After a few weeks, Brendon's presence became tolerable, and then enjoyable.

The kid seems to be getting a hang of the chores around the house. It surprised him one morning to find Brendon sweeping the floors as he hums a familiar tune. It's one of his songs. Dallon smiles at the sight as he leans in the doorway to watch him clean.

He wonders about his sudden change. In his first few days of staying, he was an annoying brat. And then one day he'd be surprised to find his fridge full and stocked of food that was usually empty. Brendon would say some excuse, but Dallon knows he's trying to help.

Watching the son of a senator clean for you is a bit too much to process in the morning.

"Good morning, Brendon."

He tries to hide a snort as Brendon jumps and drops the broom. The kid slowly turns around, staring at him as if he's been caught of doing something evil.

"G-Good morning. You want breakfast?" He deflects the embarrassment for an offer of breakfast. Brendon made breakfast. He's not going to decline that offer.

The breakfast consist of fried eggs, some bacon and a loaf of bread with hot mugs of warm coffee beside two plates.

"You cooked this." It wasn't a question. Zero obviously couldn't cook this with her own two paws.

Brendon scratched the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. "I woke up kinda early. I know you have work later so I thought I'd cook up some breakfast for us."

Wow. That's...

"That's sweet of you, Brendon. Thank you." He says sincerely, and chuckles at the sight of a flustered kid.

He takes a sip of the coffee, but he winces at the taste.

"Uh, is something wrong? Did I make it wrong?" Brendon asked with concern, taking a sip of his own coffee to check on the taste.

"I don't put sugar on my coffee. I was just surprised that it was sweet." 'Too sweet.' He thought. But he isn't going to discourage the other boy's effort.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea." Brendon says dejectedly while looking at his own coffee with disappointment.

Dallon is suddenly reminded of him and his siblings when they make mistakes. They would stare at their work sadly with tears falling in their eyes. He remembers how their Mom and Dad would kiss their foreheads to make them feel better and say that they did a good job.

You couldn't blame him for placing one soft kiss on his the mop of his hair. It's like having his siblings again.

"I appreciate it, Brendon." And he means it. He's thankful for his effort and he hopes the gesture was enough to make Brendon realize that.

Brendon just stares at him. Eyes wide, his face almost looks like it's flaming with blush and his mouth almost agape.

That's when he realized Brendon is neither a little boy or one of his siblings. He's an eighteen year old who might have thought the gesture was something less platonic.

It's Dallon's turn to blush at how pedophilic that sounds.

He explains himself, with both of them blushing at such an awkward breakfast. But they laughed it off in the end, in which Dallon hopes the awkwardness happens scarcely to save both their dignities on their forming friendship.

Yes. He wouldn't mind being friends with Brendon.

****

"You just reminded me of my little brother!"

Bullshit. No one kisses their siblings anymore. Brothers don't kiss their brothers because that's just weird. Some probably do, but Brendon didn't need that kind of gesture to have his heart pop out of his chest like that.

He lies on the couch as he stares up at the ceiling. Dallon left for work half an hour ago, and so all he has is Zero. He lets the TV wash away the silence that his mind would greatly take advantage of and supply him with indecent thoughts about a certain man of tall stature and his bluish grays staring back at him innocently.

While Dallon could be cranky and snarky sometimes, he's probably one of the most honest people that Brendon has ever met outside of his closest friends. Most people he met always give him forced or fake smiles. And that's because he's the son of a Senator.

He closes his eyes and tries to calm his breathing.

Brendon thinks about his family, who are probably still looking for him, if it wasn't obvious how his name and picture are on the TV, glaring right at him along with a reward money for finding him.

He wonders what good it would be to have him back there in his old life. He'll probably just be lonely again. Night out in clubs and parties will never be the same anymore than the life he has here now. Brendon doesn't want to leave, if he could. What if he's been a big burden to Dallon? And he's just being nice to him to say that to his face? Dallon probably doesn't even want him here. He just forced himself into the older man's life.

Brendon shook his head and opens his eyes. 'Stop thinking.'

He sits up from the couch and retrieved his discarded half-clean shirt on the chair. He turned off the TV and took one of Dallon's hoodies from his closet.

"Maybe having some smoke would do me good." He mumbles to himself as he raised the hood over his head and left.

****

"T-Teacher D-D-Dallon, I need to pee." An auburn, curly haired student said, raising his tiny hand.

This is the majority of what he does every weekdays. Helping kids into bathroom and helping the wash themselves, guiding them with arts and crafts hoping that the kids don't poke themselves in the eye with scissors.

He's been working part time for almost four months in this class, helping out a small, strawberry blonde, nice looking man as their teacher. He prefers to be called Patrick than Mr. Stump. Dallon once told him he thought he was going to be assigned to a bald, aging teacher with a stump on his hand but Patrick laughed at that.

