The reception hall had shifted into its late evening mood the lights dimmed into honeyed gold, shadows flickering against champagne glasses, the air warm with laughter and soft jazz. Yet Elias felt detached from all of it, grounded only by the weight of Jun pressed into his side.
Jun sat half on Elias's lap, half leaning against his arm, small fingers curled into the sleeve of Elias's suit jacket. His eyes were glossy with sleep, but he kept fighting it, stubborn like always.
Elias's hand moved in slow strokes across the kid's back, the motion practiced, instinctive protective. His voice, warm and quiet, hummed something low under his breath, more vibration than melody.
Across the table, Adrian felt his chest tighten at the sight.
This wasn't the Elias he remembered. Not the messy-haired, thin-shouldered boy who lived on textbooks and energy drinks. This Elias carried himself like a man who had learned to survive tan skin kissed by years of sun, curls falling in soft disarray, hazel eyes darker, deeper. His suit hugged the curve of his waist, the broadening of his shoulders, the lean strength he'd grown into.
Adrian kept finding himself staring.
And Jun noticed.
"Daddy," the boy mumbled, lifting his drowsy gaze. "That man is still watching us."
Elias flushed instantly, a soft pink blooming high on his cheeks.
Adrian choked on a laugh he barely managed to disguise as a cough.
"Jun," Elias whispered. "We don't point out people staring."
"But he is," Jun insisted, turning fully to Adrian. "You keep looking at my dad."
Adrian leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, voice dropping into something warm and smooth.
"Hey, champ. I'm not staring. I'm just… noticing things."
Jun blinked slowly. "Noticing what?"
Adrian's eyes flickered, unavoidable, just for a fraction to Elias's mouth before he looked back at the boy.
"Grown-up stuff."
Jun scrunched his face. "Are you… trying to marry my dad?"
Elias nearly died.
Adrian bit the inside of his cheek so hard to avoid letting a laugh slip out.
"Jun!" Elias whispered harshly, face radiating embarrassment. "Why would you say that?"
"Because he keeps looking," Jun mumbled, snuggling back into Elias's chest. "That's what they do in cartoons."
Adrian let out a quiet, helpless chuckle.
"I promise I'm not proposing tonight."
Jun seemed satisfied with that, yawning before lifting his head again, staring at Adrian's tattoos.
"You look like a superhero," he said with finality.
Adrian blinked, caught off guard.
"Do I?"
"Yeah. Daddy doesn't have pictures like that."
A beat.
"But he has pictures of you."
Elias froze.
Adrian's eyes softened, darkened, warmed.
"Oh?" Adrian lounged back in his chair, one brow lifting. "He does, huh?"
Elias looked ready to sink under the table. "Jun, stop. Please."
Jun tugged Elias's collar. "But you showed me!"
Adrian smiled.. slow, dangerous, knowing. "What kind of pictures?"
"Old ones," Jun said. "He said you were… different."
Elias swallowed hard. "Jun was curious—everyone changes with age—"
"I wasn't talking about him," Jun interrupted, pointing directly at Elias. "Daddy changed more."
Adrian turned, gaze sliding to Elias fully.
And oh.. he really took him in then.
The curls Elias kept raking his fingers through.
The tan skin glowing in the candlelight.
The sharp-soft features.
The curve of his waist in the fitted suit.
The way Elias's voice softened when he soothed Jun.
The way he avoided Adrian's eyes when he got flustered.
"I know I said this but.. You did," Adrian said quietly, no teasing now. "A lot."
Elias's breath caught in his throat.
Before he could reply, Jun tugged at Elias again.
"Daddy," the boy murmured, half-asleep now, "are you gonna dance?"
Elias stiffened subtly, but Adrian felt it like a tremor in the air.
"I don't… dance much anymore," he replied carefully.
Jun blinked slowly. "But you used to. You were good. Mommy said—"
"Jun." Elias cut in quickly, voice too sharp to be casual. "That's enough."
Adrian didn't miss that.
The immediate shutdown.
The flash of something like fear or shame.
The way Elias's hand tightened gently on Jun's back.
"What kind of dancing?" Adrian asked, too soft and too curious to disguise it.
