you did weeks ago."

Peter shook his head as he moved to sit on his bed. "You really think I don't care, don't you?"

"Do you give me a choice to think you do?"

"Are you really---" Peter stopped short, lifting his hands from where they were tucked in between his thighs and gesturing wildly. "I thought I was over my anger with you, but you just have to go ahead and make me so---"

"And I'm just as mad at you, Peter. Maybe even more."

"Mad at me? What the fuck have I---"

"You never listened when I tried to explain things---things I fought so fucking hard to come to terms with. You cut me off, Peter, you just pushed me out of your life because of something I had little control over."

The dark-haired boy let out a scoff, rolling his eyes. "You had all the control when you used Marcus as a punching bag."

"That wouldn't have happened if you just listened to me," Colin said. His face went blank for a second before his eyes lit up with an unrecognizable glint. "You know what? None of it would have happened if you stayed home like I wanted you to. But no, you left. And you let yourself get drunk to top things off. You gave Marcus access to your phone while you slept off the alcohol you drowned yourself in. You're just as guilty as I am."

The brunet held Peter's gaze as he gritted his teeth and forced the rest of the words out. "And I spent forever blaming myself for it all, thinking it was because of me when you're equally to blame."

"That doesn't mean I don't give a fuck, okay? If I didn't care, I still won't be so invested in you or even be discussing this shitty topic, Colin." From where he sat on the bed, Peter took a defensive stance and stared with a challenging expression.

Colin wasn't on to back down, and he took his own stand when he crouched in front of Peter and held the Asian's face in his hand. "Show me how much you've proved that you care about me. Peter, you never once called to check in on how I was feeling, knowing I was going through hell. I had to record that stupid video and I begged you in it, I begged you to talk to me. But after all this while, you called me at your own convenience." Colin's voice reduced to a venomous whisper which had Peter shudder. "You called me when you felt like it, just because. Like I'm nothing, only existing to be at your beck and call. Only because you know I'm in love with you and will do anything to be with you. You're no different from Marcus."

Peter eyes widened when he backed up, pulling his weight up with his hands. "Don't play that card right now when---"

Colin's knees landed on the bed, caging Peter's body as he bent so his lips brushed an earlobe. "I am playing that card, and I'm going to keep flashing it. You've used up your entire deck and now it's my turn. And I'm gonna draw the same fucking cards you did." His hands went to his belt, and he fumbled with the buckle first, before the black leather snaked out of the belt holes.

Peter's eyes darted from Colin's face to the belt he was folding. "What are you doing with that?"

"The entire time, I did what you wanted. Now you're gonna do what I want, Peter. It's always, always been about you. But just this once, I want to be as selfish."

"Colin." Peter's eyes widened even more when the brunet moved even closer, causing him to fall back on the bed and stare from under his body.

"You're gonna lie here like a good boy, okay? Clasp your hands and hold them out for me," Colin demanded. "And just like I did every single thing you wanted, you're gonna return the favour. You're gonna let me tie you to the bed and you're gonna let me make love to you. Sound good?"

Peter didn't answer, he only stared at his hands which were now strapped to the headboard, rendered immobile. After Colin made sure the belt was secure and the edges weren't digging into Peter's wrists, he lifted his gaze.

"You got any condoms?"

"T-top drawer." Peter looked away as Colin hopped off the bed and sauntered to the chest of drawers that sat a few feet away.

Pulling out the uppermost drawer, Colin found a box which contained four packets of what he asked for. He smiled to himself as he spun around, leaning on his arms, which were poised on top of the furniture. "Glad we're on the same page."

"There's... some lube in there too."

"You bought lube?" It was more a statement than a question as he dug through the piles of boxers and socks.

"Yeah. It's for when I fuck myself with toys," Peter spat out.

"You're joking," Colin threw his head back in laughter. The sound eventually stopped when he realized Peter was still looking at him with the same deadpan expression. "You're actually... not joking. Care to show me?"

"The only way I'm showing is if you let me use them on you."

"You're serious?"

"Jesus, you think I'd say it if I wasn't?"

"Whatever. We're doing what I want this time, remember?" He straddled Peter now, staring down at his face, which flushed a deep shade of red as he exhaled heavily, eyes trained on the wall and away from Colin. He took off his shirt first, and as the brunette discarded his jeans and started to undo the button on his partner's, he asked, "You telling me where you keep your condoms means you're all for this, right?"

"I'm all for you shutting up and getting on with things," came the reply.

"I aim to please." He tugged off Peter's jeans and palmed him through his boxers, one corner of his lips turning up as his hand slipped beneath the waistband. It wasn't surprising to find that he was already growing hard, and after a few strokes.

After some moments, Peter was squirming and panting as Colin sucked slow and long, stopping once in a while to watch Peter's face contort with impatience and desperate anguish. Both were emotions he went through the entire span of their time away.

"Your wrists are going to hurt if you keep tugging on them," Colin mumbled as he traced light kisses from the bottom of Peter's shaft to the top.

"Then stop fucking teasing me. I can't take it any more, ah." Peter's hips surged upwards, trying to get more of his length in Colin's mouth as the brunet pulled away.

It only got worse from there. 

Colin hooked his fingers under Peter's shirt and rolled up the material, running the pads of his fingers over the exposed skin and taking a nipple in his mouth. One hand lazily went to massage him until the younger boy moaned out in frustrated anticipation.