"It's not unlikely to happen, guessing one of these kids could shave my head and cut off my hand with the way they wave those scissors--HEY! Timothy! What have I told you about cutting Suzy's hair?"

It's adorable, really. Especially during story time in addition to Patrick's astounding narration could make these kids beam and smile with delight.

Dallon notes one of the kids who seems to have a big crush on Patrick, always calling out for his attention and has this bad case of jealousy that Dallon has to sometimes distract him to keep him from crying.

"His dad is a single father." Patrick explains as he observes the kids during their nap time. "His mom died when she was giving birth to him. To Bronx. If his sudden fixation on me could help him move on from the loss of his mother, then I don't mind."

Dallon nods at that, suddenly remembering Brendon and how he wouldn't mind being some figure that could help the kid.

And so, despite the constant crying of the kids or the mess of fallen food on the tiled floors after their lunch time, Dallon loves his job.

"Thanks for the help today." Patrick says to him as he helps the kids with their school bags so they can go home.

He helped Patrick file the kids, returning them to their parents once they know their guardians are present.

"Wentz?" Patrick calls out as he looks for Bronx's parent to take him home. But there's no sign of his Dad or any guardian that could take him home.

Dallon noticed it happen often. Bronx's father is a famous lawyer in the city and is often busy. It's a usual thing to have Bronx the last one to go home. Poor kid.

Patrick crouches down, giving Bronx a kind smile. "I hope you don't mind staying with us for a while?"

Bronx gives him a shy smile and nods, as they lead the kid to the swing set. Patrick sits him on the swing, his tiny feet barely reaching the ground. Patrick gives him a little push that is enough not to send the kid flying off.

"Can you stay here for a bit, Dallon? I'll just clean up the room."

Dallon nods, taking a seat on the swing beside Bronx.

Bronx used to be a lonely kid when he was first brought here. He would usually sit in the back of the class with his head low. The little boy obviously has self-esteem issues, if not for the way he would say that his drawings resembles dog poop.

It was only recent that he became active in class. He's one of the smartest kids, and always making sure he sits right in front of Patrick with the look of adoration is his little eyes.

"Can I tell you a secret, Teacher Dallon?" The little boy whispers beside him. He looks around, making sure no one could hear him.

"Yes, you can. I won't tell a soul." Dallon promises, making a gesture of crossing his chest.

Bronx nods, turning his gaze at his little, dangling feet. "Daddy told me that he likes Teacher Patrick very much."

Now that caught Dallon's interest. "Does he now?"

The little boy nods again. "Daddy said he'd bring Teacher Patrick to a d-d-da--"

"A date?" He finishes for him, giving Bronx a smile when the child nods eagerly.

"Yes! A d-date! What does that mean?" Bronx turns to him with a gleam of curiosity in his eyes. Dallon wonders how his job turned out like this.

Dallon clears his throat, trying to find the right words on how to explain it to a child. "A date is... When two people want to get to know each other better and doing things like holding hands and stuff."

He has no idea how dates work in general. He's never been on a date before.

Bronx stays quiet for a moment, processing the answer before he speaks again: "Is Teacher Patrick gonna be my new Mommy?"

"Uh, that's for your Daddy to decide, Bronx." Dallon explains, mentally patting himself on the back for the safe answer. "So are you okay that your Daddy likes Teacher Patrick?" He asked in turn.

Bronx smiles shyly, giving Dallon a solemn nod. "Yes. Because Teacher Patrick makes Daddy smile like how Mommy used to make Daddy smile."

Nothing could beat a child's honesty, Dallon thought. Bronx is such a mature kid. It would make you think about how as we grow up to adults, we tend to become less honest when it comes to our feelings because we fear of what others would think.

A gray car parks in front of the school. That makes Bronx jump out off his swing and runs towards a bleached blonde suited figure that exits the car. The child engulfs the man with a hug that it makes Dallon smile on how reminiscent it is to how he and his brothers greet their parents.

"Hey, Dallon. Thanks for taking care of Bronx." The parent greets with a smile in which he returns.

"No problem, Pete."

Mr. Wentz--"call me Pete!"--is just a casual man who prefers to be addressed normally. He wonders if lawyers are naturally this friendly like Pete.

Pete head turns to the school as if he's looking for someone. He's not being subtle about the whole infatuation with the other teacher then. By timing, Patrick returns to their side and greets Pete with a smile at the sight of him.

Dallon smiles absently when he heard the lawyer take a sharp intake of breath.

"T-Thank you, Patrick. For, uh. Taking care of Bronx."

Patrick leans to ruffle Bronx's hair affectionately. "My pleasure, Pete."

Dallon clears his throat, when both adults seem to have taken a long time staring at each other's eyes. Bronx giggles at Dallon's intrusion like the kid just knew what he did.

"Bronx, want me to bring you to your car and wait for your Dad?" Dallon suggested, which made Bronx smile as he nodded eagerly and stretched his hand to be taken by the taller teacher.