Elias swallowed.
Hard.
"Just… different dancing," he said, looking anywhere but at Adrian. "A long time ago."
Adrian leaned in slightly. "Different how?"
Elias shook his head. "Drop it."
But the damage was done.
Adrian's curiosity had hooked deep and firm, settling into his spine.
Jun yawned loudly again and curled up fully.
"Think he's done," Adrian murmured.
"Yeah," Elias breathed, brushing Jun's hair out of his eyes. "I should take him home soon."
Adrian stood.
Held out his hand without overthinking.
"Come let's leave then."
Elias blinked up at him, breath trembling at the sudden act of Adrian standing up. "Adrian—Jun—"
"I'll carry him," Adrian said simply. "He trusts me already."
Before Elias could protest, Adrian slipped his hands beneath Jun, lifting him effortlessly. Jun melted into his shoulder, cheek pressing to the black fabric of Adrian's suit.
Elias stood slowly, stunned by how gentle Adrian was with the boy.
Adrian led him outside into the cool night air, where the music was just a distant echo, soft and intimate.
At the car, Adrian laid Jun in the backseat with surprising tenderness, adjusting the child's jacket around him.
When he shut the door softly, he turned to find Elias watching him.
Not just watching.
Studying him.
And something in Adrian's chest warmed dangerously.
"Stay a bit," Adrian murmured. "Just here. With me."
Elias hesitated but then nodded.
Adrian pulled out a cigarette, tapping it.
"You still smoke?"
"Sometimes," Elias admitted, voice low. "Not often."
Adrian lit one, inhaled, then handed it to Elias.
Their fingers brushed.
The air shifted.
Elias took a slow drag, looking over the top of the glowing tip at Adrian through half-lidded eyes.
Adrian exhaled smoke to the side.
"So… this dancing you 'don't do' anymore," he said softly, teasing but meaningful. "What was it?"
Elias froze just for a moment but Then he smiled a little, but it was sad, guarded, older.
"That…" he said quietly, handing the cigarette back, "is a story for another night."
Adrian stepped closer.
Too close.
Close enough to smell Elias's cologne, something warm and sweet under the smoke.
"Then I guess," Adrian murmured, eyes dropping to Elias's lips before flicking back up, "we'll need another night."
Elias's breath caught.
And for the first time that evening.. he didn't look away.
.
.
.
The night air felt different once they stepped away from the reception hall.
Quieter.
Colder.
Clearer.
The music was just a faint heartbeat behind them now, muffled by walls and distance. The parking lot lights cast soft halos over the cars, one of them being Elias's small white sedan where Jun slept in the backseat, curled into his jacket like a warm little bundle.
Elias leaned lightly against the driver-side door, one ankle crossing over the other, the faint glow of the shared cigarette between his fingers. The smoke curled around his face, softening the tension in his jaw.
Adrian leaned beside him not touching, but close enough that Elias could feel the heat radiating from him. His suit jacket was slightly undone from carrying Jun. The collar loosened. A tiny sliver of ink peeked from under his shirt.
Neither of them mentioned it.
Not yet.
"Thanks for helping with him," Elias said quietly, eyes on the cigarette as if it were safer than looking at Adrian. His voice was low, a little husky now that the night had settled deeper around them. "Jun doesn't usually… warm up to people like that."
Adrian exhaled smoke slowly toward the sky.
"He's a good kid. Smart. Says exactly what he thinks."
Elias huffed a laugh. "Too much, sometimes."
"That's the best kind," Adrian replied. "Honest. Doesn't pretend."
Elias looked at him sideways. "People pretend a lot, huh?"
Adrian shrugged one shoulder. "More than they admit."
Elias inhaled, held the smoke for a moment, then exhaled through parted lips. Adrian watched the movement far too closely.
After a small silence, Adrian nudged him with his elbow light, almost playful.
"Hey," he murmured. "About that dancing thing…"
Elias tensed just a fraction.
Adrian noticed.
Of course he noticed.
He lifted both hands a little in surrender. "Relax. I'm not asking. Not tonight."
Elias let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"But," Adrian added, voice dropping into something deeper, warmer, "I'm definitely asking another time."