It was a while before Colin used the condom and lube, sinking into Peter, elicting heady sighs and gasps from both their lips. Colin's thrusts were slow and dragged, hitting depths and forcing out anguished groans from Peter who kept his eyes screwed shut.

While his body kept the pace he had started, Colin let his face fall in the crook of Peter's neck, biting and kissing and sucking until the skin shone red.

With heavy breaths, Peter managed to spew out words. "Either you release my hands or you fuck me harder. This is torture."

"This is what you made me go through," Colin whispered as he licked a stripe down Peter's neck. It elicited a shiver from Peter, one that had vibrations rumble in Colin's own body as his hips rolled forward. His hands moved to the headboard, right on top of where Peter's hands were attached, to give himself a better angle and much more leverage.

The view from there was ethereal, he could catch every drop of sweat that clung to Peter's long lashes, every bob of his Adam's apple when he tried to swallow a moan.

"Fuck, I want to touch you. Take off this stupid belt."

"I'll do it when I feel like it, Peter." Colin gave him a small smile. Looking at Peter struggle against his bind awakened the memories of similar feelings of helplessness.

Just like Peter desperately wanted to feel his skin beneath his fingers, Colin had equally wished he had been able to hold Peter a second longer when he was leaving. Just as Peter's eyes watered, Colin's soul had wrung out tears after being denied the chance to let out what he was going through.

His pace quickened, and he grunted, relentlessly moving with no abandon. He reached his high some minutes later, falling slump against Peter while his hands felt around to undo the buckle on the belt.

As soon as Peter's hands were released from their prison, he removed his shirt and they were at it again. This time, he was the one in control as his hands roamed Colin's body while he rode the brunet. He pressed his face into Colin's chest and held him close, making sure there wasn't a passing second where they weren't glued to each other. Be it that their bodies were connected with a kiss or a tight hold, it didn't matter. As long as they could feel heat emanate from each other, feel the sweat which stuck to their skin like a shimmery second skin, they were okay.

And that was enough for both of them to climax, with Colin's fingers buried deep in Peter's messy hair and their lips burning in a passionate kiss.

Peter's was feeling the rhythm of Colin's heartbeat with his cheek pressed against the brunet's toned chest when he spied the remaining packet from the corner of his eyes. He looked up at Colin, no words were needed in their exchange.

They switched positions and Colin received his share of physical love from Peter, who held his legs apart. It was the same process, reversed roles and reversed perspectives. Now he was the one on the underside, biting down on his lips and holding onto every breath just in case he lost it.

He did. And so did Peter.

After an intense moment where their cries blended into a harmony of pure ecstasy, they settled into silence and zen. The silence lasted forever, but the zen was only temporary.

"I'm so sorry," Colin whispered. A kiss landed in Peter's hair as his hand stroked the dark-haired boy's back. The weight of Peter's body melted into his, and his own weight melted into the bedsheets, which now claimed evidence of their deeds.

After no answer came, he called out his lover's name. "Peter?"

"Y-yeah?" His voice was small and shaky. His arms snaked around Colin as he lifted his head, revealing a tear-streaked face which had left and imprint of wetness where it had laid.

"Hey, don't cry." Colin pulled him closer and kissed the salty tears away. "You're gonna make me cry too."

"I'm also sorry. I'm just as much of a fuckup like you said, Colin."

"We're both impulsive idiots. It's fine. We're gonna get better, together. As soon as we get home, we can have a meal, and just relax, and---"

"I---I'm not going with you."

"What? I thought you called because you were finally ready to come back, like you said." Colin sat up, causing Peter to lift his head.

Head bowed, Peter said in an even quieter voice, "I know, I know. But I have to go to Ivy's. I can't go back with you. Not now."

"Wow. Okay." Colin stared at Peter's expressionless face for a while, wishing he'd burst out in laughter and say he was joking. It didn't happen. "Okay. It's okay." His hands grabbed at his shirt which hang off the edge of the bed and he slipped it on.

"Colin."

"No, no. Don't worry about me, Peter." Colin was off the bed now, pacing the length of the room to grab his jeans and then his boxers, which had somehow ended up on the Peter's desk. "You don't have to waste a second worrying about my feelings or anything, it's fine. As I said, you know I'm always going to crawl back to you, so you don't even have to try and stop me. The only thing you have to do is pray I don't get over you. Because by then..." He shook his head, slipping one leg into his jeans. His hands worked fast, and he was fully dressed in a matter of seconds. "I'm just so fucking glad that you didn't sign your name on the official lease of the apartment. Can't have that bonding us when you clearly don't even stay there anymore."

Roles were reversed. He was the one walking away now.

~~

Thanks for reading. Just leave your thoughts here because I know you have A LOT on your mind now ~>

We also passed 51K reads and that's a milestone to celebrate. I decided on a QnA so you can drop any questions you have for Peter, Colin, the rest of the characters, and moi, the dear author.
Leave them inline here. They'll be answered in a special update ~>

Pinterest boards for Dakota, Colin, Marcus, Peter and this book in general are all up, and I can send you the link through DMs if you're interested in looking since links don't work in chapters :)

Before I forget (like I did the last 3 updates) I WANT to make you guys aware that this little precious book ends in 2 chapters!
That's right, it doesn't go on forever.

Don't forget to swing on by to my other books and give them a read if you enjoy this one. You can find them all on my profile. Much love!!! ♡♡♡

I still have exams so the next update will be as much of a surprise as this one!!