As they both walked to the car, leaving behind the two infatuated adults, Bronx asked: "Do you think they'll be alright?"

Both of them turned back to stare at the two. They both look shy and slightly embarrassed; their cheek are both red and their eyes look everywhere but each other. Dallon wonders, if love blooms from something like this. Shy gazes, small smiles, rosy tints on their cheeks.

He remembers his parents and their midnight talks. There's also sitting in front of the fire as his parents lean on each other, their hands wrapped around one's shoulders and one's waist in the chilly morning of December.

Fighting and arguing isn't out of the picture. A couple would scream at each other and say hurtful words, but in the end, they talk about it and everything is okay. That's how his parents worked it out.

It will go the same for Patrick and Pete one day. But as Dallon sees their intertwined hands as they utter their heartfelt confessions with such gaze of fondness in each other's eyes, he knows they'll be fine.

"They'll be alright." He assures Bronx, smiling at him with promise that Bronx believes in.

****

He's dated some people. He's had sex with them too, that's for sure. Brendon has definitely learned his lesson with Ryan. He's not falling for that one again.

The problem is, he seems to be falling a bit too fast in someone who's actually good with all good intentions and he doesn't know what to do about it.

It's probably his age or something. But it might have been Dallon's maturity and the sense of domesticity that felt just right while he stays by Dallon's side. It felt like he belongs there, and he just wants to wrap himself from the warmth that the notion provides in his chest. It was something that his previous life never gave him.

Every move he does around Dallon felt like it mattered, and it definitely matters when it concerns the older man's thoughts about him.

He doesn't remember being like that to anyone except Sarah, who is fine with his bullshit and keeps him in line. He's loves her for that.

Brendon leans against a railing of the balcony, puffing out smoke as he stares below the way life revolves in the suburban neighborhood. It's so different, compared to the life he had for 18 years. Always grand, always formal, restricted and judging.

Why did people even think bring rich is a blessing?

Dallon would have it better if he just returned home and gave the ransom he'll get for returning him. He could live better. He could shop and buy new clothes for himself. He could buy his own place and live in a better house rather than this small apartment. He could buy anything he wanted with the money and Brendon realized he would do anything for Dallon to get what he deserves.

That realization itself makes him fear that he's falling deeper than necessary and it's only been just one month of knowing the stoic man.

He's gotten himself attached already. He should have been more careful. What would Dallon think of him when he learns about this? Brendon's just becoming friends with the taller man, for goodness sake.

With his cigarette left forgotten, he drops it from the railing. Watching the cigarette fall on the pavement below him.

He heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. Brendon didn't bother looking who it was. Dallon doesn't get home yet so it's probably one of the tenants of the apartment.

The footprints seem to be approaching the hallway that resides Dallon's room. He doesn't look up until the steps halt in front of him.

"Are you new? I don't think I've seen you before." A rather British accent inquired. He didn't know Dallon had an English occupant neighbor in this building.

"I'm a friend, staying over Dallon Weekes' for a while." Brendon said, which made the taller man--Jesus Christ, another giraffe--raised an eyebrow in what seems to be surprise.

"Oh. Well, I'm--"

"Matty?!"

Dallon's voice echoed the hallway as he takes brisk steps and engulfs the curly haired man into a tight hug. The British man gladly returns the hug with same intensity.

Brendon wants to punch him.

Dallon breaks away from the hug and sees Brendon, giving him a warm, excited smile. "Brendon, this is Matthew Healy--" British guy chuckles, quickly adding Matty in Dallon's introduction. "--and he's Mrs. Truman's grandson."

Matty brushed away the untamed curls from his forehead, giving Brendon a polite smile along with an outstretched hand.

He would've taken this introduction with ease and friendliness if only the other man's arm wasn't wrapped around Dallon's waist as if it belongs there. Curse Dallon for being an oblivious dork.

"Brendon." He says tersely in a hard tone, but aiming for polite that wouldn't bother Dallon as far as he's concerned. He might have shook the other man's hand a bit tightly but he mustn't have noticed it.

Dallon urges Matty inside his apartment, and Brendon just watches them go as he sighs, turning back at the setting sun.

"I hope it rains tonight." Brendon mutters to himself before returning following both men inside the room.

****

[A/N: please don't be mad about Matty hahaha I just recently listened to them because I don't know much about them and I'll be seeing them in this one concert with Panic on August. Might as well get to know the songs before the concert. They're surprisingly catchy and good I think my favorites are Somebody Else, Love Me, A Change Of Heart and Ugh! from their new album. I might listen to their first album after the concert.

I love Matty's hair, by the way. I wanna put little flowers in it.

Anyway!! Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! Sorry for my mistakes. I hope my non-native english-ing isn't taking a toll on all of you I'm sorry.

Have a great day!]