Elias let his gaze drop to the cigarette, heat blooming at the tip, and in his chest.
"We'll see," he murmured.
It wasn't a no.
Adrian smirked, slow and dangerous. "That's not a denial."
Elias said nothing, but the faint pink climbing his neck gave him away.
A breeze brushed Adrian's suit jacket open, revealing more ink on the inside of his forearm lines of dark shapes disappearing under fabric.
Elias's eyes flicked there before he could stop himself.
It was a tiny motion, barely a second.
But Adrian caught it.
"You noticed?"
Elias turned his head away, embarrassed. "You didn't exactly hide it."
"I never do," Adrian said. "I'm not great at subtlety."
"You were subtle today," Elias murmured.
Adrian's voice dipped lower. "Was I?"
The air thickened.
Elias looked away. "I didn't say it was bad."
Adrian let that sit between them for a moment before nodding toward Elias's body respectfully, not staring.
"You got any?" he asked. "Tattoos."
Elias hesitated.
Bit his bottom lip.
Looked conflicted for a moment then,
"…One," he admitted quietly.
"Just one?"
"Mmh."
"Where?"
Elias didn't look at him when he said it. His voice dropped, nearly a whisper.
"Across my chest. Both sides."
Adrian's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, something primal flickering behind his eyes.
"And what is it?" Adrian asked.
Elias shook his head. "Not tonight."
"Another night?" Adrian teased, echoing Elias's earlier words.
Elias met his eyes then sharp, soft, dangerous.
"Maybe."
Adrian looked like he wanted to say something else, something heavier maybe even press but he inhaled instead, taking back the cigarette.
"Fair enough."
"So," Elias said, forcing the tension to ease just a little, "you actually became what you wanted. An officer."
Adrian let out a low hum. "Yeah. I did."
"You always talked about it," Elias said softly. "Back in uni. I didn't think you'd go for it this hard."
Adrian laughed quietly. "Trust me, no one else did either."
"What's it like?" Elias asked. "Being out there. Working."
Adrian flicked ash to the side, eyes narrowing slightly as he thought.
"Long," he said. "Hard. Rewarding in weird ways. Some days suck. Some days are good. Some days…" He smirked. "Some days I'm sent on nonsense calls."
"Nonsense?" Elias tilted his head, curious.
"Oh yeah." Adrian's laugh was warm and real. "One time, I got called to help find a missing dog."
Elias's brows lifted. "A missing dog?"
"A tiny fluffy demon," Adrian clarified. "Looked like a mop with eyes."
Elias laughed, quiet and genuine.
"I searched for that thing for two hours. Streets, bushes, backyards. Nothing. Then I hear barking behind this garden gate. I open it, thinking I've finally found the little idiot, and the second he sees me—"
Adrian mimicked getting pounced on.
"He attacked me."
Elias's eyes widened. "Attacked?"
"With affection," Adrian corrected, offended. "I was pinned. Licked. Mauled by love. That thing almost knocked me over."
Elias covered his mouth, shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter.
"Poor officer."
Adrian pointed at him. "Don't laugh. I'm telling you, he was feral with joy."
"I believe you," Elias said through another soft laugh.
"That dog brought me to my knees."
"Good boy," Elias murmured under his breath before realizing what he said.
Both men went still.
Adrian's tongue pressed to the inside of his cheek.
A slow smirk formed.
Dangerous.
Knowing.
Elias's face flushed instantly.
"I—I meant the dog," he stuttered.
"Oh, I know," Adrian said, eyes lowering just a little. "But… interesting choice of words, Elias."
"Shut up," Elias muttered, mortified.
Adrian laughed deep, warm, filling the quiet parking lot.
The cigarette burned down to the filter.
Elias crushed it gently with his shoe.
Jun slept peacefully inside the car.
And Adrian stood closer now, just a breath away not touching, but the possibility hung heavy between them.
"Elias," he said softly.
Elias looked up.
Adrian's eyes softened. "It's good seeing you again."
Elias swallowed, his heart beating somewhere too close to his throat.
"You too."
Adrian tapped the car lightly, a subtle sign of goodbye.
"I'll ask about that dance another night," he murmured, stepping back.
Elias didn't stop him.
But he didn't walk away either.
He just stood there, watching Adrian standing still as if he still had stuff to say through the quiet haze of the night, feeling something old and dangerous wake up inside him.
Adrian stepped back from Elias's car with that small, reluctant shift of weight that revealed more than his face ever would. He didn't want to leave, not really, not when the air still held the warmth of shared laughter and the ghost of Elias's soft voice.
He gave the car one last tap, leaned away And Elias's voice stopped him.
"Adrian… wait."
It wasn't loud.
Just low.
Soft.
Almost velvet.
Adrian turned instantly, something in the tone reaching straight into his spine and pulling him back to the car as if Elias had hooked two fingers into the center of his chest.
"Yes?" Adrian asked, voice a little rougher than before.
Elias stood with his hand resting on the roof of the car, curls falling loosely across his forehead, hazel eyes darker in the parking lot shadows. His throat dipped once in a slow swallow before he spoke.
"Your number," Elias said, steady but quiet. "Give it to me."
Adrian blinked.
Not in surprise..
in reaction.
Because there was something in Elias's voice.
Not seductive in the cheap sense.
Not intentional, not obvious.
But it slid under the surface, smooth and low and warm, with a softness that hinted at habits he didn't know he had. Something trained into his breath, into his tone, into the way his lips formed the words, gentle yet edged with something that made the air tighten between them.
Adrian felt it.
All of it.
His fingers curled slightly at his side, and he took a slow step back toward Elias.
"You want my number..?" he murmured, watching Elias's expression carefully.
Elias didn't falter. "Yes."
"You sure you're not asking because your kid thinks I'm trying to marry you?" Adrian teased, but his voice was low, curious, a little hungry.
Elias's lips twitched. Not quite a smile. Something softer.
"It's for me," he said. "Not him."
Adrian swallowed at that.
Hard.
Then he reached for his phone, holding it out.
"Put it in."
Elias took the phone, fingers brushing Adrian's just enough to make him inhale. He typed slowly, then handed it back. Adrian looked at the name saved:
'Elias'
(no last name, no emoji, nothing decorative, clean, grown, simple)
"What should I save you as?" Elias asked, taking out his own phone.
Adrian tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth, the kind he hadn't used in years.
"Just 'Adrian.' You'll know who it is."
Elias typed it in, their shoulders nearly touching.
Adrian leaned close enough to catch the faint warm scent Elias wore vanilla and skin and smoke and for a split moment, he forgot where he was. Or who he was supposed to be.
And then Elias looked up at him.
Just one glance.
Soft, hazel, a little shy, a little dangerous.
Adrian felt his breath stutter.
If Elias knew the effect he had…
He didn't show it.
"I'll text you," Elias said, tucking his phone away. "When Jun's asleep. Or… whenever."
"Whenever works," Adrian said.
The space between them felt like something alive something stretching, holding, waiting for someone to cross it.
But neither of them did.
Not yet.
Elias opened the driver-side door quietly, careful not to wake the boy sleeping inside. Adrian stepped back, hands sliding into his pockets, but his eyes stayed on Elias the whole time.
"Goodnight," Adrian said, voice deep and a little rough from restraint.
Elias met his gaze through the half-open door.
"Goodnight."
And then he slipped inside, started the engine, and drove away, Adrian standing there long after the car's taillights disappeared.
Jun barely stirred, small face pressed into the collar of his jacket.
Elias drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting loosely near Jun's leg, touching him every few minutes as if to confirm he was still there still safe.
The night outside rolled slow and quiet, streetlights streaking gold across the windshield. But Elias wasn't thinking about the road. Not really.
His mind kept replaying Adrian's voice.
The warmth of it.
The laugh.
The way Adrian had looked at him when he said It's for me. Not him.
It had been years since anyone had looked at him like that.
And even longer since anyone made him aware of the warmth in his own voice.
He hadn't used that tone in so long, not on anyone. He had buried that version of himself years ago, folded it deep inside the life he built for Jun.
But tonight…
Something cracked.
Something old slipped through.
He hated how natural it felt.
And he loved it.
He glanced at Jun sleeping in the mirror.
"I'm not doing anything dumb," he whispered softly, as if convincing himself. "I'm just reconnecting with an old friend."
But his chest tightened.
Friends didn't look at each other the way Adrian looked at him.
Or the way he had looked back.
He stopped at a red light and exhaled slowly, voice barely audible.
"Adrian…"
His name tasted too warm on his tongue.
.
.
Once home, Elias carried Jun inside, shifting the boy gently onto his shoulder. Jun mumbled something incoherent but didn't wake. His small arms instinctively wrapped around Elias's neck.
He eased the boy into bed, pulled the soft blanket over him, brushed hair away from his forehead with those fingers that still trembled faintly.
"Sleep well," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to Jun's temple the place his wife used to kiss him.
He closed the door behind him quietly.
Only when the silence settled did he lean back against the hallway wall.
His breath left him in a slow, unsteady exhale.
The house was warm, but his skin felt colder without Adrian's closeness lingering beside him. His fingers brushed the spot where their hands touched when they shared the cigarette.
He didn't like that he remembered the exact warmth of it.
He didn't like that he wanted to feel it again.
.
.
Adrian walked into his apartment and immediately realized how quiet it was. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that made him aware of his own heartbeat.
He hung his suit jacket.
Unglued his tie.
Rolled his shoulders back.
But he couldn't shake the lingering ghost of Elias's voice, the way it dipped when he asked for Adrian's number, unintentional yet soft as silk slipping between fingers.
He'd heard a lot of voices in his life.
Commanding ones.
Professional ones.
Angry ones.
But Elias's…
It carved itself under his ribs in a place he hadn't opened in years.
He didn't know why it hit him so hard.
He didn't know why that single sentence 'your number. Give it to me' kept replaying in his head like it was spoken right into his ear.
He sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, palms rubbed slowly together.
And then the tattoo moment replayed.
"On my chest… both sides."
And the tone Elias used when he said it quiet, almost shy, almost intimate made Adrian's breath grow heavier.
He pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek.
He didn't know where those tattoos were exactly.
He didn't know what they looked like.
He didn't know why the thought of them felt like a spark caught under his skin.
He ran a hand through his buzzed hair.
"Shit…"
He wasn't supposed to feel like this. Not so fast. Not so strong.
Especially not for someone with a kid.
Someone who had clearly suffered.
Someone who deserved something soft and careful and patient, not whatever storm was building in Adrian's chest.
But damn..
The way Elias looked leaning against that car…
The curves in his suit…
The soft curls, the tan skin, the hazel eyes…
The quiet strength in his voice…
And Jun.
That kid.
Bright, funny, honest.
Adrian felt something pull at him when he saw them together. Something he couldn't name.
He lay back on his bed, one arm thrown over his eyes.
He was completely fucked.
A few days passed after that wedding night and their first interaction after years.
Life resumed its rhythm.
Elias worked.
Jun went to school.
Adrian took shifts, wrote reports, got yelled at by his sergeant, found another stray dog.
But both men kept checking their phones more often than usual.
Not enough to be obvious.
But enough.
Late one evening, when Jun was already watching cartoons with the babysitter,
Elias's phone buzzed.
A new message.
ADRIAN:
'You free tonight? Thought maybe we could grab a drink or coffe, somewhere quite.'
Elias stared at the message, pulse rising slowly.
His fingers typed before his brain caught up.
ELIAS:
'Jun has a babysitter tonight, I can meet. Where?'
A few seconds later, his phone buzzed again in his hand,
ADRIAN:
'Theres a small cafe in town, opens late with warm light, quite corner tables, I'll send you the address. 10PM okay?'
10 PM.
Too late.
Too intimate.
Too dangerous.
But Elias typed right away without overthinking it,
ELIAS:
'10 is perfect.'
Another buzz.
ADRIAN:
'Good. I've got questions saved for you.'
Elias's breath caught.
ELIAS:
'What kind of questions?'
ADRIAN:
'The kind you told me requires another night.'
Elias's heart slammed against his ribs, felt warmth bloom in his chest.. slow, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. A part of him was nerves the other part was shaking in excitement.